**I am no way encouraging to do the same things I did or telling you what you should or should not do, just sharing my experience and hopefully giving hope to those of you who want to apply to the major as well**
Throughout my college career, I can't even tell you how many times I changed my major. Coming out of high school I knew I wanted to go to college but was afraid that since I didn't know what I wanted to do I would end up at a school only to find out what I'm passionate about isn't a major they offer. Fast forward two years and I end up at my absolute dream school. Being at UCLA felt like being home and that's how I felt when I first toured it back in high school.
I originally applied and was accepted into the anthropology department, thinking I wanted to do the medical sub-field and go on to physician assistant school. I quickly realized that anthropology did not interest me and I needed to switch my major yet again. Communication studies was always something I went back to but by the time it came to apply for the UCs, I was still missing one pre-requisite.
At this point, I turned to comm studies yet again and this time I knew it's what I wanted. I wasn't oblivious though to how competitive it is to get into the major, not only when you apply as a transfer student, but as a continuing student as well. I rock up not having applied to the major when transferring and wouldn't be able to apply until the end of my junior year.
Winter quarter came around and I decided to take a core course from the comm department (COMM 170), an upper division elective from the comm department (COMM 188B), and an upper division anthropology elective (hoping for the best). Not only was this quarter more difficult because of the two comm studies core courses, but also because I was taking a total of 4 classes now. Week 9 comes around (honestly I think this is worse than week 10 and finals week) and I couldn't handle my upper division anthropology elective so I dropped it. Yes, I really did drop a class week 9. I still don't regret it.
By spring quarter I realized the mess I was in. I really didn't want to do anthropology AT ALL and I was only 24 units toward the required 45. I needed to have a major to fall back on that I was somewhat interested in, completed the pre-requisites (or at least be nearly done with them), and it had to be in a department that would accept transfer students not originally admitted to the major. I decided to fall back on sociology since the only pre-req I needed was one that had to be completed at UCLA anyways.
As for comm studies? I braced myself to take 21 units in my spring quarter. Yup. I went from 12 units to 21 and it was a living nightmare. I knew for a fact I wanted to go back home and not take classes during the summer. So really, it was my only option.
During spring quarter I took an upper division comm elective (COMM 187), a research methods course in sociology, and three comm core courses (COMM M113, COMM 133, COMM 151). I was basically signing a death note.
Spring quarter was just as bad as you think it would be and toward the end, I was strategically skipping classes to catch up on work for my other classes. There genuinely wasn't enough hours in a day to attend all of my classes and the subsequent time needed to complete all of the assignments. I think I'm still sleep deprived since spring quarter honestly. BUT, after the longest 10 weeks of my life, it was finally over and all that was left was the application.
I took the application as an opportunity to really express how much I enjoyed this major and how it wasn't just an academic thing for me, but my extracurricular activities also encompassed the field of communication.
Speaking of extracurriculars, it really is important to get involved in things you enjoy, especially if that includes anything in the communication field. I'm part of the UCLA Odyssey team as a content creator as well as the Social Media Circulation Manager. I went to various talks held on campus that were posted about on the communication studies website, and I was part of UCA (Undergraduate Communication Association) to be involved in networking events and of internship opportunities.
Let's break down some things you should know:
There's ONE (I know) application period a year. The application opens the beginning of June and closes at the end of the month. Here's the kicker: you don't find out if you have been accepted until the end of August. Which leads to our next point...
Once you are accepted into UCLA you are now considered a continuing student in regard to the comm studies application which means you need 45 letter-graded UCLA units by the time of your application. You'd need to take 15 units per quarter to reach the unit requirement but transfer students aren't advised to take more than 12 in their first quarter. Summer session A classes do count toward the 45 unit requirement (which explains why results come out in August) so you can definitely use that to your advantage!!
You must take at least two comm courses (lower or upper division) before you apply to the major. One of these courses must be COMM 10 if you did not take the equivalent of it in community college.
There really isn't a set number of applicants they accept every year. It really does just depend on how many people have graduated from the department from that year.
A lot of comm classes are reserved for those who have already declared the major when it comes to enrolling during your first pass. BUT it is possible to still get into the comm classes you want during your second pass and within the first couple of weeks (trust me, people will drop the class).
As a transfer student, you have one opportunity to change to the comm studies major
There are comm classes that overlap with other departments so you can kill two birds with one stone
Even though people around you will tell you it's impossible, and there might be some who even discourage you, if it's something you truly want to do, believe in yourself and put your best effort it is possible and there are people who are ready to support and encourage you.
All this info is conveniently summarized without personal flare on the department website. Good luck Bruins!
