Official Transcript Requirement
Your admission to graduate study at UC Davis is contingent upon receipt of official copies of all of your college-level transcripts or academic records by UC Davis Graduate Studies. This is a required step for accepting your admission offer. In order to satisfy the "Official Transcript" requirement on your applicant status portal checklist, you must provide the official transcript of each institution you listed during your application process. Even if you only took one academic course at an institution, you will need to deliver the official transcript from that institution showing the course and grade. Note: Official Transcripts must be provided directly by the academic institution (see below for more information on how to deliver Official documents). You will not be able to register for courses at UC Davis until these official documents have been received and verified by Graduate Studies.
Note for students previously enrolled at UC Davis
Current or former UC Davis students should not need to send us an official UC Davis transcript to satisfy the "Official Transcript" requirement as we can obtain those records from our Registrar's Office. However, any transcripts which were previously sent to UC Davis as part of an undergraduate transfer process (e.g. community college transcripts) must be sent directly to our office - we do not have access to your prior undergraduate records.
Proof of Earned Bachelor's Degree
If you have not yet completed your undergraduate coursework, or if the conferral date of your bachelor's degree does not yet appear on your academic record, you are encouraged to send in current transcripts or academic records right away as you will not be granted access to registration until all official transcripts have been received. Once you have earned your degree, you will need to provide Graduate Studies with final transcripts or academic records showing your earned degree during your first quarter of enrollment.
Note for students who are earning their Bachelor's degree from UC Davis
If your applicant status portal shows that the Official Transcript from UC Davis has been received but the "Proof of Earned Bachelor's Degree" is still missing, please note that Graduate Studies will NOT obtain a secondary transcript from the Registrar's Office to fulfill this requirement. You will be responsible to request a final UC Davis transcript showing your degree conferral date and have it sent to Graduate Studies during your first quarter of graduate enrollment in order to release this hold. Please be aware that we require either an Official Transcript with the conferral date or an official diploma. A Verification Letter from the Registrar's Office will NOT fulfill the Proof of Earned Bachelor's Degree requirement.
Instructions for Submitting U.S. Transcripts electronically
Graduate Studies strongly prefers that new students request official electronic/PDF transcripts to be sent directly to our office if possible.
If your U.S. college or university is capable of sending electronic transcripts, please be certain to have them sent directly to Graduate Studies using the following email address: gradadmit@ucdavis.edu. Your transcripts must be sent to that exact email address to be received and processed by our office. Electronic transcripts may only be sent by your school's transcript issuing service or university records office.
Instructions for Submitting U.S. Transcripts by Mail
Please note that you should ONLY take the following steps if your college/university is unable to send official academic records to our office via email.
If you have only attended one U.S. college or university:
Contact the Registrar's Office for that college or university and ask them to mail an official paper transcript to the following EXACT address:
UC Davis Graduate Studies
Attn: Admitted Student Transcripts
2001 Walker Hall
1 Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
If you have attended multiple U.S. colleges or universities:
Following these steps will allow you to confirm that all your prior colleges/universities have issued the transcripts *and* will ensure that all of your transcripts are received by Graduate Studies at the same time.
- Contact the Registrar's Office at each college or university you have attended, order a paper copy of your transcript and have it mailed to *you*.
- DO NOT remove the transcripts from their envelopes when they arrive. If you open the transcript envelope the transcript will no longer be considered official and cannot be accepted by Graduate Studies.
- Put each of the transcript envelopes in a single larger envelope and mail them to the following exact address:
UC Davis Graduate Studies
Attn: Admitted Student Transcripts
2001 Walker Hall
1 Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
Instructions for Submitting International Transcripts or Academic Records
Official international transcripts or academic records are defined as original documents issued by the institution which bear the actual signature of the registrar and the seal of the issuing institution. In the case of non-U.S. institutions, do not send the original of an academic record that cannot be replaced. Instead, obtain a properly certified copy. True copies, facsimiles, or photocopies of academic records will be accepted only if the photocopies themselves have been personally signed by an academic official who has certified that they are exact copies of original documents. Each attested copy must also bear the seal and title of the authorizing official. Uncertified photocopies are not acceptable.
Official records in their original language must be submitted with the authorized, complete and exact English translations issued by the university, a government agency, or a certified translation agency.
We are working with international institutions to receive certified transcripts via email. We recommend you contact the registrar or academic affairs office at your institutions to confirm whether they can send all certified documents to UC Davis directly by email. Electronic transcripts should be sent by the issuing institution directly to gradadmit@ucdavis.edu.
If your international institution will not send electronic versions of the transcript, send your official paper transcripts and academic records to the following EXACT address:
UC Davis Graduate Studies
Attn: Admitted Student Transcripts
2001 Walker Hall
1 Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
Below is a list of examples of the documents we require from various countries:
- Brazil
- An official copy of Bachelor’s degree certificate and Histórico Escolar (academic transcripts). Academic documents must be university issued or university attested and sealed copies of the original. An English translation must accompany academic documents.
- Chile
- Degree certificate and Certificado de Notas or Calificaciones. An English translation must accompany all academic documents. Academic documents must be university issued or university attested and sealed copies of the original.
- China
- Applicants must provide transcripts and, if a degree has already been earned, both the diploma and the degree certificate. Records must be received in the original language with accompanying English translations, and must arrive in envelopes sealed by the issuing university.
- France
- Relevé de notes (academic transcripts) showing all subjects and examination results for each year of study. An English translation must accompany academic transcripts and degree certificates. Academic documents must be university issued or certified as true copies of the original and sealed in an envelope by the awarding university or institution.
- Germany
- Examination certificates (scheine), examination records or attestation of grades (Notenbestatigung), intermediate exam certificates, final exam certificates and diploma or degree certificates from all post-secondary schools, or university issued and sealed Diploma Supplement in English and original language. Academic documents must be university issued or certified as true copies of the original and sealed in an envelope by the awarding university or institution.
- India
- We require university attested and sealed photocopies of original mark sheets/transcripts and degree certificates. These attested copies of original academic documents must arrive in our office in a university stamped and sealed envelope.
- Iran
- Academic transcript and degree certificate should be university issued and should arrive in an envelope bearing the institution's seal or stamp and/or an appropriate signature across the sealed flap. All academic documents must be accompanied by an English translation.
- Mexico
- Degree certificate and Certificado De Estudios, Certificado de Notas or Calificaciones. An English translation must accompany all academic documents. Academic documents must be university issued or university attested and sealed copies of the original.
- Saudi Arabia
- Degree certificate and transcript (record of subjects taken and marks earned). If your academic record is not in English, an English translation must accompany all official academic documents. Academic transcript and degree certificate must be university issued and arrive in our office in a sealed envelope.
- South Korea
- Students must submit an official copy of their Bachelor’s degree certificate and transcripts. Official transcripts must be university issued and arrive in the Graduate Studies office in a sealed envelope. If the university does not issue transcripts in English, an English translation must accompany all academic documents.
- Taiwan
- An official copy of Bachelor’s degree certificate and transcript. If the university does not issue transcripts in English, an English translation must accompany transcripts. Official transcripts must be university issued and arrive in the Graduate Studies office in an envelope sealed by the university.
- Turkey
- Degree certificate (Lisans Diplomasi or higher) and academic transcript or diploma supplement. Academic documents must be university issued and sealed. Academic documents or Diploma Supplement must be in both English and the original language.
- United Kingdom
- Bachelor’s degree certificate and exam/grade score reports. Academic documents or Diploma Supplement must be university issued and sealed.
- Vietnam
- Submit an official copy of Bachelor’s degree certificate (bang tot nghiep cu nhan or bang cu nhan or bang dai hoc) and academic transcript in both Vietnamese and English. These copies must arrive to the Graduate Studies office in a sealed, stamped envelope issued by the university.
Important Notes
If necessary, University officials may contact the schools of selected applicants to verify their documents. If we are unable to verify transcripts or academic records, UC Davis reserves the right to cancel the application or withdraw an offer of admission.
All documents submitted become the property of UC Davis and may not be borrowed, copied, returned, or sent elsewhere. If you have original academic records which cannot be replaced or reissued by your college or university, obtain and submit a properly certified copy.
Processing of electronic transcripts is faster than processing of paper transcripts. Electronic transcripts can usually be reviewed and your "Official Transcript" requirement updated within 2-3 business days. For paper transcripts, this process can take up to 2-3 weeks during peak times. This is due to the way campus mail is routed through a central receiving hub and then distributed out to individual departments several days later.