@JBStillFlying - CDes does not advertise it, but all majors in CDes have different admissions standards to some degree. The most competitive seem to be architecture, graphic design, and product design.
Others may be competitive because they have faculty or facility limitations, like interior design or apparel design. Landscape design is the least competitive and likely has the lowest entry standards. Interior Design and Landscape Design both admit directly to the major. The remainder generally admit to pre-major status with a portfolio review after the 1st year to enter the full major.
Regarding transferring prior to matriculation - that would have to be taken up with admissions. It is not easy to transfer to more competitive colleges once you have matriculated, so I am guessing it is not easy before either. Admissions keeps those processes to themselves. Faculty do not generally have a role in freshman or transfer admissions, only in grad admissions, which are run by each program respectively.