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Graduation Requirements in the
UC San Diego Colleges

Unless otherwise indicated, the figures in this chart refer to the number of courses rather than the number of units. Most UC San Diego courses carry four quarter-units of credit, and a student usually takes four courses each quarter. Academic disciplines are classified as humanities/fine arts, social sciences, and mathematics/natural sciences/engineering. The term “noncontiguous” refers to a discipline that is different from that of the major as determined by the faculty of each college. Students must meet the Entry Level Writing Requirement prior to enrolling in the writing courses of their respective college. For specific college course requirements for transfer students, please refer to “Undergraduate Colleges.”

Revelle College

General Education

HUMANITIES—5

Includes intensive instruction in university-level writing.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE—0–4

Proficiency exam or number of courses.

FINE ARTS—1

Art, music, theatre, or dance.

NATURAL SCIENCE—5

Includes physics, chemistry, and biology. (Sequences are available for science and nonscience majors.)

MATHEMATICS—3

Includes two required calculus courses. (Sequences are available for science and nonscience majors.)

SOCIAL SCIENCE—2

Two courses in the social sciences chosen from an approved list.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

John Muir College

General Education

SOCIAL SCIENCES—3

Must be chosen from an approved three-course sequence. Sequences are listed at http://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/degree_reqs.html.

MATHEMATICS (CALCULUS) or NATURAL SCIENCE—3

Must be chosen from an approved three-course sequence in either category. Specific sequences are available for nonscience majors. Sequences are listed at http://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/degree_reqs.html.

FINE ARTS—HUMANITIES—FOREIGN LANGUAGE—6

Must be chosen from approved three-course sequences in two of these categories. Sequences are listed at http://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/degree_reqs.html.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

WRITING—2

(In addition to the Entry-Level Writing Requirement.) Students demonstrating their college-level writing skills by the successful completion of a two-quarter sequence in writing. Sequences are listed at http://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/degree_reqs.html.

Optional minor.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Thurgood Marshall College

General Education

DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE—3

Core courses include two six-unit courses with intensive instruction in university-level writing.

HUMANITIES—2

Two courses selected from a prescribed list of courses in domestic and global cultures.

FINE ART—1
NATURAL SCIENCES—3

One course each in biology, chemistry, and physics. (Courses are available for science and nonscience majors.)

MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS, or LOGIC—2

Either two courses in mathematics or one course in mathematics and one course in computing. (Courses are available for science and nonscience majors.)

DISCIPLINARY BREADTH—4

Noncontiguous to the major. Two must be upper-division; one must include writing.

PUBLIC SERVICE—(optional)

The four-unit public service option may be used to fulfill one course in disciplinary breadth.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

Optional minor.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Earl Warren College

General Education

WRITING—2
ETHICS AND SOCIETY—2
FORMAL SKILLS—2

Calculus, symbolic logic, computer programming, and/or statistics.

PROGRAMS OF CONCENTRATION—12

(For bachelor of arts/bachelor of science in arts/sciences.) Two programs of concentration, each containing six courses, and each noncontiguous to the major and to each other.

OR
AREA STUDIES—6

(For BS in engineering.) Two area studies, one in humanities/fine arts and one in social sciences, each containing three courses.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

Optional minor—May be used in lieu of a program of concentration or area study if noncontiguous to the major and to the other program of concentration or area study.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Eleanor Roosevelt College

General Education

MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD—5

Includes two quarters of intensive instruction in university-level writing.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE—0–4

Proficiency exam or number of courses.

FINE ART—1
NATURAL SCIENCES—2

(Courses are available for science and nonscience majors.)

QUANTITATIVE METHODS/FORMAL SKILLS—2

(Courses are available for science and nonscience majors.)

REGIONAL SPECIALIZATION—3

To include at least two courses taken at the upper-division level.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

Optional minor.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Sixth College

General Education

CULTURE, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY—4

The CAT lower-division sequence includes two quarters of intensive instruction in university-level writing for academic audiences with coverage of research methods, collaboration, and media. CAT 125 is a four-unit course in upper-division writing for public audiences.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FLUENCY—1

One computing course. This requirement may be satisfied with courses from a variety of departments.

MODES OF INQUIRY—7

Two courses in the social sciences, two courses in the humanities, two courses in the natural sciences, one course in math/logic (options available for science and nonscience majors).

EXPLORING DATA—1

One course in statistical methods (options available for science and nonscience majors).

ART MAKING—2

Two courses in literature, music, theatre and dance, or visual arts.

PRACTICUM—1

Capstone project in which students apply theory to practice in local and global communities through departmental courses, internships, research opportunities, or study abroad programs.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

Optional minor.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Seventh College

General Education

SYNTHESIS—3

The synthesis lower-division sequence includes two quarters of intensive instruction in university-level writing. SYN 100 is a four-unit project-based course.

ARTS—2

Two courses selected from an approved list.

HUMANITIES—2

Two courses selected from an approved list.

NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING—2

Two courses selected from an approved list.

QUANTITATIVE REASONING—2

Two courses selected from an approved list.

SOCIAL SCIENCES—2

Two courses selected from an approved list.

HIGH IMPACT—1

One course selected from a variety of approved experiential learning options.

Minor/Additional Graduation Requirements

Optional minor.

Minimum Number of Units Required for Graduation

A bachelor of arts/bachelor of science degree requires a minimum of 180 units; at least sixty units must be upper division.

Major

Note: Students normally may pursue any major, except for college individualized majors, regardless of the college they choose. Majors are identical regardless of the student’s chosen college. Most majors require twelve to eighteen upper-division courses based upon adequate lower-division preparation; such preparation may be part of the general-education requirements. Majors in certain engineering programs may require as many as twenty-one upper-division courses.