General Education Requirement

The General Education (GE) requirement promotes the intellectual growth of all undergraduates by ensuring that they acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enlarge their perspectives beyond the focus of a major and serve them well as participants in a knowledge-based society. It seeks to stimulate continued intellectual growth by providing students with knowledge not only of the content but also of the methodologies of different academic disciplines. It involves students in the learning process by its expectation of considerable writing and class participation. It encourages students to consider the relationships between disciplines.

The following section pertains to students who matriculated to UC Davis prior to Fall 2011. Students who matriculate for the first time in Fall 2011 or later should refer to the Revised General Education (GE) Requirement, below.

The GE requirement has three components: Topical Breadth, Social-Cultural Diversity and Writing Experience.

Topical Breadth

A GE course in topical breadth addresses broad subject areas that are important to the student’s general knowledge. It takes a critical, analytical perspective on knowledge, considering how knowledge has been acquired and the assumptions, theories, or paradigms that guide its use.

Topical breadth courses are grouped into three broad subject areas of knowledge:

1. Arts and Humanities. Courses in this area provide students with knowledge of significant intellectual traditions, cultural achievements and historical processes.
2. Science and Engineering. Courses in this area provide students with knowledge of major scientific ideas and applications. They seek to communicate the scope, power, limitations and appeal of science.
3. Social Sciences. Courses in this area provide students with knowledge of the individual, social, political and economic activities of people.

Social-Cultural Diversity

Courses in social-cultural diversity teach students the significance of the many patterned differences that characterize human populations—particularly differences of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion or social class.

Writing Experience

Courses in writing experienceimprove student writing through instruction and practice. Writing assignments are designed to encourage students to think critically and communicate effectively. Courses require one extended writing assignment (five pages or more) or multiple short assignments. Writing is evaluated not only for content, but also for organization, style, use of language, and logical coherence.

Fulfilling the General Education Requirement

Topical Breadth Component: 6 courses

To fulfill the topical breadth component of the General Education requirement you must successfully complete three approved courses in each of the two subject areas of topical breadth other than the one that includes your major. To identify the area of topical breadth to which your major belongs, refer to the chart. Each academic major has been assigned to one of the three subject areas of GE topical breadth. If you have any questions concerning the subject area to which your major is assigned, consult your college dean’s office.

• Double majors will satisfy the topical breadth subject areas to which they are assigned. You will still be responsible for completing any topical breadth subject area in which you do not have a major. If, for example, two majors are assigned to the same subject area, you will need to complete the topical breadth component in each of the other two other subject areas. If, on the other hand, you complete two majors that have been assigned to two different areas of topical breadth then you will be responsible for completing the topical breadth component in only the remaining subject area.
• Individual majors are assigned to an area of topical breadth at the time they are approved by your college.
• Each minor has also been assigned to one of the three subject areas of topical breadth. A minor assigned to a subject area other than the area of your major will satisfy the GE course requirement for topical breadth in that subject area.
• Courses in your major may count toward the topical breadth component when those courses are also assigned to subject areas other than the area of your major.
• A course approved in more than one topical breadth subject area may only be offered in satisfaction of one of those subject areas.
  

Social-Cultural Diversity Component: 1 course

To fulfill the social-cultural diversity component of the GE requirement, you must successfully complete one course from the approved list.

Writing Experience Component: 3 courses

To fulfill the writing experience component of the GE requirement, you must successfully complete three courses from the list.

• Entry-Level Writing Requirement (formerly Subject A). You must satisfy the university Entry Level Writing Requirement before you take any writing experience course for GE credit. If you take an approved writing experience course, but have not yet satisfied the Entry Level Writing Requirement, you will not receive GE writing experience credit for that course.
  

Additional Conditions

• Letter grading.All courses taken to fulfill the GE requirement must be taken for a letter grade. No GE credit will be awarded for a course that you take on a Passed/Not Passed basis.
• College and university composition requirements.The following GE courses may not be used to satisfy university or college requirements in composition and GE writing experience simultaneously:
  • Communication 1
  • Comparative Literature 1, 2, 3, 4
  • English 3
  • Evolution and Ecology 12
  • Native American Studies 5
  • University Writing Program 1, 18, 19, 101, 102 series, and 104 series
    
    Remember: You must satisfy the university Entry Level Writing Requirement before you take any writing experience course for GE credit.
• Courses approved for multiple GE components.Courses approved for more than one component of the GE requirement (topical breadth, writing experience and social-cultural diversity) will be accepted toward satisfaction of all components for which the course has been approved.
• Approved GE courses.You cannot claim GE credit for any course you completed before it was an approved GE course.

College of Engineering. Students seeking a degree in a College of Engineering major must complete 24 units of general education coursework (33 units are required for Computer Science and Engineering majors) and two upper division courses from the campus approved list of approved courses in Arts and Humanities or Social Science.

GE Exemption

IGETC, TCC and UC Reciprocity. You are exempt from the UC Davis GE requirement if you come from a California community college and are certified as having successfully completed the “Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum” (IGETC) or “Transfer Core Curriculum” (TCC), or if you come from another UC campus and are certified as having successfully completed the lower division breadth or General Education requirements of that UC campus (UC reciprocity).

Approved General Education Courses

See the links below for a list of the courses that provide General Education credit for 2010-11. Please note that you cannot claim GE credit for a course you completed before it was an approved GE course. This list is subject to change. For the most current information, you should check the Class Schedule and Registration Guide (CSRG) each quarter.

• Arts and Humanities courses
• Science and Engineering courses
• Social Sciences courses
• Diversity courses
• Writing courses

Revised General Education (GE) Requirement*

Effective Fall 2011; *Abridged summary—full description will be published in the Fall 2011 General Catalog Supplement.

The revised GE requirement has two components, Topical Breadth and Core Literacies, and is defined in terms of units, not courses. The units of most undergraduate courses at UC Davis are assigned to one of the three Topical Breadth Areas. Additionally, the revised GE requirement integrates training in Core Literacies into topical breadth. The literacies are crucial both for success in one's profession and also for the a thoughtful engaged citizenship in the community, nation and world. With the exception of units used to satisfy the English Composition element, units approved for a Core Literacy will be accepted toward satisfaction of the appropriate Topical Breadth component. However, units may be counted toward satisfaction of only one Core Literacy.

Students may take courses P/NP to fulfill their GE requirements, up to the limits set by college and campus regulations. Students may not present Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit in satisfaction of GE requirements.

Transfer students who have successfully completed the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) are exempt from all General Education requirements. Transfer students who have not completed the IGETC are required to satisfy all General Education components under the revised requirement but may offer previously completed coursework toward their satisfaction.

The requisite units for both components of the revised General Education requirements is summarized below, however, a full description of each of the Core Literacies can be found at http://ge.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/docs/GE-requirement-June08-final.pdf.

A. Topical Breadth Component; 52 units

• Arts and Humanities; 12-20 units
• Science and Engineering; 12-20 units
• Social Sciences; 12-20 units
  Note: In the case of a course that has been certified in more than one Topical Breadth Area, a student may count the units of the course in only one of the areas in which it has been certified.

B. Core Literacies Component; 35 units

1. Literacy with Words and Images; at least 20 units

a. English Composition; 8 units (as described by College of A&ES, College of L&S, College of Biological Sciences, or College of Engineering)
b. Writing experience coursework in the student's major or elsewhere; at least 6 units
c. Oral skills coursework or additional writing experience coursework; at least 3 units
d. Visual literacy coursework; at least 3 units
Note: A student must have completed the Entry Level Writing Requirement (formerly known as the Subject A requirement) before receiving GE credit for coursework satisfying requirements a, b, and c above).

2. Civic and Cultural Literacy; at least 9 units

a. American Cultures, Governance, and History; at least 6 units; of which at least 3 units must be in a course certified as focusing on issues of domestic diversity
b. World Cultures; at least 3 units

3. Quantitative Literacy; at least 3 units
4. Scientific Literacy; at least 3 units

General Education Theme Options

The following section pertains to students who matriculated to UC Davis prior to Fall 2011. Students who matriculate for the first time in Fall 2011 or later should refer to the Revised General Education (GE) Requirement, above.

General Education theme options are sets of GE courses sharing a common intellectual theme. Faculty from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have worked collaboratively to develop sets of complementary courses in several areas of interest. These GE theme options are not a separate element of the GE requirement, but a way of selecting your GE courses so that you may benefit from a coherent focus of study while completing the GE requirement.

Completion of a theme satisfies the GE requirement for students with majors assigned to the GE topical breadth area of Arts and Humanities. Students with majors assigned to the topical breadth area of either Science and Engineering or Social Science will need to complete additional GE courses in Arts and Humanities to satisfy the campus GE requirement.