A minimum of 180 units is required for the bachelor's degree. Of these units, 64 must be earned in upper division courses.
Registration Beyond the 225-unit Limit. You are normally expected to fulfill all degree requirements within the 180- to 225-unit range. Once 225 units have been completed (excluding units awarded for College Board Advanced Placement Examinations), you may register only with the permission of the dean. Such permission is rarely granted, and then typically only to allow completion of minimum degree requirements. You will be expected to adhere to a program of courses agreed upon and to meet other conditions that may have been set. Approval must be obtained before you will be permitted to register for courses for the quarter following completion of 225 or more units.
If you are in good standing, you will be able to complete 12 quarters or the equivalent (e.g., four years) of college work even if you have earned more than 225 units before you finish your fourth year. You must petition for continuation, however, and file the quarter-by-quarter course program you have planned.
For certain courses, limits have been established on the number of units that can be counted towards the 180-unit minimum required for the degree. To avoid discovering just before graduation that you are short units, keep track of the number of units you have taken in each of the following categories.
Limitation on Credit for Graduate and Professional Courses. Undergraduates may enroll in graduate and professional courses in the 200, 300 and 400 series subject to the restrictions described in the Academic Information section in this catalog. Graduate and professional courses that have been completed will be listed on the student's transcript in the usual manner. However, the units earned may be counted toward degree requirements only under the conditions listed below.
Within the limitations A, B and C given below, undergraduate students in the College may count an unlimited number of units in graduate 200 series courses and up to a combined total of 9 units in 300 and 400 series professional courses toward degree requirements. These units, however, are not counted as upper division units unless this is granted by petition to the dean.
A. The recommendations of the instructor in the course and the department chairperson--in addition to approval from the dean--must be obtained by petition in order to receive credit toward the degree for the following kinds of courses:
B. The minimum eligibility conditions for an undergraduate student in the College to petition for degree credit for a 200, 300, or 400 series course are a UC grade point average of 3.3 and completion of 18 upper division units basic to the subject matter of the course. These eligibility conditions may be waived, however, upon the recommen dation of the course instructor and concurrence of the department chairperson if the student's preparation warrants exception.
C. Undergraduates in the College cannot receive degree credit for special study courses 299, 399, or 499.
Limitation on Credit for Units Graded P. Excluding courses that are graded on a Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) basis only, the number of units graded P that may be accepted towards a degree in the College of Letters and Science is limited to not more than one fourth of the units completed in residence on the Davis campus.
The Academic Senate limits the total number of courses graded P, including units earned in courses graded "P/NP only," to one third of the units completed on the Davis campus. This limitation applies to all Davis undergraduates, including Letters and Science students.
Limitation on Credit for University Extension Courses. Students may apply credit earned in University Extension courses toward the 180-unit requirement only when written approval has been obtained from the dean before registration. The degree credit allowed by the dean for Extension courses is usually less than the unit value listed in the course description. A maximum of 9 units may be offered for elective credit only. Such units and courses may not be applied toward fulfillment of the Area, Foreign Language, Upper Division, or Residence requirements of the College. No grade points are assigned for courses completed in University Extension.
Other Unit Credit Limitations. The following are additional courses that have limits on the number of units that can be counted toward your degree.
While registered in the College of Letters and Science, a minimum of 27 upper division units, including 18 upper division units in the major, must be completed on the Davis campus. (Work completed while registered in the Education Abroad Program does not satisfy campus or College Residence requirements.)
The minimum grade point average to satisfy the scholarship requirement is 2.000 for all courses counted toward the major and for all upper division courses used to satisfy major requirements. Only grades earned in courses taken at UC Davis will be included in the grade point computations. To obtain these minimal averages in the major, you may repeat courses that are graded D or F. If you have to repeat a course more than once, you need the dean's approval.
The English Composition requirement can be met in one of two ways:
Transfer Courses in English Composition. Transfer courses considered by the dean to be equivalent or comparable to English 1, 3, 20, 101, 104A-E, Comparative Literature 1, 2, 3, 4, or Native American Studies 5 will be accepted toward satisfaction of the English Composition requirement. Note that English 101 and 104A-E or the equivalent must be taken after you have completed 84 units of transferable degree credit.
If your transfer work does not include an acceptable English composition course taken after you had completed or accumulated 84 units, you may fulfill the requirement by examination (see below) or take English 101, 102 or 104A-E at UC Davis.
English Composition Examination. This academic year, the no-fee examination will be offered on the following Saturday mornings:
October 26, 1996; January 25, 1997; April 26, 1997
There are no examinations given during the summer. Sign-up rosters will be posted on the bulletin board near the main English Department office (176 Voorhies), Monday until noon on Friday (or until they are filled) just preceding each Saturday examination date. You must sign up, in person, by Friday. The English Composition Examination form, available at the UCD Bookstore, is required.
The College Breadth Requirement promotes the intellectual growth of students by asking them to acquire a broader background of knowledge than is provided by the usual major. The Breadth requirement also guides students in exploring the interdependence of knowledge and, in the case of the A.B. degree, provides students the opportunity to become acquainted with performance in the fine arts.
A.B. degree--satisfaction of the campus General Education requirements plus completion of one of the following options:
The Letters and Science faculty believes that the completion of a certified minor is often the best way for a student to obtain structure and coherence in pursuit of intellectual breadth.
For the purposes of options a and b above, all courses are considered as approved except: courses bearing less than 3 units of credit, internship courses, non-standard courses, directed group study courses and courses used to satisfy the College English Composition Requirement.
B.S. degree--a total of 90 units in natural sciences/mathematics; and satisfaction of the General Education requirement.
Courses numbered 92, 97T, 97TC, 98, 192, 197T, 197TC, 198, and from 200 through 499 cannot be counted toward satisfaction of the natural sciences/mathematics Area requirements. A maximum of 10 units in special study courses (99, 194H, 199) may be counted toward that portion of the Area requirements. Courses used to satisfy the English Composition and Foreign Language requirements may not be counted toward the area requirement. Subject to the restrictions just listed, courses acceptable for fulfilling the 90-unit natural sciences/mathematics area requirement are as follows:
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
A.B. and B.A.S. degrees--the 15-unit level or the equivalent in one language.
B.S. degree--none.
Acceptable Languages. The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied in any language offered at UC Davis, or for which transfer credit is allowed from another academic institution (including American Sign Language).
You may also satisfy this requirement by examination in a language not offered on the Davis campus. In this case, the Dean's Office will assist you in making arrangements to take an examination on another University of California campus, with a faculty member who teaches the language in question.
Satisfaction of the Requirement. Plan to complete the Foreign Language Requirement by the end of your first or second year, as program priorities permit. This is particularly important if you plan to apply for the university's Education Abroad Program. The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by examination or completion of languag e courses as follows:
1. Foreign Language Placement Test. This test does not yield unit credit--it only determines whether the Foreign Language requirement has been met, or at which point in the language sequence you should enroll.
You may validate your knowledge of a language learned in high school by taking this test. A test may not be taken, however, in a language for which you have already received degree credit. If you are a transfer student, consult your Graduation Requirement Degree Check, which is issued by the Dean's Office within a quarter after enrollment.
2. College Board Achievement Test. Earning a qualifying score of at least 550 on a College Board Foreign Language Achievement Test satisfies the requirement. This test may be taken at any time during your high school career. Once your score is on file at the Undergraduate Admissions Office, notify the Letters and Science Dean's Office so th at satisfaction of the College requirement can be noted on your record.
3. College Board Advanced Placement Examination. A score of 5, 4, or 3 on any foreign language College Board Advanced Placement Examination, with the exception of Latin, taken in high school will satisfy the Foreign Language requirement.
4. Course Completion in College (or the equivalent). A.B. degree--15-unit level in one language (e.g., Spanish 3 or Japanese 3). B.S degree--as required in the major program.
If you have successfully completed (C or better) the second or third year of a language in the tenth or higher grade in high school you may receive unit credit for course 1 of that language on a P/NP grading basis only. Although a passing or nonpassing grade will be charged to your P/NP option, no petition is required. [See "Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) Grading" in the Academic Information section.]
5. Proficiency Examination. If you have not completed the required level language course, but assume you have attained equivalent knowledge, you may satisfy the language requirement by passing a proficiency examination. For more information consult the appropriate foreign language department.
Requirements for major programs are described in the Programs and Courses section of this catalog. These requirements are fulfilled by completing a major program offered by a teaching department or program committee in the College of Letters and Science (see the list of majors) or an individual major program approved by the College's Committee on Individual Majors.
No more than 6 units in internship courses (numbered 92, 192, or similar internship courses), may be accepted in satisfaction of the requirements of major programs. Courses numbered 97T, 97TC, 197T and 197TC do not satisfy unit or course requirements in the major.
Before the beginning of your senior year, take some time to consider your goals and to plan the academic program for your final year as an undergraduate. To plan properly and to ensure that you get the most out of your remaining education and complete all graduation requirements as well, you should know what requirements remain unsatisfied. To help you in these efforts, the Letters and Science Advising Office provides informational materials and instructions on how to evaluate your progress on college and university requirements. You should also obtain a check of major requirements from your faculty adviser.
Once you have completed 135 units of degree credit, you should contact the Letters and Science Advising Office and your faculty adviser for a degree check. The Letters and Science Advising Office will provide each student with one official degree check summarizing your progress in fulfilling college and university requirements. You may request thi s degree check anytime during your final four regular quarters of registration before graduation.
On occasion, the faculty makes changes in the requirements that students must satisfy to obtain the baccalaureate degree. So that you will not be penalized by changes that may work to your disadvantage and so that you will benefit by changes that assist you in completing your degree requirements, it is College policy that you may choose to fulfill the university and College requirements (see General Education requirement for an exception) as stated in any UC Davis General Catalog in effect at any time you were registered in a postsecondary institution of higher education (i.e., community college, college, or university). Once you have chosen the year of the General Catalog under which you wish to be governed, you must satisfy all of the university and college requirements specified in that catalog.
With respect to the completion of your major requirements, most of the majors in the College of Letters and Science require completion of the major degree requirements in effect at the time you officially declared your major. However, because departments differ in how they handle these matters, check with the department or major program office if you have any questions about which requirements apply to you.
Undergraduate programs offered by the College of Letters and Science.
Bachelor's Degree Requirements for the
We welcome your comments.
UC Davis 1996-97 Online General Catalog