General Education (GE) Requirements

For complete information, see General Education Requirements. For a list of courses that contain GE attributes and GE search tools, see General Education Search Tool – All Courses.

General Education (GE) Requirements

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 growth by providing knowledge of both the content and the methodologies of different academic disciplines. It involves students in the learning process by its expectation of considerable writing and class participation, and encourages students to consider the relationships between disciplines.

The GE requirement has two components, Topical Breadth and Core Literacies, and is defined in terms of units, not courses.

Topical Breadth Component—52 units

A GE course in topical breadth addresses broad subject areas that are important to the student's general knowledge. The units of most undergraduate courses at UC Davis are assigned to one of the three Topical Breadth Areas.

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.

Core Literacies Component—35 units

The literacies are crucial both for success in one's profession and for a thoughtful, engaged citizenship in the community, nation and world.

Note: In the case of a course that has been certified in more than one Core Literacy Area, a student may count the units of the course in only one of the core literacy areas in which it has been certified.

    Literacy with Words & Images—20 units. The objective of this core literacy is to help students communicate their ideas effectively in written, oral and visual forms. The requirement also seeks to enhance students' critical judgment of oral, written, and visual messages created by others.

  1. English Composition—8 units. As described by College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, College of Engineering, or College of Letters & Science.
  2. Writing Experience coursework in the student's major or in other departments—6 units. Courses in writing experience provide students instruction on how to communicate ideas in the subject matter of the course. The opportunity to improve writing after having received careful commentary is crucial to this requirement.
  3. Oral Skills coursework or additional Writing Experience coursework—3 units. Courses in oral literacy involve effective communication of ideas through oral presentation and build on and strengthen the critical thinking skills exercised through writing. As an alternative to developing oral communication skills, students may take additional coursework certified as writing experience (see requirement b, above).
  4. Visual Literacy coursework—3 units. Courses in visual literacy provide students with the analytical skills they need to understand how still and moving images, art and architecture, illustrations accompanying written text, graphs and charts, and other visual embodiments of ideas inform and persuade people. Coursework may stress the skills needed to communicate through visual means as well as the analytical skills needed to be a thoughtful consumer of visual messages.
  1. American Cultures, Governance, & History—3 units. Courses in American Cultures, Governance, & History provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the social and cultural diversity of the United States and of the relationships between these diverse cultures and larger patterns of national history and institutions.
  2. Domestic Diversity—3 units. Courses in Domestic Diversity provide students with an understanding of issues such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and religion within the United States, and develop the student's ability to think critically about diverse socio-cultural perspectives.
  3. World Cultures—3 units. Courses in World Cultures provide students with a global perspective in a world where communication technologies, economic relationships, and the flow of people across national borders increasingly challenge national identities and create transnational cultures. Students can satisfy this requirement through coursework or through certified study abroad.

Approved General Education Courses

Please note that you cannot claim GE credit for a course you completed before it was an approved GE course.

Additional Conditions

Meeting Total Units Requirement. 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. Course units that satisfy requirements in the candidate's major or majors may also be counted toward satisfaction of General Education requirements.

Grading. Students may take courses P/NP to fulfill their General Education requirements, up to the limits set by college and campus regulations.

Advanced Placement & International Baccalaureate. Students may not present Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit in satisfaction of GE requirements, except insofar as it may be applied to the English Composition component of the Literacy with Words and Images requirement.

Transfer Students who have successfully completed the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) lower division course work are exempt from all General Education requirements that may be met with lower division courses. 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.

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This General Catalog is not a contract nor an offer to enter into a contract. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in this General Catalog, it must be understood that all courses, course descriptions, designations of instructors, curricular and degree requirements and other academic information described herein are subject to change or elimination at any time without notice or published amendment to this catalog. In addition, The University of California reserves the right to make changes at any time, without prior notice, to other programs, policies, procedures, and information, which are described in this General Catalog only as a convenience to its readers. Fees and all other charges are subject to change at any time without notice. Students should consult the appropriate academic or administrative department, school, college, graduate division or other service provider for currently accurate information on any maters described in this General Catalog; contact information is available at http://ucdavis.edu.

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