A-G Courses

• Subject Requirement
  › A-G Courses
• Scholarship Requirement
• Examination Requirement

Most students satiisfy the Subject Requirement by completing 15 yearlong "a-g" courses as outlined in Options for Satisfying UC's A-G Subject Requirements for Freshman Applicants. Seven of the courses must be taken or validated in the last two years of high school.

To be accepted by the University, courses taken to satisfy the Subject Requirement ("a-g" courses) must appear on the official UC-certified course list of the school the student attended, for the year the student took the course. Course titles or transcript abbreviations must appear on the student’s transcript as they appear on the list.

For more information about acceptable courses, see below.

a | History/Social Science

A wide variety of courses may be used to satisfy the required one year of world history, cultures and geography. Courses need not be strictly limited to the topics listed in the subject area, nor do they need to cover every culture or period in the history of mankind. A suitable course could be an in-depth study of a single culture, such as a yearlong study of Chinese civilization. Alternatively, several cultures might be studied and compared, as in more traditional world history, culture and geography courses. An important element of appropriate courses is that the focus be outside the United States and, whenever possible, away from cultures very similar to our own, e.g., England and Canada.

U.S. history courses may present and analyze historical events and movements with a particular focus, such as science and technology in American society or gender and family in American life. Courses should cover the full span of American history and avoid isolating particular groups from the larger society of which they are a part.

b | English

All English courses must require extensive reading of a variety of literary genres, including classical and/or contemporary works. Courses must also require substantial, recurrent practice in writing extensive, structured papers. Students must demonstrate understanding of rhetorical, grammatical and syntactical patterns, forms and structures while responding to texts of varying lengths in unassisted writing assignments. Courses that are appropriate for the final years of high school study should demand a substantially higher level of the requirements and skills outlined above. Courses in creative writing, speech, debate or journalism do not normally satisfy the "b" requirement but may meet the "g" requirement.

For expected competencies in English at the end of the high school years, refer to the Entry Level Writing Requirement website. The website discusses writing standards and provides examples of acceptable freshman-level scored essays. In addition, refer to the Academic Senate's Academic Literacy: A Statement on Competencies Expected of Entering Students to California’s Public Colleges and Universities (Spring 2002).

ELD Courses: English Language Development (ELD) courses may be acceptable for a maximum of one year (two semesters), provided they are advanced college-preparatory English courses, with strong emphasis on reading and writing. Such courses must deal specifically with rhetorical, grammatical and syntactical forms in English — especially those that show cross-linguistic influence — and must provide explicit work in vocabulary development.

c | Mathematics

A mathematics course (e.g., algebra) taken over three or four semesters is acceptable to meet the "c" requirement. Credit will be granted for only one year (two semesters) of work.

For expected competencies at the time of graduation from high school, refer to the Academic Senate's Statement on Competencies in Mathematics Expected of Entering College Students.

d | Laboratory Science

Students should select courses that represent two of the three foundational subjects of biology, chemistry and physics. For example, a student who takes only biology and physiology, or biology and marine biology, would not meet the "d" requirement. Students who choose to satisfy the laboratory science requirement by taking a three-year integrated science program are encouraged to complete the entire sequence.

The last two years of a three-year sequence in integrated science, where rigorous coverage of at least two of the foundational subjects is provided, satisfy this requirement. If the last year of the three-year sequence is not offered by the school, a student may complete the requirement by taking a course in biology, chemistry or physics.

e | Language Other Than English

The minimum performance objectives of two years of high school study of the same language other than English should include:

• The ability to sustain a brief conversation on simple everyday topics demonstrating good use of the whole sound system (good pronunciation) and of the basic structural patterns in past, present and future tenses, subjunctive and commands;
• The ability to summarize, orally and in writing, the main points of a relatively simple reading passage not involving specialized vocabulary.

Emphasis should not be on the ability to describe grammatical features of the language.

Classical languages (such as Latin or Greek) and American Sign Language are acceptable to fulfill the "e" requirement.

Generally, a bilingual student is considered to have met the "e" requirement and may choose not to enroll in courses in a language other than English. Such students may be better served by enrolling in additional electives or, if their English is limited, English as a Second Language. Students who elect not to take courses in a language other than English must satisfy the "e" requirement by one of the methods listed in Options for Satisfying UC's A-G Subject Requirements or document competence in a language other than English as described below.

f | Visual and Performing Arts

Students must satisfy the "f" requirement by completing a single yearlong course from a single visual and performing arts (VPA) discipline. Students may take the course over different academic years, but the course must be taken in sequential order.

Courses should provide students with a meaningful experience and breadth of knowledge of the arts so that they may apply their knowledge and experience to the creation of art and are better able to understand and appreciate artistic expression on the basis of that experience and knowledge. Work outside of class is required: for example, portfolio/performance preparation, reading, writing, research projects and/or critical listening/viewing.

Each VPA course must sufficiently address all five component strands of the California State Board of Education's approved content standards.

The following are not acceptable to meet the VPA requirement: private or community-based study in the arts; courses that are primarily recreational, athletic or body conditioning; and commercial courses or courses specifically designed for training for a profession. Examples of acceptable and non-acceptable courses from the following VPA disciplines are as follows:

• Dance: Acceptable courses include ballet, modern dance, jazz and ethnic dance, choreography and improvisation, dance history and dance production/performance. Examples of unacceptable courses include aerobics, drill team, cheerleading, recreational dance and ballroom dance.
• Drama/Theater: Acceptable courses include acting, directing, oral interpretation, dramatic production, dramaturgy/history/theory and stage/lighting/costume design. Examples of unacceptable courses include speech, debate or courses in other disciplines that require students to perform occasional skits.
• Music: Acceptable courses include band (concert, symphonic, jazz), orchestra, choir (e.g., concert, jazz, soul, madrigal), music history/appreciation and music theory/composition. Examples of unacceptable courses include a musical group that performs primarily for sporting events, parades, competitive field events and/or community/civic activities.
• Visual Art: Acceptable courses include painting, drawing, sculpture, art photography, printmaking, contemporary media, ceramics and art history. Examples of unacceptable courses include craft courses, mechanical drafting, Web page development, yearbook and photography offered as photojournalism (e.g., as a component of yearbook or school newspaper publication). Students who graduated from high school in spring 2005 satisfy the "f" requirement by completing two semesters of approved arts courses from a single VPA discipline. Beginning with 2006 graduates, students must satisfy the "f" requirement by completing a single yearlong course from a single VPA discipline. Though students may take the course over different academic years, it must be taken in sequential order.

g | College-Preparatory Electives

The general objectives of the "g" requirement are to improve students' analytical abilities, promote artistic development and strengthen oral and written skills. The requirement is intended to encourage prospective University students to fill out their high school programs with courses that will meet one or more of the following objectives:

• Strengthen general study skills, particularly analytical reading, expository writing and oral communication;
• Provide an opportunity to begin work that could lead directly into a major program of study at the University;
• Experience, at some depth, new areas of academic disciplines that might form the basis for future major or minor studies at the University.

Courses that fulfill the "g" requirement should allow students to prepare for college-level work in the subject area, so that the level attained at the end of such courses would be well beyond the introductory or survey level. Courses that have narrow objectives aimed at meeting specific societal or personal lifestyle goals are not acceptable.

History: All history courses should require extensive reading and writing. Courses should enable students to establish a breadth of understanding of history (for example, world history, political history or economic history) and should provide an understanding of the human past, including its relation to the present. Courses should develop a student’s ability to think critically, evaluate historical data, and analyze and synthesize evidence.

Social Science: Courses should be in one of the social sciences: anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology or sociology. Alternatively, courses could be interdisciplinary in nature, drawing knowledge from two or more of these fields.

Course objectives should include as many of the following as are applicable to the field:

• An understanding of the development and basic features of major societies and cultures;
• An examination of the historic and contemporary ideas that have shaped our world;
• An understanding of the fundamentals of how differing political and economic systems function;
• An examination of the nature and principles of individual and group behavior;
• Study of social science methodologies.

To develop a student’s ability to think critically, evaluate ideas and information, and analyze and synthesize qualitative and quantitative evidence (in the laboratory and in the field), a social science course must include a body of basic knowledge, extensive reading, and written and oral exposition.

Courses designed to meet state-mandated social studies graduation requirements are acceptable, provided that they meet the above criteria. Courses of an applied, service or vocational character are not acceptable social science electives.

English: All English courses should require substantial reading with frequent and extensive practice in writing that is carefully evaluated and criticized.

Courses in creative writing, journalism, speech or debate are acceptable if they meet these general requirements in reading and writing stated above.

An advanced level English as a Second Language or English Language Development course may be acceptable provided it meets the standards outlined under the "b" requirement.

Advanced Mathematics: Acceptable electives are courses in mathematics with second-year algebra as a prerequisite, such as trigonometry, linear algebra, precalculus (analytic geometry and mathematical analysis), calculus, and probability and statistics. A computer science course is an acceptable mathematics elective if it fulfills the following objectives: The course should enable the student to express algorithms in a standard computer language. By the end of the course, the student should complete substantial programming projects in the language used. The course should also involve the study and mastery of various aspects of computer science: how computers deal with data and instruction, the internal components of a computer and the underlying computer logic.

Laboratory Science: Acceptable courses should cover topics from the biological or physical sciences in which students make their own observations and measurements and analyze the resulting data to obtain further information.

An introductory science course normally offered to ninth-graders (such as earth science or physical science) is an acceptable science elective, provided it is designed to prepare students for laboratory science courses in the 10th grade and beyond. The course must provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of physical and/or biological science. Laboratory activities as defined in the preceding paragraph shall be included. A terminal course designed only to meet graduation requirements is not an acceptable science elective.

Language Other Than English: It is recommended that elective courses be in the same language that is used to satisfy the "e" requirement. Elective courses in this language must have at least two years of the language as a prerequisite. In order for a second language to qualify as an elective, at least the second year of this language must be completed.

Visual & Performing Arts: Advanced courses in the visual and performing arts (VPA) discipline can be considered to meet the "g" requirement, but must still address the five strands of the VPA standards. Advanced courses should enable students to understand and appreciate artistic expression and, where appropriate, to talk and write with discrimination about the artistic material studied.

Courses devoted to artistic performance and developing creative artistic ability should have prerequisites (either one year of introductory coursework or experience approved by the instructor) and should assume proficiency beyond the introductory level. Courses must require on the average the equivalent of a five-period class per week. Work outside of the class must be required (e.g., portfolio/performance preparation, reading, writing, research projects and critical listening/viewing).

Honors-Level Courses: To encourage students to undertake more challenging work at the advanced secondary level, the University assigns extra weight to grades received in honors-level courses. The University uses a very specific and narrow definition of honors-level work, which often differs from the definitions of honors programs offered by high schools. Acceptable UC-certified honors-level courses are specialized, college level courses — such as those offered through the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement programs — normally offered to students in grades 11 and 12. As a policy, the University does not certify ninth- and 10th-grade-level courses as honors courses because they do not meet these requirements.

In general, the University expects students to complete core courses before undertaking advanced, specialized, college-level work. The University therefore limits the number of courses that may be certified as honors level at each school and also limits the amount of credit students may accrue for completion of certified honors-level work.

Most students complete UC-certified honors-level work in grades 11 and 12, although some advanced students may be able to complete these courses as early as grade 10. The University limits the amount of UC-certified honors credit students may receive for work completed in grade 10 to no more than two units (four semesters).

The following courses are considered honors-level courses:

• Advanced Placement (AP) courses that follow the College Board's standardized curriculum in the "a-g" college preparatory subjects that are designed to prepare students for an Advanced Placement Examination of the College Board;
• UC-designated International Baccalaureate (IB) courses offered by schools participating in the IB program;
• High school courses in history, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science, visual and performing arts, and language other than English that are not AP or designated IB courses but are offered by the high school at the honors level;
• College courses in the "a-g" college preparatory subjects that are transferable to the University of California.

Guidelines on the Certification of High School Honors-Level Courses

High school courses should be included on the certified course list as honors-level courses only if they satisfy one or more of the following requirements:

• They are Advanced Placement courses.
• They are designated International Baccalaureate courses.
• In addition to AP and designated IB courses, high schools may certify as honors level courses no more than one unit in each of the following subject areas: history, English, advanced mathematics, each laboratory science, each language other than English and each discipline of the visual and performing arts. If there are no AP courses in a given subject area, the high school may certify no more than two units at the honors level in that area. Exceptions to this rule require strong justification and documentation.
• A high school course that is not an AP or IB course shall be designated an honors-level course only when there is a regular course offered in the same subject area at the same grade level. Exceptions include calculus and courses in languages other than English at the fourth-year level and beyond. Exceptions to this rule require strong justification and documentation.
• Honors-level courses must have established prerequisites and must be open only to students fulfilling those prerequisites. Such prerequisites must specify either courses that are required or appropriate performance levels.
• Honors-level courses must have distinctive features in terms of extended content and additional workload that set them apart from regular high school courses in the same subject.
• Honors-level courses must have comprehensive written final examinations.

Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Courses

Courses in mathematics and languages other than English completed in the seventh and eighth grades with grades of C or better may be counted toward the Subject Requirement. However, the principal of the high school from which a student graduates must certify that the seventh- and eighth-grade courses are comparable in content to those offered at the high school. This may be done by including the names of, units granted and grades for these courses on the student’s transcript. Typically, middle school coursework is validated by higher-level coursework completed at the high school level.

Sheltered/SDAIE Courses

Sheltered/Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) courses may be used to satisfy all areas of the Subject Requirement except the Language Other Than English ("e") requirement. Acceptable sheltered/SDAIE courses must be equivalent in content and skills to comparable courses taught in the same subject area in English. For example, Sheltered Algebra must be equivalent to Algebra 1 to be certified to meet the mathematics ("c") requirement.

High School Summer Session Courses

Courses taken in high school summer sessions may be used to meet the Subject and Scholarship requirements if they are certified by the principal as equivalent to "a-g" courses taken during the regular academic year.

Credit for Courses Not Taken

If a student takes an advanced-level course in a language other than English or mathematics without completing the lower-level course, earning a C or better in the advanced course will validate the missing lower-level course (e.g., a C or better in Spanish 2 validates Spanish 1; a C or better in Algebra 2 validates Algebra 1).

College Courses

Appropriate college courses may be used to meet the Subject Requirement. For details, see Options for Satisfying UC's A-G Subject Requirements for Freshman Applicants.