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The Subject ("A-G") Requirement
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- What does "a-g" mean?
- If a student received a D in 9th-grade English, can he meet the four-year "b" requirement by taking a UC-approved course in mythology in the 12th grade along with another English course -- since he technically wouldn't have four years of English?
- A student transferred to our high school in the middle of the year, after successfully completing the first semester of European History. We do not have a European History course, so we placed him in World History for second semester. Will the two courses fulfill UC's World History requirement for admission?
- Does AP Environmental Science meet UC's "d" laboratory science requirement?
- If a student completes an English Linguistics class at UC Riverside, will that count toward meeting her high school "b" requirement?
- I have a student who took Algebra 1 and Geometry in middle school. In high school, he has taken Algebra 2 and Trigonometry. As a senior, he is enrolled in AP Statistics but wants to drop it. If he does, will he have enough math to be UC eligible?
- Will AP Calculus or AP Statistics validate the three-year math requirement if this is all a student takes in high school? How will this affect the student's GPA?
- If a student took the AP Calculus exam without taking the class and scored a 3 or above, will this meet the three-year math requirement? How will this affect the student's GPA?
- I have a student who has taken AP Biology and Marine Biology. Will his admission be jeopardized if he hasn't taken physics?
- Are American Sign Language courses acceptable to fulfill the language other than English ("e") requirement?
- A student completed his first two years of high school in the Philippines, where the language of instruction was Tagalog. Will the two years of Tagalog satisfy the first two years of the "b" requirement?
- If the prerequisite for Spanish 1B at a community college is two years of high school Spanish, can it be assumed that Spanish 1A is equivalent to two years of high school Spanish and therefore meets the "e" requirement for freshman applicants?
- Could a freshman applicant take both semesters of a yearlong Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) course (e.g., Dance A and Dance B) in the same semester to satisfy the VPA requirement?
- Can a student take a UC-approved art course out of order, taking the second semester in the spring, followed by the first semester next fall?
- Do one semester of jazz dance and one semester of choreography satisfy the yearlong Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) requirement?
- A student took a visual and performing arts course as a junior, when it was UC-approved. The course is no longer approved. Has she satisfied the VPA requirement?
- I have a student who has taken only 0.5 credits in performing arts. He is a very strong student academically and has met all other admission requirements. Is it imperative that he take another drama class?
- One of my students completed one semester of ceramics at our school and then one semester of Music Fundamentals (2 semester units) at a community college. Will this satisfy her VPA requirement?
- What community college courses satisfy the VPA requirement for high school students?
- Do courses such as Madrigals and Concert Choir count toward the entire yearlong VPA course requirement even though these classes are not listed as 1A/1B?
- I have a student who has taken two semesters of Concert Band, but at the school she comes from they offer Marching Band the first semester (which they count as PE credit) and Concert Band the second semester (which they count as art credit). Can both second-semester Concert Band classes count as one year of performing arts? Or would the full-year Marching Band/Concert Band combination fulfill this requirement?
- Would a student's involvement in competitive dance for many years be an acceptable substitute for the yearlong VPA ("f") requirement?
- Our high school recently obtained WASC accreditation, but we do not yet have an approved "a-g" course list. How will this affect our seniors who want to apply to UC?
- I read that the mean number of "a-g" courses taken by admitted freshmen was 46.2. What do you mean by this?
- Can students use courses taken away from their home high schools to meet the "a-g" requirement?
- Some of our students take calculus or statistics at a community college. Our
high school refuses to give them high school credit for these classes.
Do these classes still qualify the students for UC admission even if the classes are not listed on the high school transcript?
What does "a-g" mean?
The "a-g" subjects are history/social science, English, mathematics, laboratory science, language other than English, visual and performing arts, and college-preparatory electives. UC labels them by the letters "a-g" rather than numbers or some other labeling system.
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A student transferred to our high school in the middle of the year, after successfully completing the first semester of European History. We do not have a European History course, so we placed him in World History for second semester. Will the two courses fulfill UC's World History requirment for admission?
Yes. UC requires a year of world history, European history, or world history, geography and cultures, but the two semesters of the year do not need to be listed as one yearlong course on the school's UC-approved course list. More on this and other "a-g" subject requirements can be found here.
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If a student received a D in 9th-grade English, can he meet the four-year "b" requirement by taking a UC-approved course in mythology in the 12th grade along with another English course -- since he technically wouldn't have four years of English?
Yes, as long as it's an approved course, the student would have satisfied the "b" requirement of four years of English. He technically would have completed four years of English, even though two of those courses were completed in the 12th grade.
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Does AP Environmental Science meet UC's "d" laboratory science requirement?
Yes. The University considers AP Environmental Science to be an interdisciplinary course, and would allow the student to take any other laboratory science course from one of the three foundational subjects - biology, chemistry or physics - to satisfy the two-year laboratory science subject requirement.
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If a student completes an English Linguistics class at UC Riverside, will that count toward meeting her high school "b" requirement?
The University expects reading and writing to be part of a college-preparatory English course, and the reading is expected to include full-length works. Normally, a linguistics course would not satisfy the "b" requirement but would be considered a "g" elective.
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I have a student who took Algebra 1 and Geometry in middle school. In high school, he has taken Algebra 2 and Trigonometry. As a senior, he is enrolled in AP Statistics but wants to drop it. If he does, will he have enough math to be UC eligible?
The UC math requirement calls for three years; four years are recommended. Since the student has taken Algebra I and II, Geometry and Trigonometry, he has satisfied the requirement. Depending on his intended major, however, AP Statistics could make him a more competitive applicant unless he doesn't expect to do well in it.
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Will AP Calculus or AP Statistics validate the three-year math requirement if this is all a student takes in high school? How will this affect the student's GPA?
Statistics would validate Algebra I and II but not Geometry. Calculus validates the entire math requirement. Courses not taken (Algebra I and II, Geometry) would not count in the GPA.
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If a student took the AP Calculus exam without taking the class and scored a 3 or above, will this meet the three-year math requirement? How will this affect the student's GPA?
A score of 3 or above on the AP Calculus exam clears the entire requirement. The grade point average would not be affected; courses not taken are not calculated in the GPA.
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I have a student who has taken AP Biology and Marine Biology. Will his admission be jeopardized if he hasn't taken physics?
For the two-year science requirement, students must take courses that cover two of these three core disciplines: biology, chemistry and physics. The student would not be eligible because both of his science courses are from the same discipline. He could take either chemistry or physics to fulfill the requirement.
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Are American Sign Language courses acceptable to fulfill the language other than English ("e") requirement?
Yes. Please see this page about "a-g" courses.
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A student completed his first two years of high school in the Philippines, where the language of instruction was Tagalog. Will the two years of Tagalog satisfy the first two years of the "b" requirement?
Yes. Courses in the student's native language are given credit for the English ("b") requirement. The student will need to take two years of English in the United States to complete the requirement.
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If the prerequisite for Spanish 1B at a community college is two years of high school Spanish, can it be assumed that Spanish 1A is equivalent to two years of high school Spanish and therefore meets the "e" requirement for freshman applicants?
Yes, if the prerequisite for Spanish 1B is Spanish 1A or two years of high school Spanish, 1A would meet the "e" requirement.
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Could a freshman applicant take both semesters of a yearlong Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) course (e.g., Dance A and Dance B) in the same semester to satisfy the VPA requirement?
If the course is on the course list as a yearlong course, the University will accept it even if the student takes both semesters concurrently.
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Can a student take a UC-approved art course out of order, taking the second semester in the spring, followed by the first semester in the fall?
No. A student doesn't have to complete the entire VPA requirement in one year, but if he or she takes a single yearlong course, it must be in sequence.
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Do one semester of jazz dance and one semester of choreography satisfy the yearlong Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) requirement?
Yes, but only if jazz dance/choreography is listed on your school's UC-certified course list as one yearlong course and not two separate semester courses.
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A student took a visual and peforming arts course as a junior, when it was UC-approved. The course is no longer approved. Has she satisfied the VPA requirement?
Yes. If the courses was on the school's UC-approved course list when she took it, ti will be accepted.
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I have a student who has taken only 0.5 credits in performing arts. He is a very strong student academically and has met all other admission requirements. Is it imperative that he take another drama class?
The student must complete the Subject Requirement, including VPA, in order to be eligible in the statewide context (read about eligibility requirements). In order to be eligible, the student must take either:
- A UC-transferable (per www.assist.org) community college course of 3 semester (4 quarter) units in a VPA discipline; or
- Another semester of drama at his school, assuming that the 0.5 credit he has completed is in drama, the course he has taken and the course he will be taking are a single yearlong course, and the course is on your school's UC-approved course list as satisfying the VPA requirement.
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One of my students completed one semester of ceramics at our school and then one semester of Music Fundamentals (2 semester units) at a community college. Will this satisfy her VPA requirement?
No. For a college course to satisfy the VPA requirement, it must be at least 3 semester units, be transferable to UC and fall within the four disciplines of VPA (dance, drama/theater, music or visual art). The Music Fundamentals course does not have enough units to satisfy the requirement. The student should take a 3-unit community college course in the spring. (Check www.assist.org to make sure the course is transferable to UC.)
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What community college courses satisfy the VPA requirement for high school students?
Any transferable course of 3 semester (4 quarter) units that clearly falls within one of the four visual arts/performing arts disciplines (dance, drama/theater, music or visual art) will satisfy the VPA requirement. For courses at a specific community college, check www.assist.org.
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Do courses such as Madrigals and Concert Choir count toward the entire yearlong VPA course requirement even though these classes are not listed as 1A/1B?
No. The courses would have to be listed as a single yearlong course on your school's UC-certified course list.
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I have a student who has taken two semesters of Concert Band, but at the school she comes from they offer Marching Band the first semester (which they count as PE credit) and Concert Band the second semester (which they count as art credit). Can both second-semester Concert Band classes count as one year of performing arts? Or would the full-year Marching Band/Concert Band combination fulfill this requirement?
No. To satisfy the VPA requirement, a course must be listed by the school as a one-year arts course in which the second semester builds on the first. Marching Band does not count as an art course because it is listed as PE. Two second-semester Concert Band classes would not count as one year of VPA because they are not listed as a one-year course.
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Would a student's involvement in competitive dance for many years be an acceptable substitute for the yearlong VPA ("f") requirement?
No. UC does not accept private lessons for this requirement. For more information on the "a-g" requirements please see the Doorways website and click on the "a-g" tab.
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Our high school recently obtained WASC accreditation, but we do not yet have an approved "a-g" course list. How will this affect our seniors who want to apply to UC?
While your school completes the process of establishing an "a-g" course list (see UC's Doorways website for more information), your students will have to become eligible by examination alone.
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I read that the mean number of "a-g" courses taken by admitted freshmen was 46.2. What do you mean by this?
This is the average number of semester courses taken by admitted freshmen in grades seven through 12. (Some seventh- and eighth-grade math and language other than English courses count toward the "a-g" total.)
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21. Can students use courses taken away from their home high schools to meet the "a-g" requirement?
Approved "a-g" coursework taken at other California high schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) may be used to satisfy the UC/CSU eligibility requirements. Courses taken at any of the following types of institutions and/or programs are treated differently:
- Non-WASC-accredited California high schools
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WASC-accredited high schools that have not established a UC-certified "a-g" course list
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University extension programs
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Language schools
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Online providers; online courses cannot be used to meet UC's laboratory science ("d") requirement (except those offered through UCCP or Cyber High School) or the visual and performing arts ("f") requirement.
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Foreign exchange programs
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Supplemental learning centers
For coursework completed at any of the above types of institutions/programs to be recognized by UC in the admissions process, the principal of the student's home high school must certify that the course is comparable to other college-preparatory courses offered at the high school. UC expects that such certification follows a careful review of the curriculum and/or testing of ability level by the principal, department chair, district curriculum director or other qualified school or district personnel. The principal designates his or her certification by granting permission for the course to be listed on the student's transcript, along with credits granted and grades earned.
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22. Some of our students take calculus or statistics at a community college. Our high school refuses to give them high school credit for these classes. Do these classes still qualify the students for UC admission even if the classes are not listed on the high school transcript?
Yes, as long as the community college classes are transferable (see ASSIST.org), they count toward UC's Subject Requirement. Students should report this coursework and their grades on their UC applications. If they are admitted, they will be required to provide a community college transcript along with their high school transcript.
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