Academic Advising Center

General Education

What is General Education?

The General Education (GE) requirements at CSULB are the University's attempt to ensure that you have acquired a certain breadth of knowledge and vision and certain critical skills during your years in the University. You follow the GE pattern in effect when you entered CSULB unless you previously attended another college or university. In that case, you may be under a different GE pattern (see below for the different GE patterns). Your admissions notice and your academic advisor can assist you in determining which GE pattern you should follow.

Note: A list of approved current and past GE courses can be found at http://www.csulb.edu/depts/enrollment/registration/ge_courses/index.html

Catalog Rights

What are "catalog rights" and how do they affect GE and the major?

Undergraduates acquire the right to use the degree requirements specified in a particular Catalog by maintaining continuous attendance, that is, attendance at a California Community College, a California State University, or a University of California (or a combination of these) for at least one semester or two quarters each calendar year. As long as students maintain this attendance in California public institutions, they may elect to choose the degree requirements in effect when they began their college careers.

On the other hand however, students can choose other catalogs for degree requirements. They can choose the Catalog in effect when they enter CSULB, when they elect a major, or when they graduate. Students who change majors have rights to the requirements in effect at the time of the new major declaration, or they may choose the Catalog in effect at graduation instead, if they so desire.

Because of these regulations, a student's General Education catalog year may be different from the major requirement catalog year. For example, if a student entered a California Community College in 1985 and transferred to CSULB in 1990, declaring a major at that time, the General Education year is 1985, while the major catalog year is 1990.

Once students have established catalog rights at CSULB, any absence related to an approved medical, military or academic leave, or for attendance at another accredited institution of higher education, anywhere, will not negate the continuous attendance rule provided the absence from CSULB does not exceed two calendar years.

For further information, please see the University Catalog.

Catalog Years

Five different GE catalog years for GE requirements are in effect at CSULB:

a 1979, 40 unit requirement, which does not require the upper division GE requirement (The upper division requirement is required of students who have not maintained continuous enrollment.);
a Fall 1981 through Spring 1985, 51 unit requirement which includes nine upper division GE units including six units of Interdisciplinary ("I") coursework;
a Fall 1985 through Spring 1993, 51 unit requirement, including nine upper division GE units (including six units of "I"), which adds an international component;
a Fall 1993 pattern which includes nine upper division GE units (including six units of "I"), and adds, in addition, a Human Diversity (HD) requirement;
a Fall 1999, 51 unit GE pattern which sequences skills-building courses as pre- and co-requisites for all other GE courses and includes nine upper division GE CAPSTONE units.

Transfer students from CCC, CSU, or UC follow the appropriate GE catalog years and requirements according to the "Continuous Attendance" ruling for graduation requirements. Currently, out-of-state or private school transfers follow the Fall 1999 GE requirements as do new entering freshmen.

Returning students, including adult re-entry students, may have exceptions to the catalog rights rule. See the academic advisors in the Academic Advising Center for information.

How do CSULB policies concerning absences or leaves affect the "continuous attendance" ruling? Students do not break the continuous attendance rule if they have an approved educational leave or a medical leave. Other returning CSULB students may also be considered in continuous attendance if they are absent for up to two calendar years, providing they attend another accredited institution (public or private, Title 5 or Non-Title 5, in California or elsewhere during this period.)

For details regarding your catalog year, refer to the University Catalog for the academic year in which you were admitted.

Five GE Patterns

In the CSULB Admission Notice , notification of your GE catalog year will state "1979," "1981," "1985," "1993," or "1999."

1979 GE pattern - Is a 40 unit pattern which contains two Natural Science courses (one with lab), two Social and Behavioral Science courses, one Fine Arts course, one Humanities course, two basic communications courses, one English Composition course, one US History course, one Political Science course (US Constitution, California State and Local Government) and eight optional elective units. (These students are not required to take the nine unit upper division GE requirement. The upper division requirement is required of students who have not maintained continuous enrollment.) See General Education Rulings for those who do and do not. SPECIAL NOTE: Only a few California Community College transfer students are under this option.

1981 GE pattern - The 1981 GE pattern is a 51 unit requirement, which includes nine upper division GE units (includes six units of "I" courses), divided into Categories A - F:

A: Communication in the English Language and Critical Thinking, 9 units.
B: Physical Universe, Science and Math, 12 units.
C: Humanities and the Arts, 12 units.
D: Social and Behavioral Sciences and their Historical Background (which includes US History and three Social and Behavioral Science courses), 12 units.
E: Self Integration, 3 units.
F: Citizenship (U.S. Constitution and Ideals), 3 units.

1985 GE pattern - This 51 unit pattern, includes nine upper division GE units (includes six units of "I" courses), is divided into Categories A - E, and is the same as the 1981 pattern until Category D. Notice that Category D now contains 15 units because it has combined the former Category F (US Constitution and Ideals) into Category D, eliminating an "F" Category completely. In addition, a minimum of three units of course work in non-western international studies has been added, becoming at least one designated course of the three Social and Behavioral Science courses in that area.

1993 GE pattern - This pattern is the same as the 1985 GE pattern with one major addition; a Human Diversity (HD) requirement is added. Students under this pattern are required to take one (3 unit) HD course before graduation. They are specified in the Schedule of Classes and denoted with a (diamond symbol).

1999 GE Pattern - This pattern is the same as the 1993 GE pattern with a few minor exceptions. The World Societies and Cultures requirement is deleted from Category D and becomes a broad Global Issues requirement taken in Categories B - E. Human Diversity (HD) remains while the nine unit upper division GE requirement becomes CAPSTONE.

Upper Division General Education

All students must take nine upper division units at CSULB and are taken after students reach junior (60 units) status. The 1999 GE requirement specifies the nine unit upper division requirement are CAPSTONE which includes Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary, advanced skills (no more than three units), service learning courses (no more than three units), and linked courses. Important information about CAPSTONE are found in the CSULB Catalog. 1979 transfers need not take the nine unit upper division requirement.

Important information about the nine unit upper division units needed in GE:

Students who have been certified , that is have met a 39 unit General Education transfer pattern at a California Community College (CCC), can take the required nine upper division units of GE course work anywhere on the General Education patterns.

Students who have not been certified from a CCC, or are transferring to CSULB from any accredited college or university, should use their nine upper division units (six of which must be "I" units) to fill their GE pattern holes, that is, where they have unit deficiencies. Eventually, transfers will use CAPSTONE courses to complete their CSULB GE requirements. For example, students may transfer courses that fit under Categories C1 and C2. They, however, may be unable to fit a course under C3. That is a "hole" in their pattern. An "I" course or an upper division GE course can fit there, thereby completing Category C.

Student should use the nine units of upper division GE requirements to fill in as many "holes" as possible.

Transfer CCC students can be unsure of their certification status. Their transcripts may or may not reflect certification.

GE Waiver Information for Engineering Majors

Engineering students (including Computer Engineering), except Computer Science Majors Code 3-4011, may waive six units of GE as follows:

Three (3) units must be waived from Category D2.
Another three(3) units may be waived from Category B1a, Category C3, or Category E.
Upper division GE course requirements may not be waived.

For other information regarding this waiver, contact the College of Engineering's Recruitment and Retention Center at (562) 985-1800.