General Education Requirements

General Education for Undergraduate Students

At CSULB, General Education is an important part of the undergraduate educational experience. A well-planned General Education program of study will provide students with the skills they will need to excel in whatever disciplines they choose to pursue.

College students all across the United States complete a GE program toward becoming a well-educated person. General Education is the key to a most successful future. A well-planned GE program of study provides students with the skills they will need to excel in whatever discipline(s) they choose to pursue. Employers are hiring and promoting people who have more than just knowledge in a discipline; they are looking for people who can do things like write and speak clearly, solve problems, work well in diverse teams, and make ethical decisions. These are some of the essential skills of GE. As a successful student, one of your responsibilities is to seek out information to work with advisors to plan to take a set of GE courses that best suits your current interests and future directions.

This site offers much of the information needed to build your best GE Program. The links below provide further information on the importance of General Education, as well as information on requirements and approved courses.

2021 General Education
Students who began continuous enrollment in Fall 2021 or later at CSULB, a California Community College, or other California State University must follow this pattern.
2019 General Education Designation Changes
In 2018, CSULB aligned our GE requirements with Executive Order 1100 from the CSU Chancellor’s Office. Students who began continuous enrollment in Fall 2018 or later at a California Community College or other California State University must follow this pattern.
2018 General Education
Students who first enrolled at CSULB in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019 must follow this pattern.
2012 General Education
Students who began continuous enrollment in Fall 2012 or later at a California Community College or other California State University must follow this pattern.
2008 General Education
Students who began continuous enrollment between 2008 and Spring 2011 can follow this pattern or may elect the 2012 pattern.
1999 General Education
Students who began continuous enrollment between 1999 and Spring 2008 at a California Community College or other California State University can follow this pattern or may elect the 2012 pattern.
University Center for Undergraduate Advising
Students enrolled prior to 1999 or with questions related to the appropriate General Education pattern should contact the University Center for Undergraduate Advising.

Why do Students Have to Take GE Courses?

Students may enter college with a specific major in mind, but no matter what they will call themselves professionally, EVERYONE needs some of the same skills to be a well-educated person. EMPLOYERS will expect you to solve problems and make good decisions using complex information, to act ethically, to contribute to a team of diverse people, and to communicate your ideas effectively in writing and in speech. You are also becoming a citizen of our diverse democracy and of the world. Fellow citizens in each COMMUNITY for which you are a member will expect you to contribute productively to society and to make responsible decisions.

Leading experts in higher education as well as many large companies who seek to employ the best college graduates have worked together to define the most desirable skills. These skills are the outcome statements below. Notice that ‘knowledge’ is only one aspect of the most desirable skills.

See the GE Learning Outcomes available from the CSULB Academic Senate for information on Student Learning Outcomes.

Only courses on the General Education Master Course List at the time the student takes the course shall count for General Education.

Major courses and campus-wide required courses that are approved for GE credit shall also fulfill (double count for) for GE requirement for students entering in Fall 2018. Students who entered prior to Fall 2018 must take a minimum of thirty-five (35) units outside the student's major. Courses in the major department include all courses housed in the department offering the major, regardless of prefix. (For example, courses in French and Italian are in the same department.)

A cross-categorized course may be counted (at the student's option) in any one of the approved categories A- E, but not in more than one. Where appropriate exams exist, Foundation and Explorations requirements may be met by external examinations, such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams. Students are also required to take a Writing Intensive course

Students are expected to complete the Upper Division General Education requirement at CSULB. An exception will be made for students who transfer from another CSU campus after completing some of the upper-division GE requirement at that campus. To be accepted toward this requirement at CSULB, the transfer course must be approved for upper division general education credit at the campus offering the course. Other courses may be used, on an individual basis, to meet the requirement if they are approved for General Education at the campus offering the course and if the purpose of the course meets the criteria for a CSULB Upper Divison General Education course.

Students who transfer from baccalaureate institutions other than the CSU after completing upper-division General Education courses may petition to have one or more such courses accepted toward the requirement. Such petitions will be evaluated on the basis of the criteria above.

Electing a Different General Education Pattern
A new General Education pattern is effective Fall 2018. Students who enter Fall 2018 or later must follow this pattern unless they hold catalog rights to a prior General Education pattern. Students who are under a prior General Education pattern may elect to complete the new pattern. Students should see an advisor in the University Center for Undergraduate Advising or their respective department/program area prior to making this decision. The advisor can file an Advisor Request electronically to formally request the change with Enrollment Services.

Monitoring Progress
Students should regularly run their Academic Requirements Report on MyCSULB to monitor their completion of all degree requirements including General Education. The report is updated with the latest enrollment changes including grades, transfer credit evaluations, and advisor approved adjustments every time it is generated. For assistance in understanding the report see "Using Academics - Progress to Degree."

Finding Courses
Students can find courses that meet General Education requirements by the following:

Review the list of General Education Approved Courses
Browse the Schedule of Classes. This list is updated nightly and includes courses sorted by General Education requirement.
Search for Classes on MyCSULB. The 'Catalog search' will display current information including course descriptions, pre-requisites and the GE requirements the course is certified to meet. The Additional Search Criteria allows you to search for GE classes being offered in a GE category. The 'Class Search' will also display current enrollment status information. Here is a sample catalog result from MyCSULB:

For More Assistance
The University Center for Undergraduate Advising and other special program and advising centers are great resource for students who need assistance navigating the General Education requirements.

Beginning Fall 2008, the General Education course list is maintained on the CSU web site and contains all currently certified courses. The list below reflects courses offered Fall 2008 or after which are not currently active reflecting the period when they were eligible for GE credit.

Previous Courses No Longer Certified
Subject/ Number	Title	GE Category	GE Designation	Begin Term	End Term
A/ST 300I	TRADITIONAL ASIA	C3, D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Global	Fall 1988	Winter 2011
A/ST 301I	MODERN ASIA	D2	Capstone / Interdisciplinary; Global	Fall 1988	Winter 2011
A/ST 334	EAST ASIAN LIT AND CULTURES	C2a	Explorations	Fall 1988	Winter 2011
AFRS 205	INTRO TO AFRICAN AMER LIT	C2a	Explorations	Fall 2001	Winter 2015
AFRS 304	THE AFRICAN COLONIAL EXPERIENCE	D2		Spring 1993	Winter 2014
ARAB 250	ARABIC FOR ARABIC SPEAKERS	C2	Explorations	Spring 2007	Winter 2015
ASAM 221	CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ASIAN AMERICA	D2	Explorations	Fall 2003	Fall 2014
BIOL 111 / 111L	INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION/ DIVERSITY	B1a	Explorations	Fall 2008	Summer 2010
BIOL 211A	BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES I	B1a	Explorations	Fall 1995	Summer 2009
BIOL 211C	BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES LABORATORY	B1a	Explorations	Spring 1999	Summer 2009
BIOL 3091	HUMAN BODY AND MIND	E		Fall 2000	Summer 2009
C/LA 314I	INTRO TO CONTEMPORARY EUROPE	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 1993	Summer 2009
C/LA 315I	CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN SOCIETY	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 1993	Summer 2009
CHIN 111	ACCELERATED CHINESE HERITAGE STUDENTS I	C2C		Fall 2005	Winter 2015
CHIN 211	ACCELERATED CHINESE HERITAGE STUDENTS II	C2C		Fall 2005	Winter 2015
CLSC 3301	PIRATES, MERCHANTS, AND MARINES	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2007	Summer 2009
COMM 171	VOICE & APPLIED SPEAKING	A2	Foundation	Fall 1992	Summer 2012
CWL 336	SOUTHEAST ASIAN LIT AND CULTURES	C2a	Explorations	Fall 2004	Summer 2009
ED P 373	NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: Interaction of Mind and Body	C1,D2, E	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 1997	Winter 2016
EDSE 490	THE POLITICS OF DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA & ITS AFTERMATH	D2	Human Diversity; Capstone/Service Learning	Spring 2010	Spring 2010
ES P 300I	ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Global Issues	Spring 2005	Winter 2012
ETEC 100	TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING	E		Fall 2006	Spring 2012
FIN 309	CONSUMER IN LEGAL & ECON ENVIRON	D2, E		Spring 2009	Summer 2016
GEOG 322	GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH AMERICA	D2		Fall 2006	Winter 2014
HIST 346	THE EUROPEAN CINEMA OF COMMUNISM, FASCISM, AND RESISTANCE	C2A, D2	Global Issues, Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2004	Summer 2015
HIST 347	TRADITION & CRISIS: JEWS OF EASTERN EUROPE	D2	Global Issues	Spring 2006	Summer 2013
JAPN 370	JAPAN LITERATURE ENGLISH TRANSLATION	C2a		Spring 2008	Winter 2014
JOUR 220	UNDERSTANDING NEWS MEDIA	D2	Explorations	Spring 2008	Winter 2012
JOUR 311	REPORTING AND INFORMATION GATHERING		Writing Intensive	Fall 2004	Winter 2015
KIN 332	SOCIOCULTRAL DIMENSIONS OF SPORT & HUMAN MOVEMENT	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary		Summer 2013
MATH 108	STATISTICS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE	B2	Foundation	Fall 2007	Winter 2010
MATH 117	PRECALCULUS MATHEMATHICS	D2	Foundation	Spring 1997	Winter 2014
MICR 101	INTRO TO HUMAN DISEASE	B1ANL			Summer 2016
MICR 200	GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS	B1a	Explorations		Summer 2016
MICR 300I	HUMAN IMMUNOLOGY SELF DEFENSE	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 1989	Summer 2012
NRSG 481I	PARENTING	D2,E	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2004	Spring 2009
NSCI 309	WOMEN IN SCIENCE	BIaNL, B1bNL, D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 1998	Summer 2014
NSCI 375	Science and Society	B1aNL, B1bNL	Interdisciplinary	Fall 1998	Winter 2016
PHIL 362I	ETHICS AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY	C2b	Explorations	Spring 1997	Summer 2009
PHIL 452I	LAW, PHILOSOPHY & HUMANITIES	C2b	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 1996	Fall 2009
POSC 210	ISSUES OF AMERICAN POLITICS	D2		Fall 2001	Fall 2013
POSC 215	ISSUES OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS	D2	GLOBAL	Fall 2001	Fall 2013
POSC 220	ISSUES IN GLOBAL POLITICS	D2	GLOBAL	Spring 1988	Fall 2013
PROF 388I	TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY	E	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2006	Summer 2010
PROF 417I	TECHNOLOGY, ETHICS & SOCIETY	D2	Global; Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2006	Summer 2010
PROF 457I	WORKING AROUND THE WORLD	D2	Global; Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2006	Summer 2010
PSY 370I	ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY	D2, E	Explorations	Fall 2006	Summer 2009
PSY 375I	COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 2003	Summer 2009
R/ST 338	MEDIEVAL THOUGHT IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM	C2b	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Fall 2005	Spring 2013
R/ST 339I	THE QUR'AN	C2b	Explorations	Fall 2007	Summer 2009
R/ST 485	CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS THOUGHT	C2b	Explorations	Fall 1988	Fall 2013
RUSS 101A	FUNDAMENTALS OF RUSSIAN	C2c	Explorations	Spring 1988	Fall 2013
RUSS 101B	FUNDAMENTALS OF RUSSIAN	C2c	Explorations	Fall 1988	Fall 2013
RUSS 201A	INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN	C2c	Explorations	Fall 1988	Fall 2013
RUSS 201B	INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN	C2c	Explorations	Fall 1988	Fall 2013
U/ST 301	THE URBAN SCENE	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 2008	Winter 2014
W/ST 101	WOMEN & THEIR BODIES	E	Explorations	Fall 1988	Summer 2009
W/ST 102	WOMEN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY	D2	Explorations	Fall 1988	Summer 2009
W/ST 307I	US WOMEN & ECON-MONEY SEX PWR	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Human Diversity	Fall 1997	Summer 2009
W/ST 309I	WOMEN IN SOCIETY	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Spring 1999	Summer 2009
W/ST 318I	U S WOMEN OF COLOR	C2a, D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Human Diversity	Spring 2004	Summer 2009
W/ST 319	ETHNIC EXPERIENCE IN US	D2	Human Diversity	Fall 1993	Summer 2009
W/ST 365I	POP CULT:WOMEN, GEND,SEXUALITY	C3, D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Human Diversity	Spring 2004	Summer 2009
W/ST 382	WOMEN AND LITERATURE	C2a	Explorations	Fall 1988	Summer 2009
W/ST 401I	BODIES AND BORDERS	D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary, Global Issues	Fall 1999	Summer 2009
W/ST 424	WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE	D2	Global Issues	Spring 2003	Summer 2009
WGSS 309	WOMEN IN SCIENCE	B1aNL, B1aNL, D2	Capstone/ Interdisciplinary	Summer 1998	Winter 2014

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