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GE/ULO Assessment

GE Requirements for 2001 to 2015

General Education (GE) Requirements

  • All Cal Poly students are required to take 72 quarter units of General Education.
  • A minimum of 12 units is required in residence.
  • A minimum of 12 units is required at the upper-division level (8 units upper-division for Engineering Programs).
  • Double Counting Lower-Division: Some majors indicate specific GE courses to fulfill both GE and major & support requirements ( These are listed in the major's curriculum display). Students should consult their academic advisors during freshman year for clarification.
  • Double Counting Upper-Division: Courses from a student's Major department may not be used to fulfill upper-division Arts & Humanities (C4) or upper-division Society and the Individual (D5).
  • All GE courses are 4 units unless otherwise indicated.
  • X = non-unit requirement

Abbreviations in Table Below

  • CAED = College of Architecture & Environmental Design (except ARCE majors)
  • CAFES = College of Agriculture, Food, & Environmental Sciences (except BRAE majors)
  • CLA = College of Liberal Arts CSM = College of Science & Mathematics (except LS majors)
  • ENGR = Majors in: College of Engineering (CENG), BioResource Engineering (BRAE) and Architectural Engineering (ARCE)
  • LS = Liberal Studies Majors LAES = Liberal Arts & Engineering Studies Majors
  • OCOB = Orfalea College of Business

LINE

GE Foundational Learning (Lower-Division Requirements)

Intellectual and Practical Skills, Knowledge of Human Cultures, and Personal and Social Responsibility

Students are encouraged to complete GE Communication (Area A) classes during their freshman year. The three-course Communication sequence provides instruction and practice in the kinds of skills in writing, speaking, and critical thinking that students will need in their later courses. Completion of this sequence is a prerequisite for many other GE classes.

Students are also encouraged to complete their lower-division foundational GE classes in Science and Mathematics (Area B), Arts and Humanities (Area C), and Society and the Individual (Area D) by the end of their sophomore year to give them the skills and knowledge to succeed in all their upper-division classes

  • GE REQUIREMENTS 2013-15 CATALOG
    DESCRIPTION CLA, LAES, LS CAED, CAFES, CSM, OCOB ENGR
    COMMUNICATION (AREA A)
    Sub-Total Area A units    		 12 12 12
    Expository Writing (A1)
    Writing Intensive    		 4 4 4
    Oral Communication (A2) 4 4 4
    Reasoning, Argumentation, and Writing (A3)
    Writing Intensive
    		4 4 4
    *ENGR must take
    ENGL 149
    SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS (AREA B)
    Sub-Total Area B units    		 20 16 28
    Mathematics/Statistics (B1) 8 8 8
    B2 Life Science (B2) 4 4 4
    Engineers must take
    BIO/ENGR 213
    Physical Science (B3) 4 4 4
    One Lab taken with B2 or B3 course (B4) x x x
    Science and Mathematics Elective (B1 - B5)
    (for CLA, LAES, LS students only)    		   4  
    Upper-Division Science and Mathematics (B6)
    (for ENGR only)    		     4
    Designated Science and Mathematics Courses
    (for ENGR only)    		     8
    ARTS AND HUMANITIES (AREA C)
    Sub-Total Area C Lower-Division Units    		 16 12 12
    Literature (C1)
    Writing-Intensive    		 4 4 4
    Philosophy (C2)
    Writing-Intensive    		 4 4 4
    Fine and Performing Arts (C3) 4 4 4
    Arts and Humanities Elective (C1 - C5)
    (For CAED, CAFES, CSM, OCOB students only)
    		 4 4 4
    SOCIETY AND THE INDIVIDUAL (AREA D/E)
    Sub-Total Area D Lower-Division Units    		 16 16 16
    The American Experience (40404) (D1) 4 4 4
    Political Economy (D2) 4 4 4
    Comparative Social Institutions (D3) 4 4 4
    Self Development (D4, CSU Area E) 4 4 4

GE Integrated and Applied Learning(Upper-Division Requirements)

Synthesis and advanced inquiry across disciplines

  • Most majors are required to take an one upper-division Arts and Humanities (C4) course, one upper-division Society and the Individual (D5) course and and one upper-division Technology (F) course.
    (Note: ENGR follows a slightly different pattern in upper-division.) These GE courses are integrative in nature and require students to apply knowledge and understanding acquired in lower-division courses. Courses in these areas achieve depth in an advanced study of a subject to new but related areas of inquiry.
GE REQUIREMENTS 2013-15 CATALOG
Upper-Division CLA, LAES, LS CAED, CAFES, CSM, OCOB ENGR
Sub-Total Upper-Division Units 12 12 4
Arts and Humanities (C4)
Writing Intensive
 4 4 4
Society and the Individual (D5)
Writing Intensive		 4 4  
Technology (F) 4 4  
GE TOTAL UNITS
  CLA, LAES, LS CAED, CAFES, CSM, OCOB ENGR
GE TOTAL UNITS 72 72 72