Skip to main content

Expand-Your-Knowledge.jpg

General Education Requirements

The Warren general education requirements must be completed by all Earl Warren College students in addition to the University requirements

The guiding philosophy and college motto, Toward a Life in Balance, is integrated into these requirements to encourage your exposure to fields outside of your major discipline and to ensure depth and breadth of study. 

General Education Requirements for First Year Students

Warren Writing (2 courses)

A two-course sequence, WCWP 10A and 10B, that must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego.

See more about the Warren College Writing Program.

You must satisfy the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement before enrolling in WCWP 10A.

Ethics and Society (2 courses)

A two-course sequence, PHIL 27 or POLI 27 and PHIL 28 or POLI 28, that must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego. Courses may not overlap with any other general-education requirement.

You may choose to take one class from each department or both classes from the same department.

See more about Ethics and Society

You must complete Warren Writing (WCWP 10A-B) before enrolling in PHIL 27 or POLI 27.

Formal Skills (2 courses)

Two courses in calculus, symbolic logic, computer programming and/or statistics are required. Please choose any two courses from the following list:

  • HDS 60
    MATH 3C, 4C
    MATH 10A or 20A
    MATH 10B or 20B
    MATH 11, 18
    MGT 3
    PHIL 10, 12
    POLI 30 or 30D, 5 or 5D (or Econ 5)
    PSYC 60, 70
    SOCI 60
    LIGN 17
    COGS 3, 8, 14A, 14B
    COGS 18/CSE 7
    CSE 3, 6R, 8A, 8B, 11
    CSS 1, 2
    ECE 5, 15, 25
    MAE 5
    NANO/CENG 15

Courses may overlap with your major, minor, or other general education requirements.

Programs of Concentration (PofCs) or Area Studies

Two Programs of Concentration (PofCs) or Area Studies outside of your major discipline are required.

The major, combined with your two PofCs or Area Studies, must represent all three disciplines:

  1. Humanities and Fine Arts
  2. Natural Sciences, Math, and Engineering
  3. Social Sciences

For more information, see Choosing Programs of Concentrations or Choosing Area Studies.

Contact Warren Advising during walk-in advising or online at http://vac.ucsd.edu to have your choices added to your degree audit. We recommend declaring by the end of your second year.

  • Must be non-contiguous (unrelated) to the major and to each other.
  • Each must contain six four-unit courses, three of which must be upper-division (numbered 100+).
  • At least two courses from each PofC must be taken at UC San Diego.
  • Courses may be taken Pass/Not Pass.
  • Maximum three language courses may be applied to a PofC.
  • Upper-division major or minor courses may not overlap with PofC or other general education requirements.
  • Special Studies Course 195 may not be used for any PofC.
  • Must be non-contiguous (unrelated) to the major and to each other.
  • Each must contain three four-unit courses, two of which must be upper-division (numbered 100+).
  • At least one course from each Area Study must be taken at UC San Diego.
  • Courses may be taken Pass/Not Pass.
  • No more than two language courses may be applied to an Area Study.
  • Upper-division major or minor courses may not overlap with Area Study or other general education requirements.
  • Special Studies Course 195 may not be used for any Area Study.

Optional Minors

A minor may be used in lieu of a PofC or Area Study if it is non-contiguous to your major and your other PofC or Area Study.

A maximum of two upper-division minor courses may overlap with upper-division major courses.

An interdisciplinary minor may count in lieu of a PofC or Area Study if at least four of the minor courses are from the discipline in which the PofC or Area Study will be replaced.

A business minor may be used in lieu of a Social Science PofC or Area Study only when specific, allowable courses are chosen. See a Warren academic advisor for more information.

Cultural Diversity (Students who entered prior to Fall 2011)

Cultural Diversity in U.S. Society is a UC requirement and may overlap with major, minor, PofCs, AS, or other general-education requirements.  The course content to fulfill this requirement must represent cultural diversity within U.S. society.  Transfer courses must be specifically approved for Cultural Diversity.  Courses approximated on assist.org may not necessarily apply.

This requirement can be met with one course from the following:

Humanities and Fine Arts Courses

  • History (HILD) 7A, 7B, 7C
  • United States History (HIUS) 108A, 108B, 109, 117, 124, 128, 130, 131, 134, 135A, 135B, 138, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 164, 166, 167, 168, 173, 176, 180, 183
  • Literature of the Americas (LTAM) 100, 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108
  • Literature/Cultural Studies (LTCS) 50, 100, 125, 130, 131, 132, 135, 150, 160, 172
  • Literatures in English (LTEN) 27, 28, 29, 60, 159, 178, 180, 181, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187
  • Literatures in Spanish (LTSP) 150A, 150B, 151, 153, 154
  • Literatures of the World (LTWL) 155, 160
  • Music (MUS) 8, 13AM, 115, 126, 127A, 127B, 150, 151, 152, 153
  • Philosophy (PHIL) 162, 170
  • Theatre Acting (TDAC) 120
  • Theatre History and Theory (TDHT) 103, 107, 110, 111, 112
  • Visual Arts (VIS) 126HN, 126I, 126J

Social Sciences Courses

  • Anthropology: Sociocultural Anthropology (ANSC) 125, 163
  • Anthropology (ANTH) 23
  • Critical Gender Studies (CGS) 2A, 105, 106, 107, 112
  • Communication (COCU) 100, 120, 132, 137, 164, 168, 179, 182
  • Communication (COHI) 114, 124, 129
  • Communication (COSF) 124
  • Economics (ECON) 114
  • Education Studies (EDS) 117, 125
  • Environmental Studies (ENVR) 110
  • Ethnic Studies (ETHN) 1A, 1B, 1C, 20, 97, 100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112A, 112B, 116, 118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135A, 135B, 136, 138, 140, 141, 144, 146A, 148, 149, 151, 152, 159, 161, 164, 165, 167, 168, 170A, 170B, 172, 174, 175, 176, 178, 179A, 179B, 180, 181, 183, 186, 187, 188, 190
  • Linguistics/General (LIGN) 7, 8, 174, 177
  • Political Science (POLI) 100H, 100J, 1000, 102E, 102J, 102K 104B, 104C, 105A, 108, 110EC, 115A, 116A
  • Sociology (SOCI) 113, 114, 115, 116 117, 118, 119, 127, 129, 132, 139, 140F, 145, 148E, 151, 151M, 152, 169, 184, 187E, 188K
  • Urban Studies and Planning (USP) 1, 3, 103, 104, 107, 110, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 147, 165

Students who entered as freshmen Fall 2011 or later

Refer to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirement, not the list above, as all DEI courses will also satisfy the Cultural Diversity requirement.

General Education Requirements for Transfer Students

Contact Warren Academic Advising if you entered prior to Fall 2015.

With IGETC/UC or 4-Year Reciprocity/Verified Transfer Program

Warren Writing

  • Academic Writing: WCWP 100 - must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego

Upper-Division Non-Contiguous

  • Two four-unit, upper-division courses, non-contiguous (unrelated) to the major discipline. Both courses may be from the same discipline or the same department.
  • The courses must be taken through UC San Diego, Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), or another UC campus.
  • They may be taken on a Pass/Not Pass.
  • View Choosing Upper-Division Non-Contiguous Courses for details.

If you have:

  • IGETC:  Send an official IGETC certification to UC San Diego Admissions Office
  • Partial IGETC:  Send an official Partial IGETC certification to UC San Diego Admissions Office and consult with a Warren College counselor regarding which courses can be used to fulfill remaining requirements.
  • UC or 4-Year Reciprocity:  Submit an official letter to Warren College Advising

The IGETC program is for students admitted as transfers; this program does not apply to students admitted as a freshman.

Without IGETC/UC or 4-Year Reciprocity

Transfer students who have not completed one of the above transfer programs must complete the standard Warren College general education requirements with the Warren Writing exception listed below:

Warren Writing
  • WCWP 100:  Academic Writing - must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego
    • WCWP 10A/10B will be waived for students who have already completed two lower-division writing courses prior to matriculation

Warren College Core General Education Requirements

Community College Transfer Limit

The University will award graduation credit for a maximum of 70 semester/105 quarter units of lower-division transferable coursework from any non-UC institution.

To calculate:  1 semester unit = 1.5 quarter units

In accordance with guidelines from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Warren College has established Learning Objectives and Assessments[1][2] for our undergraduate general education requirements.