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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-010A and WCWP-010B, that must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego.

Students are encouraged to complete WCWP-010A by the end of their first year at UCSD, and WCWP-010B by Fall of their second year.

See more about the Warren College Writing Program.

You must satisfy the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement before enrolling in WCWP-010A.

Ethics and Society (2 courses)

A two-course sequence, PHIL-027 or POLI-027 and PHIL-028 or POLI-028, 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-010A & WCWP-010B) before enrolling in PHIL-027 or POLI-027.

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-060
    MATH-03C, MATH-04C
    MATH-010A or MATH-20A
    MATH-010B or MATH-020B
    MATH-011, MATH-018
    MGT-003
    PHIL-010, PHIL-012
    POLI-030 or POLI-030D, POLI-005 or POLI-005D (or ECON-005)
    PSYC-060, PSYC-070
    SOCI-060
    LIGN-017
    COGS-003, COGS-008, COGS-014A, COGS-014B
    COGS-018 or CSE-007
    CSE-003, CSE-005, CSE-06R, CSE-08A, CSE-08B, CSE-011
    CSS-001, CSS-002
    ECE-005, ECE-015, ECE-025
    MAE-005
    NANO/CENG-015
    USP-060

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.

PofCs Required for Non-B.S. Engineering Majors

  • 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.

Area Studies Required for B.S. Engineering Majors Only

  • 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.

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. Students are encouraged to complete WCWP-100 by the end of their first year at UCSD. See more about WCWP-100

Upper-Division Non-Contiguous

  • One four-unit, upper-division course, non-contiguous (unrelated) to the major discipline. The course may be from the same discipline or the same department.
  • The course must be taken through UC San Diego, Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), or another UC campus.
  • 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
  • Academic Writing: WCWP-100 must be taken for a letter grade at UC San Diego. Students are encouraged to complete WCWP-100 by the end of their first year at UCSD. See more about WCWP 100
    • WCWP-010A/10B will be waived for students who have already completed a 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.