A university education must help students realize their potential as individuals and contributing participants in society. This involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills and the preparation for future responsibilities.
A general education provides a framework enabling one to appreciate and critically examine the significant aspects of civilization. This framework is derived from the study of world history; political and economic systems; the ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity of the peoples of the earth; the arts and letters of all cultures; the social and natural sciences; and technology. Such a broad education is the foundation for concentrated studies that enable students to prepare for careers and to strive for an understanding of the world in which they live and about which they must make decisions.
A university education nurtures the critical skills of oral and written communication, including the exercise of these skills in a language other than one's own. It must teach students to become verbally and quantitatively literate, to analyze and synthesize, and to regard the acquisition of knowledge as a lifetime activity. A university education must promote tolerance of the opinions of others and an understanding of the mutual dependence of human beings on each other and on their natural environment. The student's university years also provide an opportunity to develop integrity, self-esteem, self-discipline, style, humanness, commitment to the general welfare, sensitivity to the interplay of environment and technology, and confidence that the human drama is worthy of a lengthy future.
UCR has three colleges that offer bachelor's degrees: Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Natural and Agricultural Sciences; and Engineering.
Completion of the Subject A requirement is a prerequisite to ENGL 001A. The Subject A requirement may be completed after enrollment in a course as directed by the Director of Basic Writing (see below). It may be completed before enrollment in any one of the following ways:
In late April, California freshmen who have been admitted to at least one UC campus and who are not exempt from the Subject A requirement will be mailed notification of the test; a test ticket; a bill for $55; and a pamphlet giving an explanation of the testing procedures, the nearest test location, the time and date, and telephone numbers to call with questions.
Out-of-state students, those admitted after the test notification date, and students entering in winter and spring will take the examination on campus. Once students have taken the test, they will receive a payment card which they should mail to the Educational Testing Service. The card must be accompanied by a $55 check.
Any student who cannot meet the Subject A requirement before entrance must enroll in an approved Basic Writing course during Summer Sessions, or in BSWT 003 or a qualifier course such as ENGL 004A, ENGL 004B, or ENGL 005 during the academic year. (Placement in academic-year courses is determined by the Director of Basic Writing.) BSWT 001 and BSWT 003 do not carry baccalaureate credit, and must be passed with a grade of "C" or better to fulfill the requirement.
Students taking the qualifier courses must pass the Subject A exit examination at the end of the quarter in order to go on to ENGL 001A. Any student who has not satisfied the Subject A requirement after three quarters of university residence (three quarters of enrollment during the regular academic year) is not eligible to enroll for a fourth quarter at the University of California.
Further information regarding the requirement and examination may be obtained from the chair of the Committee on Preparatory Education.
Not more than 6 units of physical education activities courses, no 400 series course, and not more than three courses in the 300 series may be counted toward the 180 unit requirement.
Courses completed in UC Extension are not considered work in residence, even if taken through concurrent enrollment.
Thirty-five (35) of the final 45 units must be earned in residence in the student's college (this does not preclude the student from taking courses in other colleges on campus). For students who are enrolled in the Education Abroad Program, 35 of the final 90 units, including the final 12 units, must be earned in residence. Eighteen (18) of the 35 units may be completed in summer session courses on the Riverside campus.
With the approval of the dean of a student's college or school, a candidate for the bachelor's degree who was in active service in the armed forces of the United States in the year preceding the awarding of the degree may be recommended for the degree after only one quarter of university residence in which the candidate completes at least 16 units or passes a comprehensive examination in the major or field of concentration.
The main objective of the colleges on the Riverside campus is to provide a setting within which students may develop those qualities of mind and character necessary to intellectual advancement and to useful membership in society. The major areas of human knowledge form the substance of the colleges on the Riverside campus: the College of Engineering; the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The breadth requirements for the colleges are similar; however, please refer to each college's section for a detailed discussion of its requirements.
Courses taken in a student's major discipline (including courses cross-listed with the major discipline) may not be applied toward satisfaction of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Ethnicity, or the Natural Sciences and Mathematics requirements except for Biology majors in connection with the Biological Sciences requirement, English majors in connection with the English Composition requirement, History majors in connection with the World History requirement, Ethnic Studies majors in connection with the Ethnicity requirement, and Foreign Language majors in connection with language requirements. However, courses outside the major discipline, but required for the major, may be applied toward satisfaction of these requirements. Students are urged to make sure that they understand which courses are permitted to satisfy more than one requirement. Information on specific degree requirements and courses is available in the departmental or Student Affairs offices in each college.
Placement exams may be required before a student takes courses in certain subjects, such as mathematics and foreign languages. The placement exam may be taken only once in each subject during a student's UCR career. For foreign languages, a sufficiently high score on the placement exam can fulfill the Foreign Language requirement.
For details about the UC policy on intercampus reciprocity of breadth requirements and the UC policy on the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, see below.
Courses taken for B/GE requirements at the campus from which they transfer will be accepted toward the appropriate B/GE requirements of the campus to which they transfer.
At UCR, completion of the IGETC is a good choice for community college students planning majors in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS). Completion of a breadth pattern prior to transferring is good preparation for upper-division work for majors in this college. Transfer students planning majors in CHASS have the option of completing IGETC prior to transferring, or completing the CHASS breadth pattern.
The IGETC pattern is not accepted for transfer students planning majors in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences or the College of Engineering, as it does not adequately cover the extensive lower-division math and science preparation required for majors in these colleges. All courses taken towards completion of IGETC have been determined to be UC transferable and will be applied to the student's degrees in these colleges as elective or UCR breadth credit, as determined by the department advisors in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.
The departmental major represents advanced and relatively specialized work in one of the academic disciplines in the college. The interdepartmental or nondepartmental major is broader in scope and usually based upon two or more disciplines. The individual major is designed for the student who has an unusual but definite academic interest for which no suitable major is offered.
Major requirements are described in detail in the Curricula and Courses section of this catalog under the department or program offering the major.
The responsibility for fulfillment of all degree requirements -- general university, college, and major -- rests with the student. Students are urged, however, to seek program counseling with appropriate advisors.
Assignment to a major or to the undeclared category (open to freshman and sophomore students) is based on the student's choice indicated on the Application for Admission. The student should enroll in accordance with this choice; changes may be made following course enrollment.