General Education Requirements
- Humanities Requirement
- Mathematics Requirement
- Natural Science Requirement
- Social Science
- Fine Arts
- Language Requirement
- General Education Requirements for Transfer Students
- Transfer Courses
General Education Requirements for Transfer Students
Your Revelle College General Education requirements are determined by the articulation agreement you may have completed at your previous institution. Please select your transfer type below to determine your general education requirements.
Students admitted to UC San Diego as freshmen are not eligible for IGETC and Partial-IGETC.
To earn your Bachelor's degree, you must fulfill three main areas: Major Requirements, College GE Requirements, and University Requirements.
- We recommend meeting with your major department advisor to review your major requirements. As a transfer student, you may need to petition some courses for major credit or prerequisite clearance.
- In addition to any remaining lower-division GE requirements, you must complete the upper-division Revelle College GE requirement: HUM 100. We encourage students to take HUM 100 in their first year at UCSD.
With IGETC:
Transfer students with IGETC must still satisfy the following Revelle GE requirements:
- Humanities 100: Effective Fall 2024: All incoming transfer students in Fall 2024 and after will be required to take HUM 100.
- Revelle College Mathematics Requirement:
- 2 semesters of Calculus; or, 1 semester of calculus + 1 semester of statistics (or other approved math; consult Advising); or
- 1 quarter of Calculus (MATH 10A/20A) and 2 quarter courses from the approved list.
- Revelle College Natural Science Requirement:
- Four courses, selected from the approved lists:
- 2 courses chosen from different disciplines among Biology, Chemistry, or Physics
- 2 courses from Biology, Chemistry, Physics lists, or from additional list including environmental sciences and oceanography
- Four courses, selected from the approved lists:
IGETC does not waive all required lower-division courses. Review major requirements with your major department advisor and university requirements with the college.
Waiving Lower Division GEs on your Degree Audit: Your previous California Community College must send your UC IGETC Certification to UC San Diego Undergraduate Admissions in order for lower division GE requirements to be waived. Contact Revelle College Advising if IGETC is not applied within 8-10 weeks of submission.
With Partial IGETC:
Partial IGETC may be applied for students missing only 1 or 2 IGETC courses. Your previous California Community College must send your Partial IGETC certification to UC San Diego Undergraduate Admissions for consideration.
Transfer students with Partial IGETC must still satisfy the following Revelle GE requirements:
- Humanities 100: Effective Fall 2024: All incoming transfer students in Fall 2024 and after will be required to take HUM 100.
- Revelle College Mathematics Requirement:
- 2 semesters of Calculus; or, 1 semester of calculus + 1 semester of statistics (or other approved math; consult Advising); or 1 quarter of Calculus (MATH 10A/20A) and 2 quarter courses from the approved list.
- Revelle College Natural Science Requirement:
- Four courses, selected from the approved lists:
- 2 courses chosen from different disciplines among Biology, Chemistry, or Physics
- 2 courses from Biology, Chemistry, Physics lists, or from additional list including environmental sciences and oceanography
- Four courses, selected from the approved lists:
- Any missing IGETC areas: Consult with Revelle College Advising to determine how to complete the remaining IGETC courses at UC San Diego.
Partial IGETC does not waive all required lower-division courses. Review major requirements with your major department advisor and university requirements with the college.
Waiving Lower Division GEs on your Degree Audit: Your previous California Community College must send your UC IGETC Certification to UC San Diego Undergraduate Admissions in order for lower division GE requirements to be waived. Contact Revelle College Advising if IGETC is not applied within 8-10 weeks of submission.
With UC Reciprocity:
Starting Fall 2025, UC Reciprocity satisfies the lower-division GE requirements of Revelle College. The required upper-division Revelle College GE is HUM 100. We encourage students to complete HUM 100 in their first year at UCSD. If you are a continuing student please contact Revelle Advising to discuss options.
UC Reciprocity does not waive all required lower-division courses. Review major requirements with your major department advisor and university requirements with the college.
Waiving Lower Division GEs on your Degree Audit: Your previous institution must send a reciprocity letter to Revelle College Academic Advising (readvising@ucsd.edu) in order for lower division GE requirements to be waived. Letters must certify completion of lower-division requirements at another University of California.
Without IGETC, Partial IGETC, or UC Reciprocity Certification:
If you transferred from an academic institution without a certification (IGETC or UC Reciprocity), you must complete all of Revelle College’s general education requirement areas. For transfer students they are as follows:
- HUM 100 (1 course)
- HUM 1 and HUM 2 (2 courses) - most transfer students should have this completed
- HUM 3, HUM 4, or HUM 5 (pick two courses)
- Math (3 courses)
- Calculus, plus two additional approved math courses
- Natural science (4 courses)
- Two courses from the approved Biology, Chemistry, Physics list
- Two additional courses from the approved Natural Science list
- Social Science (2 courses): two courses from the approved departments
- Fine Arts (1 course): one course from an approved department
- Language Proficiency
During summer and Fall quarter, an academic advisor will evaluate your transfer courses to determine which GE requirements you’ve met and which remain. Some courses may require a petition for GE credit.
