General Requirements by Subject Area

The following sequence of high school courses is required by the University of California of high school students to be minimally eligible for admission. It also illustrates the minimum level of academic preparation students ought to achieve in high school to undertake university level work.

The a-g requirements can be summarized as follows:

1. History / Social Science – Two years required, including one year of world history, cultures, and geography and one year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
   
2. English – Four years of college preparatory English that include frequent and regular writing, and reading of classic and modern literature.
   
3. Mathematics – Three years of college preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry.
   
4. Laboratory Science – Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three disciplines: biology, chemistry, and physics.
   
5. Language Other Than English – Two years of the same language other than English.
   
6. Visual & Performing Arts – One year, including dance, drama/theater, music, or visual art.
   
7. College Preparatory Elective – In addition to those courses required in “a-f” above, one year (two semesters) of college preparatory electives are required, chosen from advanced visual and performing arts, history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science, and language other than English.