The "a–g" subject requirements represent the 15 minimum academic preparatory courses

that freshman applicants must have to be eligible for admission to the University of

California. Applicants must complete 11 of the 15 "a–g" requirements by the end of their

junior year. For more information on these requirements, please visit the UC a-g interactive Web site. The University of California also maintains a list of certified "a-g" courses for high schools in California.

"a-g" Subject Area RequirementsThe intent of the "a-g" Subject Requirements is to ensure that students can participate fully in the first-year program at the University in a wide variety of fields of study. The requirements are written deliberately for the benefit of all students expecting to enter the University, and not for preparation for specific majors. UC faculty consider the Subject Requirements to be effective preparation, on many levels, for undergraduate work at the University. This pattern of study assures the faculty that the student has attained a body of general knowledge that will provide breadth and perspective to new, more advanced study. Fulfillment of the "a-g" pattern also demonstrates that the student has attained essential critical thinking and study skills.On an annual basis, public and private California high schools use the "a-g" Online Update web site to submit to UC requested updates to their existing "a-g" course list. It is recommended that new schools develop an "a-g" course list by the time their first class of students are Juniors.

Every year, the Director of Undergraduate Admissions for the University of California will send an Update Letter request via email to every California high school asking them to submit updates to the schools' UC certified "a-g" course list.

This section of the web site is designed to fully explain the course list update process and describe the faculty's guidelines for approval of new courses. The entire section is available in a printable PDF format (see link above). We recommend that you become familiar with this basic information before proceeding to other sections of this web site.

Validation Changes. The University uses a process known as validation to allow students to clear, or validate, a course omission or "D" or "F" grade in certain subject areas. In 2004 UC faculty clarified a couple of validation rules: (a) a passing grade in the second semester of chemistry will no longer validate a "D" or "F" grade in the first semester, and (b) statistics will no longer validate geometry, but will continue to validate beginning and intermediate algebra.

(a): History/Social Science2 years required - Two years of history/social science including one year of world history, cultures, and geography; and or one year U.S. history or one half year U.S. history and one half year of civics or American government.

(b): English4 years required - Four years of college preparatoryEnglish that include the reading of classic and modern literature and frequent and regular writing. No more than one year of ESL-type courses can be used to meet this requirement.

(c): Mathematics3 years required, 4 years recommended - Three years of college-preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two and

three-dimensional geometry. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades that your high school accepts as equivalent to its own math courses.

(d): Laboratory Science2 years required, 3 years recommended - fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three foundational subjects: biology, chemistry, and physics. Advanced laboratory science courses that have biology, chemistry, or physics as prerequisites and offer substantial new material may be used to fulfill this requirement. The last two years of an approved three-year integrated science program that provides rigorous coverage of at least two of the three foundational subjects may be used to fulfill this requirement.

(e): Language other than English2 years required, 3 years recommended - Two years of the same language other than English. Courses should emphasize speaking and understanding and include instruction in grammar, vocabulary, reading, composition, and culture. Courses in languages other English taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part of this requirement if your high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.

(f): Visual and Performing Arts (VPA)1 year required - A single year-long approved arts course from a single VPA discipline: dance, drama/theater, music, or visual art.

(g): College Preparatory Electives1 year required - One year (two semesters), in addition to those required in "a-f" above, chosen from the following areas: visual and performing arts (non-introductory-level courses), history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science, and a language other than English (a third year in the language used for the "e" requirement or two years of another language).