General Education

Phone: 209-228-7951
Web: ue.ucmerced.edu

• University of California Requirements
  • Entry Level Writing Requirement
  • American History and Institutions Requirement
• General Education Requirements
• For Transfer Students: Satisfying General Education

UC Merced’s General Education program will engage you with the values, practices and contributions of a research university, which provide a framework for integrative learning. We do this within the context of the culturally and economically diverse Central Valley. In tandem with the major and the co-curriculum, General Education supports your development of the Hallmarks of the Baccalaureate degree. It nurtures the spirit of critical inquiry, building your knowledge of various fields, cultures, and perspectives. General education fosters collaboration, communication, and ethical action. It empowers you to share your learning and skills to address the local and global challenges of an interconnected, changing world.

University of California Requirements

• University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement
• University of California American History and Institutions Requirement

University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR)/Analytical Writing Placement Exam

To succeed at UC Merced, you must be able to understand and to respond adequately to written material typical of reading assignments in first year courses, including being able to structure and develop an essay that uses written English effectively. Students must satisfy the ELWR requirement by the end of the second semester of enrollment at UC Merced. Failure to complete this requirement in the time allowed will result in a hold on a student’s registration. For more information about the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) for all UC-Admitted first year students see ucop.edu/elwr/.

Students can meet this requirement by scoring:

• 30 or better on the ACT, English Language Arts; or
• 30 or better on the ACT, Combined English/Writing (last administered June 2015); or
• 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing*; or
• 680 or better on the SAT Reasoning Test, Writing (last administered January 2016); or
• 3 or above on either Advanced Placement Examination in English; or
• 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Higher Level English A1 exam); or
• 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Standard Level English A1 exam); or
• 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Language and Literature exam; or
• 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Language and Literature exam

* UC is accepting a score of 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing to satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement on a pilot basis, beginning with new students entering UC in Fall 2018. The pilot will remain in effect until a new policy is adopted by the Academic Senate.

The requirement can also be met by earning a grade of C or higher in an acceptable English composition course offered by a college or university.

Analytical Writing Placement Exam

The University offers the University of California Analytical Writing Placement Exam each spring on the second Saturday in May at test centers throughout the state for students who plan to enroll in the University the following fall. California residents who will enter the University as freshmen must take the exam if they have not otherwise satisfied the requirement (by one of the methods listed above). Students must pay a nonrefundable fee to cover test administration costs. Students who received admission application fee waivers will automatically have this fee waived. Admitted freshmen will receive detailed information about the exam in April. Students who are not from California may take an equivalent exam in the fall after enrolling at the University.

Comprehensive information about the University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement and Analytical Writing Placement Exam is available at ucop.edu/elwr/.

University of California American History and Institutions Requirement

As a candidate for an undergraduate degree at UC Merced, you need to demonstrate knowledge of American history and of the principles of American institutions under the federal and state constitutions.

You may meet the requirement by completing specific courses or earning a certain score on an examination. Transfer students are urged to complete the requirement before they enroll.

You may satisfy both the American History and American Institutions requirements in the following ways: 

• Complete in high school one year of United States history with grades of C or better, or one semester of United States history and one semester of United States government with grades of C or better;
• Achieve a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in U.S. History;
• Achieve a score of 550 or better on the SAT II: U.S. History test;
• Complete acceptable course work at a community college or other accredited institution; or
• Complete one course at UC Merced from the following list:
  • CCST 060: Introduction to Chicano/a Culture and Experiences  
  • CRES 001: Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies  
  • CRES 123: Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States  
  • ECON 111: American Economic History  
  • HIST 016: Forging of the United States, 1607-1877  
  • HIST 017: Twentieth-Century America  
  • HIST 123: Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States  
  • HIST 124B: African American History 1877 to Present  
  • HIST 133: Topics in Nineteenth Century U.S. History  
  • POLI 001: Introduction to American Politics  
  • POLI 110: Governmental Power and the Constitution  
  • POLI 111: Liberty, Equality and the Constitution  

General Education Requirements

Courses must be taken for a letter grade and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis. You must complete all courses with a C- or better. With the exception of Spark Seminar, lower and upper division common course requirements may be shared with your major, concentration, or minor requirements. They can also be shared with the Intellectual Experience Badges. All courses will include a project that can be uploaded to your ePortfolio.

For Transfer Students: Satisfying General Education

A transfer student is defined as someone who applies and is admitted as a transfer student for admissions purposes. In addition to meeting the transfer admissions requirements described by Undergraduate Admissions, transfer students should complete an acceptable general education course pattern and preparatory courses for the intended major, prior to transfer. Successful completion of general education and major preparation will assure that you do not need to take any additional lower division courses at UC Merced.

Transfer students from a California Community College who complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) and transfer students from another University of California campus who complete lower division general education requirements, as documented in a Letter of Reciprocity* from that campus, will be considered to have satisfied the below general education requirements at UC Merced.

• Spark Seminar (waived)
• WRI 010  
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Foreign Language
• Approaches to Knowledge A: Natural Science (2 courses)
• Approaches to Knowledge B: Social Science, Arts and Humanities (3 courses)

*A Letter of Reciprocity is an official document from a UC campus that confirms that a student has satisfied all of the lower-division, general education and University requirements at that campus.

California Community College classes articulate to UC Merced general education requirements as explained below. Information on articulation for California’s public colleges and universities may also be found at assist.org. These information sources can also provide guidance on the likelihood that courses from other institutions would transfer. Transfer courses must be completed with at least a C- (or equivalent).

*No community college courses can satisfy an upper division requirement. However, for an articulated upper division course from a four-year institution, students can submit a petition for satisfaction of these requirements.

*Students can submit a petition for satisfaction of Approaches to Knowledge A: Engineering Science through articulated transfer coursework in engineering science.

*Students can submit a petition for satisfaction of the indicated requirements through articulated transfer coursework.