University Requirements

All students must fulfill the following University of California requirements.

Entry Level Writing Requirement

The university requires every undergraduate student to demonstrate college-level proficiency in English composition. Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement is a prerequisite to all other undergraduate courses in English.

The requirement, as determined by Undergraduate Admissions, may be met in one of the following ways:

• By earning a score of 680 or higher on the Writing section of the new SAT Reasoning Examination, or on the old SAT-II Writing Test.
• By earning a score of 3, 4 or 5 on either College Board Advanced Placement Examination in English.
• By earning a score of 30 or higher on the Combined English/Writing section of the ACT Assessment.
• By earning a score of 5 or above on the International Baccalaureate's Higher Level English A Examination.
• By earning a score of 6 or above on the International Baccalaureate's Standard Level English A Examination.
• By entering the university with credentials showing the completion of an acceptable 3 semester-unit or 4 quarter-unit college-level course in English composition with a grade of C or higher.
• By writing a passing essay on the Analytical Writing Placement Examination. This examination may be taken only once prior to enrollment. It is offered in the spring at local sites throughout California; a student admitted for fall quarter who has not already satisfied the Entry Level Writing Requirement must take this examination. Out-of-state students or any California freshmen admitted after mid-April will take another form of the Analytical Writing Placement Examination, which will be offered on the UC Davis campus at the beginning of each quarter. For the time and location, consult the Registration Guide, published before the beginning of each quarter.

If you have not satisfied the requirement in one of the ways described above, you must enroll in Workload 57 during your first quarter of residence at the university, or as soon thereafter as space is available in the course. Workload 57, offered by Sacramento City College on the UC Davis campus, counts as 4.5 units on your study list and toward minimum progress but carries no units toward graduation. To satisfy the requirement, students must earn a course grade of C or higher. Students who receive a grade lower than C must repeat Workload 57. If the requirement has not been satisfied by the end of your third quarter, and you were not required to take courses for non-native speakers of English in the Linguistics program, you may be disenrolled from the University.

Students whose native or school language is not English, and some students whose schooling combines work in the United States and in another country, must demonstrate proficiency in English. The level of proficiency must meet the standards of both the Linguistics and the Entry Level Writing programs. The results of the Analytical Writing Placement Examination administered at the beginning of each quarter determine whether a student has met the Entry Level Writing Requirement or must take specific course work in the Linguistics program. Students held for Linguistics course work have three quarters to meet the Entry Level Writing Requirement plus the number of quarters required in Linguistics.

American History and Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirement ensures that every graduating student will have at least a minimum knowledge of the background of this country’s development and an understanding of the political, economic and social interrelationships of its way of life.

You may meet this requirement in any of these ways:

• Complete one high school unit in American history, or 1/2 high school unit in American history and 1/2 high school unit in civics or American government, with a grade of C or better in each course
• Complete any one of the following courses:
  • African American and African Studies 10, 100, 120, 121
  • Asian American Studies 1, 2
  • Economics 111A, 111B
  • History 17A, 17B, 17C, 72A, 72B, 170A, 170B, 170C, 171A, 171B, 174A, 174B, 174C, 175A, 175B, 175C, 176A, 176B, 177A, 177B, 179, 180A, 180B, 183A, 183B (upper division courses may be taken only with the consent of the instructor)
  • Native American Studies 1, 10, 55, 116, 130A, 130B, 130C
  • Political Science 1, 5, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 113, 130, 131, 160, 163

  Students electing to complete one of the above courses in order to meet this requirement are subject to the rules for prerequisites and majors

• Present evidence that the requirement has been accepted as satisfied at another campus of the university
• Present evidence that the requirement has been satisfied through courses in the area of American History and Institutions at another collegiate institution whose credits are acceptable for transfer to UC Davis
• Successful completion of the Advanced Placement (AP) Examination in American History or American Government and Politics with a score of 3 or higher
• Successful completion of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Examination in History of the Americas Higher Level (HL) with a score of 5, 6, or 7
• Successful completion of the SAT Subject Examination in U.S. History with a score of 550 or higher

International students, regardless of the type of visa they hold, must meet the university's American History and Institutions requirement for graduation.

Unit Requirement

A minimum of 180 quarter units is required for graduation. These must be distributed according to the minimum requirements set forth by the faculty of your college.

A maximum of 12 units of Internship Courses (92, 192, or a combination) may be counted toward the 180-unit bachelor’s degree requirement.

The acceptability of transfer courses for unit credit is determined by Undergraduate Admissions. The acceptability of such courses toward specific requirements is determined by the individual college or school.

Students should refer to the Advanced Placement Examination chart and their transcripts to eliminate the possibility of duplication of credit.

Residence Requirements

The minimum residence requirement for a bachelor’s degree at the University of California is one academic year (three quarters). Thirty-five of the final 45 quarter units completed by each candidate must be earned while in residence on the UC Davis campus. Each summer session in which a student completes a course of at least 2 quarter units may be counted as half a quarter’s residence. Not more than 18 of these 35 quarter units may be completed in summer session courses at UC Davis.

Regularly approved courses (laboratory, field, or other individual work) done outside of a regular session but under the direction of a department of instruction may be accepted upon the recommendation of the department in partial fulfillment of the residence requirement for the bachelor’s degree. Registration is with the consent of the instructor only.

UC Davis Extension courses are not accepted as part of the university residence requirement.

There are additional residence requirements for students enrolled in the Colleges of Letters and Science and Engineering. If you are planning to study abroad during your senior year, you should consult your college dean’s office.

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.

Scholarship Requirement

To receive a bachelor’s degree, you must obtain twice as many grade points as units (a 2.000 GPA) for all courses you have attempted in the university. An exception to this rule is made for those students undertaking certain honors courses. For specific college requirements consult the college sections following.