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General Education

Overview

Students in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts are required to complete the following list of general education courses (48 units). Consult a SSHA Academic Advisor or the SSHA Advising website for approved courses which meet SSHA GE Requirements:

Lower Division General Education Requirements:

  • College One Core Course Sequence, The World at Home (CORE 1), 4 units
  • College Reading and Composition (WRI 10), 4 units
  • Natural Science / Engineering Introductory Course with laboratory, field or studio, 4 units
  • Second Natural Science / Engineering Introductory Course with or without laboratory, field or studio*, 4 units
  • Mathematical / Quantitative Reasoning Course, 4 units
  • Humanities, Arts or Foreign Language Course (outside of your major(s)), 4 units
  • Social Sciences Course (outside of your major(s)), 4 units

Upper Division General Education Requirements:

  • Core Course Sequence, The World at Home (CORE 100), 4 units
  • Four Upper Division Courses (outside of emphasis or major(s)), 16 units

*May also be satisfied by ANTH 005 for non-Anthropology majors.

The first course of the Core Course sequence, CORE 001, The World at Home, is common for all UC Merced freshmen. This course lays the foundation in skills and ideals articulated in the UC Merced Guiding Principles for General Education (see General Education section of this catalog). These include decision-making, communication, ethics, responsibility, leadership, teamwork, aesthetic understanding, creativity and an appreciation of diverse perspectives in both the global and community contexts. All UC Merced students also take CORE 100, The World at Home, in their junior year.