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Types of Transfer Courses

Types of Courses     Education Plan     Bachelor Degree     Associate Degree

Three Types of Courses

Transfer coursework is usually made up of three types of courses: General Education, Prep-for-Major, and Electives.

General Education (GE) – Courses from a variety of disciplines that help you develop a well-rounded or “liberal” education. Most students follow one of the following three transfer General Education patterns:

	CSU GE - Accepted by all universities in the CSU system (PDF file).
	IGETC - Accepted by all universities in the CSU system and most universities/majors in the UC system (PDF file).
	UCSD TAG GE - For students who intend to transfer to UCSD under the UCSD TAG guaranteed admission agreement (PDF file).

Prep-for-Major - Courses to prepare for your main area of academic interest (your major) at the university. The courses you take will depend on your major and transfer university. Many prep-for-major courses may actually be in subjects other than your major, but are important to prepare you for study within your major.

Electives – Most students transfer as “upper division” students (college juniors) after completing at least 60 transferable units. “Electives” are the classes you take in addition to GE and prep-for-major courses to complete your required number of units. Electives can be any course you choose, but should be transferable to the college you want to attend (the course description in the City College Catalog will tell you if it the course is transferable). You may want to take elective courses that:

	Interest you
	Fulfill elective requirements for your major at your transfer college
	Prepare you for an alternative major at your transfer college (particularly if your primary major is “impacted” (full))
	Fulfill requirements for a minor (a secondary area of academic emphasis)

Your Education Plan

An education plan is a list of courses to prepare you to transfer and earn a Bachelor degree. We recommend you research your required courses, put together a plan, and then review it with a counselor. You can use the tools on this website to put together a plan for most universities and majors. We also recommend you attend a Transfer Course Planning workshop, where you will learn more about finding the courses you need to transfer, putting together your plan, and avoiding courses you don't need.

Your Bachelor Degree

Your Bachelor degree is made up of the three kinds of courses described above. Most students complete about half of their Bachelor degree coursework at community college and about half at their university.

In order to graduate from a university with a Bachelor degree, you must complete all the course, GPA, and unit requirements from that university. These requirements are spelled out in the university's catalog.

	Courses: Course requirements for a Bachelor degree usually include General Education, major and prep-for-major courses, and university graduation requirements. These vary from university to university.
	GPA: Most universities require at least a 2.0 GPA to graduate, but some majors and/or universities have higher GPA requirements.
	Units: Most majors at most universities require at least 120 semester units (or the equivalent in quarter units) to graduate, but some majors and/or universities require more. Most universities award a maximum of 70 semester units of credit earned from community colleges toward the 120 units needed to graduate. So courses you take at community college past the 70 unit limit will still count toward course and GPA requirements, but will not count toward the unit requirement. (In other words, you will still need to complete at least 50 units at most universities, no matter how many units you have completed at community college.) In addition, some universities do not admit students who have a high number of units earned from a combination of a Bachelor degree-granting institution and community college. Click here for more information. (PDF file).

The Associate Degree

Almost no university requires an Associate degree prior to transfer (although some private universities will use an Associate degree to fulfill General Education coursework requirements). If almost no university requires it, why would a student earn an Associate degree prior to transfer? There are several reasons:

	It is a record of your time and accomplishment here at City College.
	It may help you get a part-time job, if you plan to work while attending your university.
	It might increase your future employability, particularly if the degree is in a specific career or technical field.

Most transfer students can earn an Associate degree in a specific subject area without completing too many additional courses. In order to earn an Associate degree in a subject area, you must complete the Associate degree General Education requirements, District requirements, major requirements, and at least 60 units. Transfer students can also earn an Associate degree in Transfer Studies by completing an entire transfer General Education pattern and additional transfer courses to complete a minimum of 60 units.

Preparing to transfer and earning an Associate degree are two different educational goals - earning an Associate degree does not necessarily mean you are ready to transfer. However, there are many courses you can take that will help you achieve both goals. Attend a Transfer Course Planning workshop to learn more about creating a plan to transfer and earn an Associate degree.

The Transfer Course Planning workshop helps you find the right transfer courses, put them together into a plan, and avoid taking courses you don't need.

Transfer tools to help you plan out your transfer coursework. (PDF file)

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