Oct 13, 2024  
2024-2025 Cal State East Bay Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Cal State East Bay Catalog

Baccalaureate & Program Requirements


Note: For detailed information regarding General Education (GE) Requirements see General Education Program below:


 

Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

There are three major parts of a baccalaureate degree and eight basic requirements defined in the California Code of Regulations.

Most courses will fall into one of the three parts of the degree:
  1. the Breadth requirements (including general education) for basic skills and breadth,
  2. the major for depth in one field, and
  3. electives, which can shape students’ education in directions they choose.
NOTE: Each of these will be described in other sections of this chapter.
These are the eight basic requirements for the baccalaureate degree defined in the California Code of Regulations:
  1. Complete a 48 semester-unit program of General Education requirements including a minimum of 9 upper-division (300 - 499) units in GE Areas upper division B, upper division C, upper division D (see the General Education Program ).
  2. Complete the local breadth requirements, including a Second Composition course, 3 units of Diversity Overlay, 3 units of Social Justice Overlay, and 3 units of Sustainability Overlay (see the General Education Program ).
  3. Complete one of the majors described in this catalog. Courses in a student’s major department, regardless of course prefix, may not be taken “CR/NC,” unless that is the only grading pattern in the course.
  4. Complete the U.S. history, U.S. Constitution, and California state and local government requirement through coursework or exams (see American Institutions Requirements below).
  5. Satisfy the University Writing Requirement (UWR). 
  6. Complete a minimum of 30 semester units in residence enrolled as an admitted student at Cal State East Bay. Up to 24 units taken through Open University and Extension may be counted for residence. Units in residence must include at least 24 upper division units, 12 units in the major, and 9 units of GE. (Units earned at other institutions and units earned through Credit-by-Examination are not residence units.)
  7. Complete at least 120 semester units for a B.A. degree, 130 semester units for a B.F.A. degree, or 120 semester units for a B.S. degree. At least 40 of these units must be in upper division courses (courses numbered 300-499). No more than 40 units can be graded in the Credit/No Credit pattern (CR/NC or A/B/C/NC). No more than 24 units can be in Continuing Education or Open University, and no more than 30 units can be earned credit-by-examination (excepting Advanced Placement).
  8. Attain a grade point average of at least 2.00 on a 4.00 scale in all major and university-earned coursework for the degree.
 

Additional Undergraduate Requirements

Residence Requirements

Complete a minimum of 30 semester units in residence enrolled as an admitted student at Cal State East Bay. Up to 24 units taken through Open University and Continuing Education may be counted for residence. Units in residence must include at least 24 upper division units, 12 units in the major, and 9 units of GE (Units earned at other institutions, and units earned through Credit-by-Examination are not residence units, with the exception of upper division GE units earned at another CSU.)

Unit Requirements

Complete at least 120 semester units for a B.A. degree, 130 semester units for the B.F.A. degree, or 120-125 semester units for the B.S. degree. At least 40 of these units must be in upper division courses (courses numbered 300-499). No more than 40 units can be graded in the Credit/No Credit pattern (CR/NC or A/B/C/NC). No more than 24 units can be in Continuing Education, Open University, or correspondence credit, and no more than 30 units can be earned credit-by-examination (excepting Advanced Placement).

Grade Point Average

Attain a grade point average of at least 2.00 on a 4.00 scale in all units attempted at Cal State East Bay, all the units attempted including transfer units, and all units attempted in the major regardless of the department in which they are taught.

Progress to Degree

Students must complete their GE A1, A2, A3, and B4 requirements before reaching junior status.  Students must take steps to satisfy the UWR during their junior year.

  

University Writing Requirement (UWR)

In addition to the lower-division General Education requirements for writing, the California State University system requires that all undergraduate students must demonstrate competency in written communication as a requirement for graduation and to receive a baccalaureate degree. This requirement was implemented system-wide in 1977 and updated in 2020. Students must satisfy the University Writing Requirement (UWR) in order to receive a degree from Cal State East Bay unless they are exempt by one of the following criteria:

1.      Previously satisfied the UWR at Cal State East Bay or at another CSU campus, Cal State East Bay will accept official certification of completion if the entire requirement, as specified by that CSU campus, was satisfied and the student was a matriculated student at that campus at the time.  On some CSU campuses, the requirement is called the “Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).”

2.      Graduated from any one of the CSU campuses; unless it is noted on the transcript that the UWR (or GWAR) was not satisfied.

Undergraduate students are required to satisfy the University Writing Requirement in a timely manner, either in their junior or senior year, as defined by the roadmap for their major.  Students who do not enroll in an appropriate course in a timely manner will be placed on administrative academic alert until the requirement is completed. Note: Undergraduate students cannot satisfy this requirement before completing 60 units. Satisfaction of GE Area A2 and the second composition requirement is also required before attempting to satisfy the UWR.

To satisfy the requirement at Cal State East Bay, students must complete one (1) writing intensive (WI) class of 3 units with a C- or better.  (Writing Intensive courses that satisfy UWR and are 4 units are restricted to majors requiring the course.)  Writing Intensive classes are designated with a “W” after the course number, see the list below.

Learning Outcomes for Writing-Intensive (WI) Courses:

The following statement of student learning outcomes must appear in the syllabus of a certified WI course.

This is a writing-intensive (WI) course that meets the University Writing Requirement (UWR). By the end of the course, students will be able to

  • Complete a variety of reading and writing tasks that incorporate subject-matter knowledge;
  • Adjust their writing for different audiences, showing awareness of expectations for academic writing in general and adhering to discipline-specific conventions when appropriate;
  • Demonstrate critical thinking and logical reasoning, including strategies common in a discipline, in the development and organization of ideas in written texts;
  • Take into account multiple perspectives and key disciplinary concepts when presenting their ideas in writing;
  • Revise their writing in response to feedback in order to improve idea development, clarity, coherence, and correctness.
Courses that satisfy the UWR have a “W” suffix in the course number (e.g., ENGL 300W).  Courses approved to satisfy UWR in this Catalog are:

Other breadth requirements are indicated in parentheses above.  Any course offered that is numbered “396W” will also satisfy the UWR.  That number is for a one-time-only course offering that was created after Catalog deadlines.

 

American Institutions Requirement

US Code American Institutions Requirement IconCSU graduates are expected to have knowledge of: significant events in U.S. history; the role of major ethnic and social groups in these events; the political, economic, social, and geographic context of these events; the U.S. Constitution, U.S. political institutions and processes; the rights and obligations of U.S. citizens; the California Constitution; federal-state relations; and California state and local government, and political processes.

Students demonstrate their competence in these fields by either:

(a) Passing the CLEP exam in History of the United States I or II, CLEP exam in American Government, and the California State and Local Government exam administered by the Cal State East Bay Testing Office.

(b) Passing the Advanced Placement United States History with a score of 3 or above, the Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics with a score of 3 or above, and the California State and Local Government exam administered by the Cal State East Bay Testing Office.

(c) Passing two courses which cover all three topics (while some courses cover all 3 topics, students are required to take two courses):

US-1:
US-2:
US-3:​ 

Note: Be aware that receiving credit for any courses applicable to this requirement through a national test such as Advanced Placement, CLEP, or at an out-of-state institution will not satisfy the California state and local government (US-3) part of this requirement. Please contact the History or Political Science Departments for further information. Students who have completed part of the Code Requirement at a California Community College should also consult the corresponding departments to avoid duplicating coursework.   

 

Undergraduate English Language Requirement

All undergraduate applicants whose native language is not English, and who have not attended schools at the secondary level or above for at least three years full time where English is the principal language of instruction, must present a score of (see chart below) or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Some majors may require a higher scoreSome majors and some CSUs may require a higher score. A few CSUs may also use alternative methods of assessing English fluency: Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the International Test of English Proficiency (ITEP). Each university will post the tests it accepts on its website and will notify students after they apply about the tests it accepts and when to submit scores. CSU minimum TOEFL standards are:

Undergraduate: 61 - INTERNET, 500- PAPER
Graduate: 80 - INTERNET, 550 - PAPER

 

Cal State East Bay interprets “where English was the principal language of instruction” to mean that a school is located in a country where English is the native language (the daily medium of communication of the majority of residents is English), and that the students receive academic instruction in all subjects (except foreign language courses) at all levels of education in English. 

Cal State East Bay minimum English proficiency test standards for undergraduate students are:
  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of  61 Internet-based or 525 Paper-based or above.
  • An overall IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.0 or above.
TOEFL or IELTS can be waived for applicants who meet at least one of these two requisites:
  • Transferred from a U.S. college with 60 or more semester units with a minimum grade point average of 2.4, and have completed a transfer course in each of the following general education areas with a grade of 2.0 or better: English composition, speech, critical thinking, and mathematics.
  • Attended a secondary school or higher for three or more years in one or more of the following countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize (formerly British Honduras), Bermuda, Botswana, Canada (except Quebec), Cayman Islands, Commonwealth Caribbean, Dominica, England, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana (aka British Guiana), Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland), Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Micronesia, Montserrat, Namibia, New Zealand, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia (Caribbean Commonwealth), Scotland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands (US and British), Wales, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Note: All test scores must be sent directly from the testing institution. Cal State East Bay’s International Admission Office contacts are located at: http://www.csueastbay.edu/prospective/how-to-apply/international-student-admission.

 

Undergraduate Certificate Programs

Undergraduate Certificate Program

A certificate program is a coherent set of academic courses, considerably narrower in scope and objectives than a degree or major, for which students can receive a certificate upon its successful completion. Most certificate programs are oriented toward occupations and/or career skills. A certificate program must contain at least 12 units of courses numbered 300 or above and a minimum of 15 total units. Each certificate program must contain a required core of at least three courses and 9 units. With faculty advice, special certificate programs may be available.  

Students must receive a grade of “C” or better in each course applied to the program. Only one course may be taken “CR/NC” in a certificate program not counting courses for which that is the only grading pattern for the course. At least 75% of the units must be taken at Cal State East Bay. (For certificate programs, Cal State East Bay courses may be taken through University Extension or as a regularly admitted and enrolled student.) Students who have already received a major, option, or minor with the same title are not eligible for the certificate. No student is required to complete a certificate program. Completion of a certificate program is recognized by the awarding of a certificate. There is no notation about the program on either a diploma or permanent record. (The courses will be on the student’s transcript.) Students may pursue a certificate program before, during, or after their baccalaureate degree. Unlike a minor, a certificate is not part of a degree.

University Extension also offers professional and career development Certificate Programs which may be taken for academic credit or Continuing Education Units (CEUs).  For information about the certificate programs offered by University Extension please visit https://www.ce.csueastbay.edu/.

Graduate Certificate Programs 

For information concerning graduate certificate programs see the Graduate Policies  chapter.

 

Music Auditions & Proficiency Exam Requirements

Students who declare a major in music must complete examinations and auditions to determine:

  • theory placement,
  • level of applied study,
  • piano proficiency, and
  • major performance ensemble.

These examinations are not a substitute for the Advanced Placement Test in Music and should not be confused with the Advanced Placement Program. Auditions and examinations are scheduled prior to the first week of each semester. For additional information and specific appointment times, contact the Department of Music, MB 2571, or telephone (510) 885-3135.