Degree Requirements

First-Year Writing and Quantitative Reasoning

Unit Requirements

  • Minimum units required to graduate:
    B.A. = 120-semester units minimum
    B.S. = 120–132-semester units minimum
  • Residence Requirement: 30 units minimum at SF State, including 24 units upper-division, 12 units in the major (lower- or upper-division), and 9 units of upper-division General Education coursework.
  • Upper-Division Requirement: 30 units minimum, including 24 units at SF State, and 9 units in General Education.

Maximum Unit Restrictions

  • Maximum Units for Community College Work: 70 units.
  • Maximum Units by Examination or Evaluation: 30 units.
  • Maximum Units CR/NC: No more than 24 units earned at SF State and applied toward the undergraduate degree may be taken for a grade of CR. Major courses only offered as CR/NC are not included in the 24 unit maximum.
  • Maximum Units in One Semester: 19 units (Written approval must be received to exceed the 19 unit limit).
  • Maximum Units for Courses Numbered "685" and Titled "Projects in Teaching . . ." That may be Applied to the Baccalaureate Degree: 4 units.

Grade Point Average

  • Minimum Grade Point Average: 2.0 in all college work, in SF State work, and the major.

Major Requirements

Minor (optional except for Journalism majors)/Second Major

General Education Requirements – 48 units minimum

  • Special requirements can apply to each Area of the GE Program. Transfer students are subject to different GE requirements than are students admitted to SF State as first-time freshmen. See the GE section of this Bulletin for specific policies and course requirements.

Area A: English Language Communication and Critical Thinking – 9 units minimum

  • A1: Oral Communication – 3 units
  • A2: Written English Communication – 3 units
  • A3: Critical Thinking – 3 units

Area B: Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning – 9 units minimum

  • B1: Physical Science – 3 units
  • B2: Life Science – 3 units
  • B3: Laboratory Science – 0-1 units
  • B4: Quantitative Reasoning – 3 units

Area C: Arts and Humanities – 9 units minimum

  • C1: Arts – 3 units
  • C2: Humanities – 3 units
  • C1 or C2: Arts or Humanities – 3 units

Area D: Social Sciences – 6 units minimum

  • D1: Social Sciences – 3 units
  • D2: Social Sciences: US History – 3 units

Area E: Lifelong Learning and Self-Development – 3 units minimum

Area F: Ethnic Studies – 3 units minimum

Upper Division General Education – 9 units minimum

  • The upper-division General Education requirement is satisfied by taking one 3 unit course in each of the following: 
    • UD-B: Physical and/or Life Sciences – 3 units
    • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities – 3 units
    • UD-D: Social Sciences – 3 units
  • These courses must be taken after completing the prerequisite Oral Communication (A1), Written Communication (A2), Critical Thinking (A3), and Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (B4) courses. Academic departments may choose to include additional prerequisites. In most cases, upper-division General Education courses are designed and recommended to be taken after completing 60-semester units.

SF State Studies Requirements – 0–12 units

  • Undergraduate students must complete courses that cover the four areas of SF State Studies: American Ethnic and Racial Minorities (AERM). Environmental Sustainability (ES), Global Perspectives (GP), and Social Justice (SJ). Courses designated to cover these areas can be found in General Education (GE) courses, major or minor courses, Complementary Studies courses, or elective coursework. As SF State Studies designated courses can be found throughout the curriculum at SF State, it is expected that the great majority of students will be able to plan to complete these requirements while completing other degree requirements. The only exception for completing the SF State Studies requirements applies to students who transferred from a California Community College with a verified AA-T or AS-T degree and are pursuing a similar approved major at SF State. These students do not need to complete the SF State Studies requirements.
  • Students studying abroad can petition to have the Global Perspectives area of the SF State Studies requirement met with a study aboard course.

American Institutions Requirement – 0-6 units

  • The American Institutions requirement consists of two categories:
    • U.S. History
    • U.S. and California Government
  • Students who begin at SF State as first-time college students will satisfy US History by completing Area D2 of the General Education program.

Complementary Studies: Bachelor of Arts Degrees – 12 units minimum

  • All Bachelor of Arts students must complete at least 12 units of Complementary Studies course work that are outside of the primary prefix for the major. Details about the ways that Complementary Studies can be fulfilled for each B.A. major can be found in the Bulletin. Students who complete a major and a minor or two majors automatically complete the Complementary Studies requirement. Students earning a Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Science degree are not required to complete the Complementary Studies requirement. Transfer students should consult with a major advisor on how transfer coursework may fulfill or combine with SF State course work to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement. AA-T and AS-T transfer students pursuing a similar B.A. degree are required to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement.