I was told by my CC counselor that 7-course can be fulfilled instead of IGETC. Does the 7-course pattern completely satisfy general education requirements and can be used as a substitute for IGETC? I have two more courses remaining for IGETC certification. Would it be worth completing it if I already have the 7-course pattern requirements completed?
Hopefully you misunderstood the counselor. If not, find a better counselor.
The seven course pattern is required to be eligible for admission to UC. Every single UC applicant must complete this in order to be eligible for admission There would be no reason at all for IGETC to exist if the seven course pattern also satisfied the GE requirements. And of course it does not. Apples and oranges.
The seven course pattern is what you need to be eligible for admission. Once at a UC you must complete the General Ed requirements to graduate. These are two different sets of rules. Some or all of the seven course classes may apply to that goal depending on your campus, but you usually need additional classes. IGETC Is a set of classes that all UC campuses (outside of some majors such as engineering) will accept as satisfying their General Ed requirements.
My thoughts exactly for IGETC. I was confused as my counselor told me that engineering requires less general ed courses for UCs. What general ed pattern would I have to fulfill as an engineering major? Would I simply just be able to complete IGETC since I have two courses remaining to do so? Or is there a general ed pattern that requires less than IGETC?
You need the two English, one quant math and usually four from a selection of disciplines — (1) arts/humanities, (2) social science, (3) physical/life sciences. (BTW, chem and physics fulfill the last group). So usually engineering students do follow this 7 course path. However as mikemac said each college and major may have a different set of rules regarding those groups after English and math, so you need to look at each engineering college/school to which you apply for any revisions.
If you have a lot of AP exams it may be equal to, or easier to do, IGETC.
If you do not complete IGETC, or if you transfer to a campus/division that does not accept IGETC to fulfill lower division general education requirements, then you need to fulfill the lower division general education requirements of that campus/division (though some of the courses you took before transfer may count toward some of the requirements).
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/general-education-igetc/igetc/campus-guidance.html indicates that, for engineering majors, UCB does not accept IGETC (UCB engineering general education is described here: https://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-guide/degree-requirements/humanities-and-social-sciences – note that at least two upper division humanities or social studies courses are required, so they must be done after transfer for those transferring from community colleges), while other UCs do (however, UCSD Revelle has additional requirements even if you transfer with IGETC). Note that some UC engineering divisions say that IGETC is “not recommended” because they want students to focus on major prep, but if you are already close to completing IGETC, completing IGETC may be the preferred choice for you.
You can look up each general education requirements at each campus to see how close you are to fulfilling them if you do not have IGETC when you transfer.
If you are also applying to CSUs, note that they all share a common set of general education requirements that IGETC is very similar to.
@Ohm888 Hi, I’m late but I have a question. The UC site states we must complete “4 in at least 2 of these areas: arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, physical and biological sciences.”
How do they decide which 2 of the areas are fulfilled? The reason I ask is because I took a ton of arts/humanities and social/behavioral science courses with grades of A, more than the 4 required. However, I’m doing pretty poorly in my Anatomy class right now after it switched online which I’m afraid will impact the physical/biological science area. Nothing is set in stone but if I receive a D, will that void my completion of the 7 step pattern? Or will they take a look at my other courses since the instructions state “at least 2 of these areas,” and hopefully avoid the last area? I hope it can be transferable even if it’s a D grade but I’m worried.
As long as you have 4 courses in any two areas you’re ok, but a D could likely make them rescind the offer. Do NOT get a D, although if you are on P/NP you would get a NP which might be acceptable, especially in these trying times.
IGETC is a must to transfer out, correct me if I’m wrong. they even ask you if you’ve completed it in the application. I think STEM majors have more leeway when it comes to IGETC as some UC’s accept partial IGETC.
I don’t think so IGETC is strongly advised against Engineering students. I would assume it’s only recommended for everyone else
This is definitely not true, even some NON Engineering Students do not require IGETC to transfer out.
is engineering not in STEM?
well going through the process first hand, talking to UC representatives, and counselors, IGETC is almost a must before transferring out. What majors that arent STEM, don’t require IGETC completion???
IGETC is not required for any majors. For example, students could choose to take classes to meet the General Education breadth requirements for a specific campus instead if they wanted to. The 7-course pattern is required for everyone who is applying to UCs as a transfer student, but IGETC is optional. The only exception is that IGETC is required for the School of Business Administration at UC Riverside.
You can see which campuses and majors do and do not recommend IGETC here: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/general-education-igetc/igetc/campus-guidance.html
Generally, STEM majors are not recommended to complete IGETC and are instead encouraged to focus on their major preparation classes. It is the social sciences, humanities, and arts majors that are usually strongly recommended to complete IGETC before they transfer.
Not true, Berkeley requires full IGETC completion for my major which falls under their college of Letters&Science. They make you sign a form saying that you will/have completed full IGETC before transferring out. Below are the passage and questions on the form that I responded to on the UCB portal.
"IGETC
You have indicated that you will fulfill your breadth requirements with IGETC. Note: The University of California, Berkeley will only accept FULL UC IGETC. We will not accept partial IGETC certificates. Your community college will issue your IGETC certification.
Please answer the following questions.
Will you complete your Full UC IGETC by the end of the spring term?
Yes
Will you have passing letter grades (C or better) in all of your IGETC courses?
Yes
Have you checked with your community college counselor that you will meet all the requirements for FULL UC IGETC by the end of the spring term?
Yes"
I’m an Engineering major so yeah but idk if it pertains to all STEM majors
This is also not true. When I asked what the difference would be in GE requirements for EECS (in CoE) and CS (L&S) they just told me that I need a GE course (I forget which category) but that was it. They told me I was not required to complete IGETC and I’m sure that statement holds for every major in L&S
regardless if you choose to do IGETC or not, its there for a reason and completing it means that you don’t need to worry about general ed at any UC school when you transfer. It’s not a bad route to take, neither does it take longer to complete (Except for STEM majors). cheers.
No, IGETC is not required for UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Sciences. You can either complete IGETC or you can complete separate courses for each of the L&S breadth requirements.
They only make you fill out that form because you indicated on your application that you were completing IGETC. The form is to ensure that you complete the entirety of IGETC since they do not accept partial IGETC. (while some other UCs will accept partial IGETC)
IGETC is optional for Berkeley L&S, but if you choose to do IGETC, you must complete the entirety of it.
https://admissions.berkeley.edu/transfer-admissions-information-by-college says this:
In other words, IGETC is not required for admission to UCB L&S, but may be used in lieu of other requirements for admission.
In addition, a student transferring in with IGETC can use it to fulfill additional UCB L&S graduation requirements beyond those required for admission.