Hi everyone. I’m currently a community college student hoping to transfer to UCLA as an Applied Mathematics major. My counselor tells me only to take the classes that are required for my major. Do I have to complete IGETC? Is my general education different because I’m a STEM major? If I don’t complete the general education will I have to do it at UCLA?
Well, no one really HAS to complete IGETC, it’s more like a recommended guideline to completing GEs that’s pretty useful. Really it’s a way to standardize GE breadth requirement amongst all the UCs. SOME STEM majors shouldn’t fulfill IGETC because of how many units they need to take as lower division major pre-req/preparation ie. engineering majors and more
That said, Applied Math isn’t really that much of a high-unit major in most cases (depends what kind of applied), so in that case it’s not like fulfilling IGETC would be that much out of your way, it might help you get to 60 units (I’m a pure math transfer, so this is esp true for me but your concentration of applied math might involve chem, bio etc classes that bring you to 60 units by themselves.)
If your major prep classes total 60+ units (math & whatever other science classes you need to take) then go ahead and skip IGETC in order to transfer earlier and get those important pre-reqs done. If not, then consider doing it anyways. Or partially doing it. It’s really up to you, you can go ahead and talk to a UCLA transfer adviser or counselor as well and see what they say.
If you don’t complete your gen ed before transfer at any UC, you will have to do it there. Some people find it a bit of a relief to have some gen ed classes to take alongside upper division math. Others like getting it out of the way earlier on (and letting them focus on only classes in their major for their last 2 years of school, and possibly doing more work to prepare for grad school or something).
Yes, if you don’t complete your general Ed prior to UCLA you will have to complete it while there.
Thanks for the response! I now have a better idea about what courses to take.
@mathgeek97 that’s what we’re here for 