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Transfer to the California State University

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Admission from Community Colleges

Students who were eligible for admission to the California State University based upon their high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores may be eligible to transfer with less than 60 college semester units (lower division transfer).  However, the student must have maintained at least a C average in all college work and must be in good academic standing. Most campuses of the CSU system will not accept lower division transfer students.  Check with a counselor to determine available options.

Students who were not eligible for admission from high school must complete 60 transferable college semester units with a 2.0 average. Students, who meet these minimum standards, while eligible for admission to a CSU campus, may not be accepted into a specific major or department. In the case of impacted majors and/or campuses, other selection criteria are also used.

Allan Hancock College courses that are numbered from 100 to 199 are accepted by the California State University system as transferable and students may transfer up to 70 community college semester units. In the Announcement of Courses section of this catalog, courses that are transferable to the California State University system are identified. Units that a student completed at a four-year college will be evaluated separately by the CSU campus.

California State University General Education Certification Breadth Requirements

Since 1981, the California State University (CSU) has required that a minimum of 48 semester units of general education courses be completed before a baccalaureate would be awarded. Up to 39 of these units may be certified by a community college.

In order to facilitate the transfer of Allan Hancock College students who plan to attend a campus of the California State University system, our certification of general education breadth requirements may include previously completed courses from other institutions as well as courses completed in residence.

Courses completed at other campuses of the CSU or at California community colleges must be certified in accordance with the pattern of the source institution. It is the student’s responsibility to provide: a) an official copy of his or her external transcript(s); and b) a dated general education certification pattern from the source institution which coincides with the term or terms in which such courses were completed.

Courses that have been completed at a regionally accredited institution other than a California community college or CSU will be included only under the following circumstances:

  1. The student provides an official transcript, catalog description(s) and, if required, dated course outline(s);
  2. The course is determined to be equivalent to a course in Allan Hancock College’s CSU general education pattern through the pass-along process.

Unit and subject matter credit for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and CLEP exams will be included in the California State University certification of general education requirements in accordance with the CSU Chancellor’s Office policy. Students wishing to use units awarded for AP, IB, and CLEP should check with the Counseling department or the University Transfer Center.

Generally, the evaluation and certification of general education requirements is done only once. In those cases where, for some reason, a revision is needed, the student may be required to pay a fee of $10 for the service.

A Maximum of 39 Units in General Education May be Certified by Allan Hancock College

A minimum of nine additional units in upper-division courses must be completed after transfer. A application for general education certification is available at the Counseling department or the University Transfer Center or online.

CSU GE NOTE: No course may be counted in more than one area. CSU GE transfer applicants must complete a minimum of 30 semester units including Area A and B4 on this pattern with a grade of C or better in each course.

Since there are a total of 39 units of CSU lower-division GE required for certification, the remaining 9 units may be taken for a passing grade (D- or better).). Since there are a total of 39 units of CSU lower-division GE required for certification, the remaining 9 units may be taken for a passing grade (D- or better).

CSU Educational Pattern

The 2022-2023 approved California State University General Education pattern is shown below.

Area A English Language Communication and Critical Thinking [9]

A1 Oral Communication [3]
SPCH 101, 102, 106

A2 Written Communication [3]
ENGL 101

A3 Critical Thinking [3]
ENGL 103
PHIL 112, 114
SPCH 106

Area B Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning [9] {1 lab}

B1 Physical Science {1}
ASTR 100
CHEM 110, 120, 150, 151, 180, 181
GEOG 101, 110
GEOL 100, 111, 114, 131, 141
PHSC 111, 112
PHYS 100, 110, 141, 142, 161, 162, 163

B2 Life Science {1}
AG 152, 161
ANTH 101
BIOL 100, 120, 124, 125, 128, 132, 150, 154, 155

B3 Laboratory Activity
AG 161
ANTH 110
GEOG 115
or
One of the courses in category B1 or B2 must be with a lab

B4 Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning {1}
MATH 100, 105, 121, 123, 131, 135, 141, 181, 182, 183, 184

Area C Arts, Arts and Humanities [9] (at least one course in Arts and Humanities)

C1 Arts [3]
ART 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 110, 115, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127, 128, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165
DANC 101,
DRMA 103, 104, 110, 111
FASH 104
FILM 101, 102, 107, 110, 115
GRPH 110, 129
MMAC 115
MUS 100, 101, 102, 104, 106
PHTO 110

C2 Humanities [3]
ASL 121, 138
ENGL 102, 106, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140, 144, 145, 146, 148
FILM 103, 104, 109, 119
FRCH 101, 102
HIST 101, 102, 104, 105, 138
HUM 101, 102, 104, 105
PHIL 101, 102, 105, 121, 122
SPAN 101, 102, 103, 104, 112
SPCH 108

Area D Social, Social Sciences [9] (Choose three courses from at least two disciplines)

AJ 101, 103
ANTH 102, 103
BUS 121, 141
ECON 101, 102, 121, 141
ECS 100, 101
ES 121, 130
GEOG 102, 103, 105
GBST 101, 141
HIST 101, 102,103,107, 108, 119, 120
HUM 101, 102, 103
LGBT 101, 102
POLS 101, 103, 104, 105
PSY 101, 105, 112, 113, 117, 118, 119, 121
SOC 101, 102, 104, 110, 120, 155, 160
SPCH 103, 110

NOTE: U.S. History and American Institutions Requirement
The California State University system will not award a degree until a student fulfills the U.S. History and American institutions requirement. Any of the course combinations listed below will satisfy this requirement:

  1. HIST 107 and either POLS 101 or 103
  2. HIST 108 and either POLS 101 or 103
  3. HIST 118 and either POLS 101 or 103

NOTE: Some CSUs will not allow the units earned by fulfilling this requirement to be used in Area D; other CSUs will count the units in both areas. Check the CSU college catalog for a specific campus or with the University Transfer Center. Political science courses used to meet this requirement must have been completed in a California institution. 

Area E Lifelong Learning and Self Development [3]

DANC 110, 120, 130
ECS 100
FCS 131
FSN 109, 110, 112
HED 100
HUSV 110
LS 101
PD 100, 101
PSY 106, 112, 113, 117, 118
SOC 106, 110

NOTE: Only 1 unit from the following PE or PEIA courses is applicable to Area E:

PE 120, 121, 122, 123, 130, 133, 134, 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 154, 156, 160, 164, 167, 170, 172
PEIA 100, 105, 110, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 170, 185

Area F Ethnic Studies

ES 121, 130
HIST 120


NOTE: No course may be counted in more than one area means it transfers as a lab/activity/practice course [ ] means a minimum number of units is required.

{ } means a minimum number of courses is required.