WELCOME to the College of Liberal Arts
On-Line Advising Program for Transfer Students!
Cal Poly is converting
to a new electronic degree audit system by PeopleSoft. More than likely, you will have to wait until mid-Fall Quarter to receive an evaluation of your prior academic work. Please follow the instructions below carefully. This information should help you understand more
clearly your remaining requirements.
For your convenience, we have created
Word documents or PDFs of the curriculum sheets by major and catalog year. If your major has
information on the front and back of the curriculum sheet,
it will have two pages. Otherwise, all the information
is on one page.
As a transfer student, you may have
catalog
rights to a prior catalog. If you have not yet received
your transfer evaluation and do not know your catalog
year, refer to the Choice
of Catalog section in the Liberal Arts web site and
decide which catalog you will follow. You can compare
the difference by printing the curriculum sheets for the
various catalogs.
Notice how the courses on the sheet
are divided into Major courses, Support/Concentration courses,
GE courses, and, in most cases, Electives. Transfer students
often have only their Major/Support/Concentration courses and upper
division GE to complete. This is the case if you are GE
certified by your Junior College (JC). If unsure, contact
your JC to confirm that you are in fact GE certified.
An AA is not necessarily the same thing. GE certification
means all your lower division GE in the GE column from
Areas A through E (now D4) is MET, regardless of whether
or not you took a course equivalent to the courses Cal
Poly designates for GE. The one exception to this rule is the D1 requirement, which includes US/CA History, Constitution and American Ideals requirement (Title 5, Section 40404). Your JC can tell you if you've met this requirement.
In the top right hand corner of the
curriculum sheet, you’ll see the total number of
units required for your degree. Right below the “UNITS
REQUIRED,” note the boxes marked Earned Hours, Quality
Hours, Quality Points, and GPA. “Transcript Totals”
are all units earned at Cal Poly and at other institutions.
Non-baccalaureate units (such as remedial math or English)
will be deducted from the total since they are not degree
applicable. Occasionally transfer students bring in more
units from JC than are allowable. Of the total number
of units needed for the degree, only 70 semester units
can be earned at a JC. Since Cal Poly is on the quarter
system, that means 105 quarter units. (Each semester unit
equals 1.5 quarter units.) JC Units in excess of 105 quarter
units will be deducted from the sum.
Quality Hours and Quality Points are
merely a function of grade point average (GPA). Credit/No
Credit (CR/NC) units are not included in Quality Hours,
but units of “F” are. Students must have at
minimum a 2.0 GPA to graduate.
Take a look at the requirements listed in the upper LEFT side of the sheet. The Major GPA must also be at least 2.0 to graduate. Listed next is the United States Cultural Pluralism Requirement ( USCP ) which does not require you to complete an additional course. Any Major, Support, Elective, or GE course can be used to meet the USCP, as long as the course is designated USCP. Some transfer students have already met this requirement by taking an approved course at JC. Check with your advisor or the Evaluation Office sometime during fall quarter. In the meantime, pay particular attention to the USCP courses that are also designated Area C4 or D5 if you have not met these requirements at another university and if your major does not already require a Major or Support USCP course.
Next on the list is the upper division
requirement: “60 Units Upper Division Met.”
Of all the units completed for the degree, 60 must be
upper division (300-400 level courses). Community colleges
can not offer upper division courses; upper division courses
are designed for juniors and seniors.
The “GWR Met” also represents
a requirement you can not meet until you have reached
junior status (earned 90 units). The Graduation
Writing Requirement will test your competency in writing.
Many students coming from JC think they have met all their
writing requirements. THIS IS NOT SO. If you are transferring
in as a junior, meet the GWR as soon as possible. That
way if it becomes a problem, you can begin working to
strengthen your writing skills by taking courses or by visiting
the University
Writing Lab regularly and often!
In addition to fulfilling the Graduation
Writing Requirement after completing 90 units, you are
also required to complete three upper division GE courses. For most students, the upper division GE will be a C4 and a D5 not offered by the major and an Area F course. On the subject of 90 units,
remember that semester units are one-and-a-half times
greater than quarter units. If you have completed 60 semester
units, that’s 90 quarter units. Commonly transfer students enroll in some upper division GE their first quarter at Cal Poly.
“Free Electives Met”
basically relates to the number of units needed to earn
the degree. If all specific course requirements have been
met and you have not completed the total needed for the
degree, you still have free electives to complete. Moreover,
the total number of units needed to graduate is constant,
but the number of required “electives” could
change if you’ve made substitutions, double counted*
additional GE courses, or if the department has changed
the unit-value of required courses. The purpose of free
electives is to allow you to take courses that sound interesting
to you and have them count toward your degree.
*The term “double counted”
does not mean the unit value of the course is doubled.
It simply means the course is being used to satisfy more
than one requirement. Most of your lower division GE has
already been double counted, but occasionally your choices
will result in additional GE courses being double counted.
For additional information on Cal Poly's GE program and your choices for your upper division GE (C4, D5, F), please CLICK HERE.
Moving on, if you are registering without an evaluation of your prior credit, look over the titles of your
Major and /or Support courses on the curriculum sheet. If some appear to be the
equivalent of a course you have already completed, hold
off registering in that course until you have spoken with
your faculty or academic advisor. Read the course
descriptions in the back of the catalog
for a fuller understanding of what the courses encompass.
Course prerequisites are also listed here. ASSIST.ORG is a wonderful web site to determine which courses from your college articulate for specific Cal Poly courses. Also remember that JC’s can not offer upper
division courses. No JC courses articulate for upper division
courses, even if they have the same title.
After this careful review, you should
have a much clearer understanding of your requirements.
Now you’re ready for your department’s course recommendations. These recommendations are
relatively generic and usually assume GE certification.
If you are transferring in from a university or four year
college, you may have earned upper division credit. Contact your department or academic advisor for
assistance if you have questions.
We recommend you enroll in no more
than 14 units your first quarter at Cal Poly. Twelve units
is full-time. You should also know that only THREE majors
in the College of Liberal Arts allow students to take
one Major or Support course CR/NC. Those three majors are:
Art and Design, Journalism and
Liberal Studies.
Regarding PRIOR CREDIT and the course
recommendations below , follow this
adage: "When in doubt, leave it out." Don't enroll in
a course if you think you should have already earned
credit for it. And please, before scrolling to
your major's course recommendations below, click these
links for succinct advice critical to
your successful fall registration.
Art and Design (Graphic Design, Photography & Digital Imagery, and Studio Art)
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Graphic Design Concentration: Art 101, 105 (formerly 132), & 182 or advanced courses based on faculty advisor approval (Don't repeat coursework; refer to www.assist.org );
- Photo Concentration: Art 101, 105 (formerly 132), 121 (formerly 221), & 182 or advanced courses based on faculty advisor approval (Don't repeat coursework; refer to www.assist.org );
- Studio Concentration: Art 101, 105 (formerly 132), & 182 or advanced courses based on faculty advisor approval (Don't repeat coursework; refer to www.assist.org )
- All concentrations: additional possibilities, Art 148 only if Art 107 (formerly 134) has been completed; an Art history course (upper division only if lower division already completed) or some combination of a non-Art C4, a D5 and/or an Area F for 12 to 15 units total.
Child Development
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- CD 102
- Psy 201 or 202 (if not yet completed)
- CD 309
- some combination of a C4, a non-Psy D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Communication Studies
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- any lower division COMS courses in the major column not yet completed
- COMS 311 and/or COMS 330 if prerequisites completed
- some combination of Hist 110 if not completed or a non-COMS C4, a D5 or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Comparative Ethnic Studies
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- any lower division ES requirements in the major column not yet completed
- foreign language if 8 units not yet completed or Stat 217 if not yet completed
- some combination of a non-ES C4, a non-ES D5 or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
English
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Registration for required English major core classes is handled through the department only. Please contact Kathryn Rummell at (805) 756-2142 krummell@calpoly.edu
- Fr, Ger, or Span 121 if not yet completed and if eligible
- some combination of a non-Engl C4, a D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Graphic Communication
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- GrC 101 (or possibly GrC 472 if you have credit for GrC 101)
- GrC 201
- PSc 101 or Chem 110 or Stat 217 or Math 118 (same as Math 116 & 117) if not yet completed
- some combination of a C4, a D5, and/or an Area F (NOT GrC 377) if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
- students interested in Design Reproduction Technology concentration should contact the GrC dept. (756-1109) to discuss the Art series.
History
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Hist 303
- Fr, Ger, or Span 121 if not yet completed and if eligible
- lower division (100-200 level) Hist in the major column not yet completed
- some combination of a C4, a non-Hist D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Journalism
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Jour 203
- Jour 219
- some combination of a C4, a D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Liberal Studies
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- LS 214, LS270, Hist 208, Hist 110 (enroll in two of the four)
- LS 230 or LS 250 (do not need to be taken in order - enroll in one)
- Math 327 or GE area F
- Other courses as needed after contacting Betty Sawyer -Jennings .
- LS 101 (enroll in this one unit course after the full rotation, when you can enroll in more than 16 units)
Modern Languages and Literatures
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Span ___ (all MLL majors must take the Spanish Placement Test)
- secondary language if second year Spanish completed
- some combination of a non-MLL C4, a D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Music
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Mu 101 or 103 (depending on placement results and prior credit)
- Mu 104
- Piano Proficiency
- Applied Music
- Performing Ensembles
- Mu 320 or Mu 300-400 Elective (if prerequisites met—check the Catalog)
- some combination of a non-Mu C4, a D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Philosophy
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Phil 225, 230, or 231 if not yet completed or any upper division Phil if lower division Phil completed
- some combination of a non-Phil C4, a D5, and/or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Political Science
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- PolS 180 (You are required to enroll Fall Quarter; course offered Fall only.)
- any additional lower division PolS in the Major column not yet completed
- any lower division Support column courses (Statistics or Western Civilization) not yet completed
- some combination of a C4, a non-PolS D5 or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Psychology
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Stat 217 if not completed; Psy 329 if Stat 217 completed
- a USCP course if not completed; Psy 323 if USCP course completed
- some combination of a C4, a non-Psy D5, and an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Social Sciences
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- some combination of Ant 201 or 202, Geog 150, or Soc 110 if not completed
- any upper division Ant, Geog, or Soc elective if prerequisites have been completed
- some combination of a C4, a non -Ant/Geog/Soc D5, or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
Theatre Arts
Barring PRIOR CREDIT:
- Th 210 and/or Th 227 if not completed
- Th 320 or Th 330 or Th 390 if prerequisites completed
- some combination of Engl 339, a D5, or an Area F if needed for 12 to 14 units total.
We hope this On-Line Program has answered
most of your questions. Feel free to contact your major
department or your academic advisor for additional assistance.
Email addresses and phone numbers are available from the
College of Liberal
Arts Web Site by clicking Academics and then clicking on your department's web page or by clicking the Academic Advising Main Page from the college web site.
Our best wishes go with you to study,
to ponder, to build a foundation for lifelong learning
and inquiry.
