General Education

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Completing Generation Education Requirements Prior to Enrolling

PAU's general education requirements largely mirror the requirements to transfer to a CSU. We have outlined below a general articulation plan as it relates to courses guaranteed to transfer from a CA community college to the CSU system. This list is not comprehensive - we encourage students to complete a transfer evaluation to get a clear sense of how many courses they may transfer to PAU.

You can also visit assist.org to see a list of courses at your community college that are certified to meet the CSU general education requirements.

PAU General Education Area	Unit Requirements	Any course designated as a CSU Transfer area:
Area A – English Language, Communication and Critical Thinking	Minimum of 9 semester units or 12 quarter units	A1—Oral Communication A2—Written Communication A3—Critical Thinking
Area B – Scientific Inquiry	Minimum of 6 semester units or 8 quarter units. Includes one course from each: Physical Science and Life Science	B1—Physical Sciences B2—Life Science
Area C – Arts and Humanities	Minimum of 9 semester units or 12 quarter units. Select courses in at least two disciplines.	C1—Art C2—Humanities
Area D – Social Sciences	Minimum of 9 semester units or 12 quarter units. Select courses in at least two disciplines	Any Area D
Area E – Human Understanding and Development	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units.	Any Area E
Mathematics	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units of transfer-level math. Students who have taken and passed an Introduction to Statistics course prior to enrolling at PAU will not be required to take MATH320 or MATH325.	B4—Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
Introduction to Psychology	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units.	May also be called General Psychology

Completing General Education Requirements at PAU

Students are encouraged to complete all general education requirements prior to enrolling, but may complete them while enrolled at PAU through dual enrollment at an accredited college or university, or through PAU courses designated as general-education-eligible (see chart below). Palo Alto University's general education requirements largely mimic the A-E requirements for the CSU system.

General Education Area	Unit Requirements	Options for Completion: Psychology and Social Action Major
Area A1 – English Language	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units	PSYC300 Psychological Writing
Area A2 – Communication	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units
Area A3 – Critical Thinking	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units	PHIL310 Philosophy of Ethics
Area B1 – Physical Science	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units
Area B2 – Life Science	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units	BIOL350 Biological Psychology
Area C – Arts and Humanities	Minimum of 9 semester units or 12 quarter units. Select courses in at least two disciplines.	PHIL300 Philosophy of Science PHIL310 Philosophy of Ethics ANTH370 Ethnic Identity, Social Stratification
Area D – Social Sciences	Minimum of 9 semester units or 12 quarter units. Select courses in at least two disciplines	ANTH350 Cultural Anthropology ANTH370 Ethnic Identity, Social Stratification POLI310 International Political Economy PSYC360 Psychology of Gender PSYC340 Research Design & Methods PSYC375 Cross-Cultural Psychology SOCI300 Social Problems PSYC320 Social Psychology PSYC380 Psychology of Lifespan Development PSYC390 Abnormal and Clinical Psychology SOCI320 Globalization
Area E – Human Understanding and Development	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units.	SOCI340 Fundamentals of Social Action PSYC320 Social Psychology PSYC310 Psychology of Learning and Memory SOCI300 Social Problems PSYC380 Psychology of Lifespan Development
Mathematics	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units of transfer-level (non-remedial) math. Students who have taken and passed an Introduction to Statistics course prior to enrolling at PAU will not be required to take MATH320 or MATH325.	MATH320 Statistics for the Social Sciences
Introduction to Psychology	Minimum of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units.	Must be completed prior to enrollment

Completing General Education Units after Enrollment

Students will develop an Individualized Education Plan with their academic advisor, prior to the start of classes. This plan will outline:

Remaining general education requirements
Remaining major requirements
Additional elective units needed to reach 90 upper-division quarter units and 180 quarter units in total, if necessary
A reasonable enrollment load, personalized for each student. This is especially important if a student will dual-enroll to complete any requirements.
- Options for completing the required units would include:
  - CLEP
  - Accredited community college courses
  - PAU courses at the undergraduate or graduate level
  - Classes at other accredited 4-year institutions