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Catalog Year 2017-2018

University Requirements

Natural Sciences School Requirements

Major Requirements

University and Campus Requirements

The UC Merced general education program consists of courses that are informed by the Guiding Principles for General Education at UC Merced.

University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement

  • WRI 1 - Academic Writing

  • or other exemption (see catalog)

American History and Institutions Requirement

  • HIST 16 - Forging of the United States 1607-1877 and HIST 17 - Forging of the United States 1877-Present
  • or other exemption (see catalog)

One-semester CORE Course

  • CORE 1 - The World at Home or approved substitution

Lower Division Writing Course

  • WRI 10 - College Reading and Composition

Natural Sciences School Requirements 

All Natural Science majors are required to take a minimum of 8 units of Lower Division coursework. These courses cannot be used to meet more than one (1) requirement, duplication is not allowed. Pre-requisites to all courses are available in the UC Merced catalog or online at http://registrar.ucmerced.edu/go/schedule. All courses are not available every semester. Please be sure to review the Schedule of Classes for specific term availability.

One lower division elective in the Humanities or Arts

CCST 60/SPAN 60/ENG 32-Introduction to Chicano/a Culture and Experiences

GASP 65A-Bollywood

CHN 1-Elementary Chinese I

GASP 66A-The American Musical

CHN 2-Elementary Chinese I

GASP 70C: Music of the Carribean World

CHN 3-Intermediate Chinese I

GASP 72A-Popular Musics

CHN 4-Intermediate Chinese II

GASP 75A-Meaning in Music

ENG 17-Why Harry Potter? Why Literature?

HIST 5-History of Cartography

ENG 20-Introduction to Shakespeare

HIST 10-Introduction to World History to 1500

ENG 21-Jane Austen and Popular Culture

HIST 11-Introduction to World History Since 1500

ENG 30-Literature of Childhood

HIST 16-The Forging of the United States, 1607-1877

ENG 31-Introduction to African-American Literature and Culture

HIST 17-The Modern United States, 1877-Present

ENG 33-Literature and Sexuality

HIST 25-Introduction to Environmental History

ENG 50- Readings in Close Reading

HIST 27- History of Food

ENG 52-Politics and Prose of the Nobel Prize in Literature

HIST 30A-Medieval Europe

ENG 54- Introduction to American Novel

HIST 30B-Early Modern Europe

ENG 55- Introduction to the Short Story

HIST 31-Modern European History

ENG 56- Introduction to World Drama

HIST 40-History of Technology in Society I

ENG 57-Introduction to Poetry

HIST 41-History of Technology in Society II

ENG 64-LGBT Fiction

HIST 42-The Body in Health and Disease-An Introduction to the History of Medicine

ENG 66- Literary Romance

HIST 60-The Silk Road

ENG 90- Topics in Literature

HIST 70-History of Islam I: From Muhammad to the Caliphate

HIST 71-History of Islam II: From the Caliphate to the Present

FRE 2-Elementary French II

HIST 80-History of China Through the Mongol Conquest

FRE 3-Intermediate French I

HIST 81-History of China Since the Mongol Conquest

FRE 4-Intermediate French II

JPN 1- Elementary Japanese I

GASP 2- Introduction to Music Studies

JPN 2-Elementary Japanese II

GASP 3- Intro to Visual Culture

JPN 3-Intermediate Japanese I

GASP 4-Introduction to Arts and Cultural Studies 

JPN 4-Intermediate Japanese II

GASP 5-Intro to Arts and Technology

PHIL 1- Introduction to Philosophy

GASP 6-Global Art History

PHIL 2-Introduction to Ethics

GASP 7-Music in Society

PHIL 3-Applied Ethics

GASP 10-Drawing I

PHIL 9-Phenomenology and Existentialism

GASP 11-Painting I

SPAN 1-Elementary Spanish I

GASP 12A-Sculpture I

SPAN 2-Elementary Spanish II

GASP 13A-Design I

SPAN 3-Intermediate Spanish I

GASP 14-Photography I

SPAN 4-Intermediate Spanish II

GASP 15A-Multimedia I 

SPAN 10-Spanish for Heritage Speakers I 

GASP 20- Video I

SPAN 11- Spanish for Heritage Speakers II

GASP 30C-Swing Music Ensemble

SPAN 50- Introduction to Hispanic Literature

GASP 30D-Nordic Music Ensemble

SPAN 51-Introduction to Hispanic Literatures II

GASP 31C-Swing Dance Ensemble

WH 1- Introduction to World History

GASP 31D-Nordic Dance Ensemble

WH 2- Cyper Heritage

GASP 34A-Songwriting

WH 3-International Heritage

GASP 36A- Making Electronic Music

WH 4-World Heritage in Maps: An Introduction to Cartography and GIS

GASP 55A- Arts of Asia

WH 10- Cultural Geography

GASP 55B- Arts of the Islamic World

 

One lower division elective in the Social Sciences

ANTH 1-Introduction to Socio-cultural Anthropology

PUBP 1-Introduction to Public Policy

ANTH 3-Introduction to Anthropological Archaeology

SOC 1-Introduction to Sociology*

ANTH 5-Introduction to Biological Anthropology

SOC 2-Marriage and the Family

COGS 1-Introduction to Cognitive Science

SOC 9-Community Mobilization and Politics

COGS 5-Introduction to Language and Linguistics

SOC 20-Social Problems

ECON 1-Introduction to Economics

SOC 30-Social Inequality

PH 1-Introduction to Public Health*

SOC 35-Introduction to Political Sociology

PH 5-Global & International Public Health

SOC 36-Globalization

POLI 1-Introduction to American Politics

SOC 38-Sociology of Race and Racism

POLI 2-Controversies in American Politics

 SOC 40-Intro to the Sociology of Organizations

POLI 3-Introduction to Comparative Politics

 SOC 50-Self and Society

POLI 5-Introduction to International Relations

 SOC 55-Sociology of the Family

POLI 6-Global Issues

SOC 60-Introduction to the Sociology of Gender

POLI 9-Community Mobilization and Politics

SOC 70-Introduction to Crime and Deviance

PSY 1-Introduction to Psychology*

 SOC 80-Issues of Race and Ethnicity

Printer-Friendly Handout of Lower Division GE Elective Requirements

All Natural Science majors are required to take a minimum of 8 units of Upper Division Elective coursework. These courses cannot be used to meet more than one (1) requirement, duplication is not allowed. Pre-requisites to all courses are available in the UC Merced catalog or online at http://registrar.ucmerced.edu/go/schedule.  All courses are not available every semester.  Please be sure to review the Schedule of Classes for specific term availability.

One upper division elective emphasizing oral or written communication

ANTH 150-Race and Human Variation

PSY 151-The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice

ANTH 151-Human Adaptability

PSY 152-Psychological Perspectives on Cultural, Racial, and Ethnic Diversity

COGS 144-Animal Cognition

PSY 156-Social Psychology

COGS 150-Language, Cognition & Interaction

PSY 160-Cognitive Psychology

COGS 152-Services Science & Management

USTU 110-Undergraduate Studies: Tutor Training

ECON 101-Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

WRI 100-Advanced Writing 

ECON 140-Labor Economics

WRI 104- Personal Writing Style 

ESS 141-Environmental Science Policy

WRI 111- Course-embedded Tutor Training 

HIST 124A-African American History to 1877

WRI 114-Environmental Writing

HIST 124B-African American History 1877 to Present

WRI 115-Topics in Science Writing

MGMT 150-Service Science

WRI 116-Science Writing in Natural Sciences*

PHIL 101-Metaphysics

WRI 117-Writing for the Social Sciences and Humanities

POLI 110- Governmental Power and the Constitution

WRI 118-Management Communication Theory and Practice

PSY 110-History of Psychology

 WRI 119-Writing for Engineering

PSY 130-Developmental Psychology

WRI 121- International Rhetoric

One upper division elective from the Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts

ANTH 100-199-Upper Division Anthropology

PH 100-199-Upper Division Public Health

ARTS 100-199-Upper Division Arts

PHIL 100-199-Upper Division Philosophy

COGS 100-199-Upper Division Cognitive Science

POLI 100-199-Upper Division Political Science

ECON 100-199-Upper Division Economics

PSY 100-199-Upper Division Psychology

ENG 100-199-Upper Division English

PUBP 100-199-Upper Division Public Policy

FRE 100-199-Upper Division French

SOC 100-199–Upper Division Sociology

GASP 100-199-Upper Division Global Arts

SPAN 100-199-Upper Division Spanish

HIST 100-199-Upper Division History

WCH 100-199-World Cultures and History 

JPN 100-199-Upper Division Japanese

WH 100-199-Upper Division World Heritage

MGMT 100-199-Upper Division Management

WRI 100-199-Upper Division Writing

PLEASE NOTE:
Additional courses may be approved in the future.  If you have taken a course that is not on this list please check with your advisor for approval
*Strongly recommended for students preparing for health professions schools.  Be sure to check  specific school requirements for more information.

Printer-Friendly Handout of Upper Division GE Elective Requirement

Major Requirements for 2017-2018

Major area lower and upper division course and emphasis track requirements are unique to each major. Planning guides and sample plans are listed for each emphasis below.

Applied Mathematical Sciences

See course flow chart here.

Earth Systems Science

See course flow chart here.

Chemical Sciences

See course flow chart here. 

Biological Sciences

See 3 Year Sample Plans here.
See course flow chart here.

Physics

See course flow chart here.