The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has approved an amendment to Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations that will create a singular general education (GE) pattern for all CSU undergraduates. This change—voted on in March and effective in fall 2025—will create a clear and consistent set of requirements for all future CSU students pursuing a bachelor's degree.
The updated CSU GE aligns with the units and learning areas of the new Cal-GETC (California General Education Transfer Curriculum). Cal-GETC will be the singular GE pattern offered at California Community Colleges (CCC) and becomes the single pattern for transfer to either the CSU or University of California (UC). The change to CSU GE was necessary to ensure that all undergraduate students, regardless of how they enter the CSU, whether as first-time, first-year students or as transfers, have the same lower-division GE requirements. Starting in fall 2025, students who complete the CSU GE or Cal-GETC curriculum will satisfy their lower-division GE requirements at any CSU campus.
“Aligning general education for all students provides an equitable set of degree requirements and will provide a clear roadmap for all undergraduates who pursue a CSU baccalaureate degree," said Nathan Evans, deputy vice chancellor of CSU Academic and Student Affairs. “These changes also meet the objective of California's Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act of 2021 by simplifying what can be often a challenging process for students crafting their degree plan and transferring credit."
Recognizing that more than half of first-time, first-year students arrive to the CSU with college credit through dual enrollment programs at California Community Colleges or through examinations, the Chancellor's Office recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the creation of a unified GE pattern for all CSU students.
The new CSU GE mirrors the five-fewer unit requirements of Cal-GETC but neither CSU GE nor Cal-GETC affects the total 120 units required to earn a CSU bachelor's degree.
The CSU Chancellor's Office will continue to work closely with the 23 universities to ensure implementation of the updates to CSU GE by fall 2025. More than $4 million has been committed to support campus implementation of the policy changes.
Learn more by visiting the CSU's Unified General Education Pathway website.
About the California State University
The California State University is the nation's largest four-year public university system, providing transformational opportunities for upward mobility to more than 450,000 students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. More than half of CSU students are people of color, and nearly one-third of them are first-generation college students. Because the CSU's 23 universities provide a high-quality education at an incredible value, they are rated among the best in the nation for promoting social mobility in national college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly. The CSU powers California and the nation, sending nearly 127,000 career-ready graduates into the workforce each year. In fact, one in every 20 Americans holding a college degree earned it at the CSU. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU newsroom.