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English, General Education Courses, and Electives

Entry Level Writing Requirement

If you have not met the Entry Level Writing requirement, it is best to complete Workload (English) 57 (WLD 57) as soon as possible. Workload 57 is a 4.5 unit course that carries only workload units. You must satisfy the Entry Level Writing requirement no later than the end of your third quarter of registration unless this date requirement is extended because you are required to take linguistics courses to prepare for ENL 57. See the UC Davis General Catalog for information regarding this requirement.

If you have met the Entry Level Writing requirement, you may wish to consider an elective such as UWP 1 or English 3, a comparative literature course, a freshman seminar, or any other course which interests you. Your freshman year is an excellent time to explore new areas of study. You may not receive credit for some GE classes until the Entry Level Writing requirement is satisfied. See the UCD General Catalog Supplement to review requirements for incoming freshmen.

The English Composition Requirement

Every student needs to complete 8 units of English composition, of which 4 units must be upper division.

Courses that satisfy the lower division unit requirement are listed below. You may have taken an equivalent to one of these courses at a community college. You can check Assist if you are not sure.

  • Comparative Literature 1, 2, 3, 4
  • English 3
  • Native American Studies 5
  • Undergraduate Writing Program 1, 18 or 19

You will also need to complete one upper division course from the options listed below. These courses do not have a community college equivalent.

  • University Writing Program 101, 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D, 102E, 104A, 104B, 104C, 104D, 104E or 104F

The Foreign Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for students completing a Bachelor of Science. Bachelor of Arts students should see an adviser in the College of Biological Sciences Dean's Office.

Elective Courses Are Important Too (and fun!)

Whether you have taken many or few electives at your former institution, the following will give you some additional ideas of electives that are pertinent to your future.

Courses are listed here by a three-letter identifier code. This code is used at the start of each department's course listing in the catalog. Make sure you have completed the prerequisites given in the course catalog for any course you take.

  • Enhance your resume. Besides being interested in your scientific knowledge, many employers are looking for applicants that write well, speak well, solve problems, understand and use different software applications (AMR 21, ECS 15), and relate well with other people. You can prove and improve your skills by taking courses or internships that include those areas.
  • Find an internship (192) or research (199) opportunity. The CBS research web pages and the Internship and Career Center give more information and a list of available faculty.
  • Take courses numbered 1 to 99 (freshmen and sophomores) or 99-199 (juniors and seniors) from our medical, veterinary, education, or management schools. They are open to undergraduates.
  • Improve your future lifestyle and take general courses in nutrition (FST 10, NUT 10), personal finance, healthful living (PHE 44).
  • Explore new worlds and seek out new planets by taking a "10" course. Almost every department offers a general non-major course designated by the course number 10 (e.g. Astronomy 10 taught by Physics). Who knows—our acting course (DRA 10) may help on an interview.
  • Focus on understanding other cultures (potential future clients) either through language and culture courses, or ethnic studies. Look for these course identifiers: AAS, ASA, CHI, NAS, WMS.
  • Earn one of our more than 80 minors (listed in your catalog), including the Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics minor and Neuroscience minor.
  • Take advantage of our unique educational roots and take such exotic courses as Captive Raptor Management (AVS 15L), taking care of farm and lab animals on campus (ANS 49A-J), gardening (PLB 1), growing grapes (VEN 2), making wine (VEN 3), clothing style and cultural studies (TXC 7), Art, Science and Insects (ENT 1), Introduction to Brewing and Beer (FST 3), Aging (BIS 15, ENT 117), National Parks (GEL 25), Earthquakes (GEL 17), and of course the incredibly popular tractor driving (ABT 49). It's fun handling the big machines!
  • Take a science integrative course in Nature and Culture (NAC), History and Philosophy of Science (HPS), Science and Society (SAS), Science and Technology Studies (STS), or a seminar in your major or similar department.