Additional University Graduation Requirements

217 · APM 219 · October 22, 2025

I. INTRODUCTION

These Additional University Graduation Requirements (AUGR) are designed to complement the GE requirements. It is the policy of California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), that all students will cultivate and refine their affective, cognitive, and physical faculties through studying great works of the human imagination; be equipped for lifelong understanding and development of themselves as integrated physiological, social, and psychological beings; and be prepared to understand and live in a multicultural and international world through their undergraduate education. This will be accomplished through Arts/Humanities (A/H), Lifelong-Understanding and Self-Development (L/S), and Multicultural/International (M/I) courses.

II. ARTS / HUMANITIES (A/H) GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

All students are required to take an A/H course as an additional university graduation requirement for the bachelor’s degree. A/H courses at Fresno State meet this graduation requirement. This graduation requirement is in addition to the GE Area 3 (Arts and Humanities) requirements in the CSU-GE pattern. That is, students must complete 12 units in total (6 units for CSU-GE Area 3, 3 units for Area I3, and 3 units from the A/H graduation requirement).

General Course Requirements

While A/H courses in different departments will have specific requirements that are unique to their disciplinary contexts, the following general requirements will be met by all A/H courses:

  1. All A/H courses are worth at least 3 units of credit.
  2. All A/H courses are at the lower-division level.
  3. All A/H courses can be double counted for major requirements if a course is both A/H and a major required course or elective. Departments with an A/H course may require an A/H course to be taken outside of the major department.
  4. Arts courses within A/H courses will include the following learning outcomes:
    • Respond orally and in writing to aesthetic experiences, both subjectively and objectively, validating the integrity of both emotional and intellectual responses,
    • Recognize and explain the relationship between the self and the arts in a given cultural context, and
    • Recognize, describe, and interpret works of art and performance; students may engage in skill development and/or participate in artistic creation.
  5. Humanities courses within A/H courses will include one of the following learning outcomes:
    • Objectively review and explain important philosophical, historical or linguistic findings and developments.
      or
    • Recognize, describe, and interpret works of the human imagination or intellect in their cultural context, either subjectively or objectively.
      or
    • Demonstrate basic competence with a language (not English) and interpret texts or speech produced in that language from a relevant cultural perspective.
  6. Students may take courses in languages other than English in fulfillment of this requirement. If the course is taught in a language other than English, it must include both skills acquisition and a substantial cultural component. This may include literature, among other contents.
  7. Courses in the humanities must:
    1. Promote an understanding of the development of contemporary civilization through studies of its historical and cultural roots in humanistic endeavors, e.g., literature, philosophy, and languages other than English.
    2. Include exposure to diverse cultural perspectives.
    3. Reflect critically and systematically on questions concerning beliefs, values and the nature of existence.

      or

      Include a survey of the various types and styles of literature from a variety of historical perspectives and cultures, including instruction in the techniques of literary criticism.

      or

      Foster skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing a language other than English within a cultural and artistic context.

III. LIFELONG-UNDERSTANDING AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT (L/S) GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

All students are required to take a lifelong understanding and self-development course as a requirement for graduation at the bachelor’s degree level. L/S courses at Fresno State meet this graduation requirement.

General Course Requirements

While L/S courses in different departments will have specific requirements that are unique to their disciplinary contexts, the following general requirements will be met by all L/S courses offered at Fresno State:

  1. All L/S courses are worth at least 3 units of credit.
  2. All L/S courses are at the lower division level.
  3. All L/S courses can be double counted for major requirements if a course is both L/S and a major required course or elective. Departments with an L/S course may require an L/S course to be taken outside of the major department. 
  4. L/S courses will include the following student learning outcomes: “Explain how, during the course of a lifetime, humans are physiologically, socially, and psychologically integrated.” and “Explain, model, or practice activities, skills, and behavior that promote lifelong learning and development.”
  5. Student learning in this area shall include selective consideration of content such as human behavior, sexuality, nutrition, physical and mental health, stress management, financial literacy, social relationships and relationships with the environment, as well as implications of death and dying and avenues for lifelong learning. Physical activity may be included, provided that it is an integral part of the study elements described herein.
  6. Physical activity or skills acquisition alone cannot meet this requirement. Such content should be integrated into courses with broader purpose or the amount of such credit applicable to the requirement should be limited.

IV. MULTICULTURAL / INTERNATIONAL (M/I) GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

All Students are required to take a multicultural / international course at Fresno State as a requirement for graduation at the bachelor’s degree level. M/I courses at Fresno State are intended to meet this graduation requirement.

General course requirements

  1. While M/I courses in different departments will have specific requirements that are unique to their disciplinary contexts, the following general requirements will be met by all M/I courses offered at Fresno State:
  2. M/I courses will include the following student learning outcomes: “Students completing courses in M/I will be prepared to function in an international multicultural world, or one that addresses the roles of specific ethnic or gender groups in contemporary America.”
  3. M/I courses should be grounded in multicultural / international research. Subject area content (e.g., Anthropology, Economics) provides a framework for the class so students and instructors can engage in academic conversations as a means of performing academic literacy.
  4. All M/I courses are at the upper-division level.
  5. All M/I courses can be double counted for major requirements if a course is both M/I and a major required course or elective. Departments with an M/I course may require an M/I course to be taken outside of the major department.
  6. All M/I courses are worth at least 3 units of credit.
  7. All students in an M/I course must complete a writing requirement of at least 2,000 words. Faculty are free to meet this writing requirement in whatever manner they believe best suits the class (including the possibility of multiple assignments totaling at least 2,000 words), but it must provide an opportunity for meaningful feedback to students regarding their writing.
  8. M/I courses can be taken no sooner than the term in which 60 units of coursework are completed, including completion of GE Foundation and Area D/4 courses.

V. APPROVAL OF NEW AND REVISED L/S, M/I, and A/H COURSES

Requests for approval of new or substantially revised A/H, L/S and M/I courses shall be submitted to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and relevant subcommittee as appropriate. 

VI. EXCEPTIONS TO ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

To address accreditation requirements for high-unit majors, any high-unit majors may be exempted from these additional University Graduation Requirements with appropriate University approval.

  1. Requests for exceptions to the additional university graduation requirements submitted by high-unit degree programs will be received and considered by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
    1. Academic justifications for such requests are to be presented to the Committee.
    2. The Committee’s recommendations, with complete documentation, will be forwarded to the Provost.
    3. Colleges that may be academically affected by any exception will be notified prior to a decision by the committee.
  2. Individual student requests for exemptions or substitutions shall be received and acted upon by the Student Academic Petitions Committee.
  3. Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) students admitted with SB 1440 benefits (the two-year degree completion guarantee) may be granted 3, 6, or 9 units of exemptions. Such exemptions will be applied only when required to maintain compliance with the 60-unit limit established in the Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) agreement with Fresno State.
    1. Waivers will be granted only in programs with aTMC similar designation at Fresno State and only when the addition of AUGRs would cause the program to exceed the 60-unit limit.
    2. The number of units waived shall be determined by the program’s TMC total, not by an individual student’s transcript or remaining degree requirements.
    3. Waivers are reserved exclusively for transfer students with an approved ADT and SB 1440 benefit. First-time freshmen and transfer students without an ADT in a similar major are not eligible.
    4. To ensure consistency, ADT waivers for transfer students will be applied in the following order:
      1. Lower-division requirements will be waived first, followed by upper division requirements.
      2. Students receiving a 3-unit waiver may select which AUGR requirement (A/H or L/S) to waive.
      3.  Students receiving a 6-unit waiver will be exempt from both L/S and A/H requirements.
Recommended by the Academic Senate
12/2/2019, 11/18/2024, 10/20/2025
Approved by the President
12/3/2019, 11/19/2024, 10/22/2025 

1 Exemptions existing prior to implementation of this policy will be honored.

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