American History and Institutions*

All University of California undergraduate degree programs require the completion of the American History and Institutions, (AH&I) requirement. Successful completion of AH&I ensures that every student graduates with a fundamental understanding of American history and the principles of American institutions under the federal and state constitutions.

Students may satisfy this requirement by completing approved coursework or achieving a qualifying score on a standardized exam. Many students will have already fulfilled the AH&I requirement through a high school American history or government course.

This requirement may be satisfied in any one of the following ways:

• Completing a one-year high school course in U.S. history or a half-year course in U.S. history and a half-year course in American government.

• Achieving a score of 550 or higher on the SAT Subject Examination in U.S. History
• Achieving a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination in United States History.
• Achieving a score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IBH) History of the Americas.
• Certification of completion of the requirement on a transcript from an accredited California institution of higher education.
• Completing a college-level course in U.S. history and institutions (see below).

Students who may have taken an applicable course, but do not see this requirement satisfied in their Degree Progress Report can submit a Review of Transfer Credit form to have their student record reviewed. Junior transfer students may need to take additional action to ensure high school transcripts are sent to UC Santa Cruz (high school transcripts are not always required for transfer admission).

Satisfying AH&I at UC Santa Cruz

Students can search for courses that satisfy the American History and Institutions requirement in the “Class Search,” under the General Education pulldown menu.

As of spring 2025, the following courses satisfy the American History and Institutions requirement:

Education 164
History 10A, 10B, 12, 15, 82, 90A, 110A , 110B, 110D, 110E, 110H, 116, 128
John R. Lewis College 135
Legal Studies 120A, 120B, 120C
Literature 81F
Politics 20, 120A, 120B, 120C
Sociology 170

Satisfying AH&I at a Community College

California Community College courses that satisfy the American History and Institutions requirement are listed on ASSIST.org:

1. On the ASSIST.org homepage, select the California Community College institution where you plan to enroll, and select “University of California, Santa Cruz” from the “Agreements with Other Institutions” pulldown menu. Select the “View Agreements” button.
2. Select the “General Education / Breadth” agreement type, and then select the “University Requirements” agreement. The agreement will display the American History & Institutions (AH&I) courses available at that California Community College.

* Revised: 3/11/25

Entry Level Writing Requirement

Every candidate for a bachelor’s degree must demonstrate an acceptable level of ability in English composition. Prior to enrollment in your fourth quarter, you must fulfill the Entry Level Writing Requirement in one of the following ways:

Test Scores and Credits

• 30 or better on the ACT, English Language Arts; or

• 30 or better on the ACT, Combined English/Writing (last administered June 2015); or

• 63 or better on ACT English + Reading; or

• 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing for students entering fall 2018 and later (Please note: The digital SAT Reading and Writing section score has not been approved to meet the ELWR.)*; or

• 680 or better on the SAT Reasoning Test, Writing (last administered January 2016); or

• scores of 3 or higher on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in English (Language or Literature) or Seminar, or on the College Board Advanced Placement assessment in Research (Note: AP Seminar and AP Research are accepted for students entering fall 2023 and later; or

• 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Higher Level English A1 exam); or

• 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Standard Level English A1 exam); or

• 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Language and Literature exam; or

• 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Language and Literature exam.

* Revised: 7/9/24.

Transfer work

The Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) may also be met by earning a grade of C or higher in an acceptable English composition course offered by a college or university.

Satisfying ELWR at UC Santa Cruz

Incoming students who have not satisfied ELWR via test or transfer credits will follow a directed self-placement process to enroll in an appropriate writing course at UCSC: WRIT 25, WRIT 26, WRIT 1, or WRIT 1E. Courses are offered in sequence depending on placement. Students who successfully pass WRIT 1 or WRIT 1E will satisfy Entry Level Writing.

All students who enter UCSC as frosh in 2020 or after must demonstrate their command of the English language by satisfying the ELWR before enrolling in their fourth quarter. However, students placed into Writing 25 have until the end of their fourth quarter of enrollment to satisfy the ELWR..

For additional information on ELWR and fulfilling UCSC's writing requirements, please visit the Writing Program's website.

Senior Residence

Senior Residence

Every candidate for a bachelor’s degree must be registered at UCSC for a minimum of three quarters. In addition, of the final 45 quarter credits, 35 must be in regular courses of instruction taken as a registered student at UCSC (including during the summer session).

The credit requirement for residence is applied differently to students participating in one or more of the off-campus study programs approved by the Academic Senate or the division. Participating students may satisfy the requirement in either of two ways:

1. Complete 35 of their final 45 credits before leaving the Santa Cruz campus to participate in one or more off-campus approved study programs. In this scenario, students do not have to return to Santa Cruz for any additional coursework after they have finished the program(s).
2. Complete 35 of their last 90 credits at the Santa Cruz campus, with a minimum of 10 credits completed at UCSC after their return from the off-campus approved study program(s).

A student who takes courses outside UCSC, e.g., at community college, may choose at the time of graduation to have only some of the credits completed outside counted toward the 180-credit graduation requirement in order to meet the residency requirement. Subject credit will still be given for lower-division courses and courses at other campuses of the University of California that are not counted toward the graduation requirement. This will not require a petition, and the credit will be reduced by the Office of the Registrar, in consultation with department or college advisors, or the Admissions Office, as needed.

Open campus / Concurrent Enrollment: For students who have been admitted and matriculated at UC Santa Cruz, but who have not yet graduated, the grades earned in Open Campus/ Concurrent Enrollment courses taken after their first matriculation at UCSC appear on the student’s UC Santa Cruz transcript, are notated as Open Campus courses, count toward University of California and UC Santa Cruz Grade Point Average (GPA), and count toward senior residency requirements.  For more information on Open Campus, see UCSC SIlicon Valley Extension.