Uniform Certificate of General Studies

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The Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS) is a two-year college program in which all courses are transferable and satisfy lower-division general education requirements at any Virginia public institution of higher education. The Passport is a component of the UCGS and is therefore a subset of courses in the UCGS. The UCGS consists of seven blocks. To satisfy the UCGS students are required to complete the appropriate number of courses in each block as described below. Student course selection should be carefully considered since the UCGS program is not designed to capture the complexities of individual programs of study at four-year institutions. Students should be advised to take the UCGS course that best suits their intended program of study at the four-year institution.

Block I - Written Communication - Select ENG 111 plus one other course (6 credit hours)

Block II - Humanities and Arts - Select two courses chosen from different categories (6 credit hours)

Art

Humanities

Literature

Block III - Social/Behavioral Sciences - Select one course (3 credit hours)

Block IV - Natural Sciences - Select one course (4 credit hours)

Block V - Mathematics - Select one course (3 credit hours)

Quantitative/Statistics Pathway

Calculus Pathway

*MTH 161/162 and MTH 167 should only be taken by students preparing for calculus or for four-year degree programs that require study in College Algebra/PreCalc. Precalculus may not satisfy general education and may not receive transfer credit.

Block VI - History - Select one course (3 credit hours)

Block VII - Specialized GE Requirements - Select two courses (6 credit hours)

NOTE: For Block VII, students may complete courses from Blocks I-VI or any additional course below. Students should align their Block VII course selection with their intended transfer destination’s specific GE or programmatic requirements.