Subject Requirement:
Courses You Need to Take
The following courses must be completed with a C grade or better and, for California residents, must be on your high school's UC-approved course list. At least 11 of the 15 units shown in the "a-g" requirements below must be completed before your senior year of high school.
"A-G" Subjects
Units (One Unit=One Year of Study)
a. History/social science Two units
b. English (or language of instruction) Four units
c. Mathematics Three units (Four units recommended)
d. Laboratory science Two units (Three units recommended)
e. Language other than English (or other second language) Two units (Three units recommended)
f. Visual and performing arts One unit
g. College preparatory elective One unit
Scholarship Requirement:
Grades You Must Receive
The scholarship requirement is satisfied if you earn a GPA of 3.0 or better in "a-g" courses taken during the tenth and eleventh grades. Applicants who are not California residents must earn a GPA of 3.4 or better.
Examination Requirement:
Freshman applicants are no longer required to take the ACT Assessment plus Writing or the SAT Reasoning Test*
The UC Guarantee
If you're a California resident applying to UC as a freshman and complete the UC Admission Requirements by the end of your senior year, the University of California offers two guaranteed paths for admission to a UC campus: Statewide Context and Local Context.
Statewide Context
Through this pathway, the top 9 percent of graduating students in California according to the UC Admission Index are guaranteed admission to a UC campus. To be eligible, you must complete any 11 UC-approved Subject Requirement units before your senior year.
Local Context
Through this pathway, also referred to as Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC), the University of California designates the top 9 percent of graduating students at each participating Calfornia high school guaranteed admission to a UC campus. To be eligible, you must complete the following 11 UC-approved units before your senior year:
Subjects/ Units
History/social science One unit
English (or language of instruction) Two units
Mathematics Two units
Laboratory science One unit
Language other than English (or other second language) One unit
College preparatory elective Four units
APPLY TO THE UC SYSTEM HERE
