General Education and Major Requirements

Our “Path to Graduation” that is expressed through the La Verne Experience General Education is here: Forms & Downloads > [Header] “General Education (GE) Certification Forms and Information… [sub-header] La Verne Experience GE – Fall 2015-Current”.

General education classes are classes that are not part of your major but are part of a liberal arts education that are needed to earn a degree from the University of La Verne.   We posted a short video that explains what a liberal arts college is, HERE.

Briefly, all degree-seeking undergraduates are required to take a prescribed number of courses in the liberal education area that is generally referred to as “General Education (“GE”).  GE courses are designed to provide students with a balanced college education across a variety of disciplines such as the arts, social sciences, and the sciences, and to instill onto our graduates the central values of the University as expressed in our Mission Statement.  We believe that a well-rounded La Verne graduate should have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are crucial to success in the 21st century world.  General education requirements also provide students with knowledge in a broad range of areas valued by employers.  In addition, general education helps students to understand and relate to the diverse populations they will work with in their chosen professions.

Most simply, follow the general education checklist for the appropriate general education track you are following.  Your general education requirements are clearly listed on your degree audit, MyDegree Tracker in your Portal.  On this FAQ page, we also linked our Path to Graduation, which gives a brief overview of the La Verne Experience General Education.

Yes, with the exception of Written Communication courses or designated courses in the curriculum and if these are taken at ULV.  Transfer courses with D grades are not accepted for transfer.

No, courses must earn a grade of C- or higher in most cases in the major.

Maybe.  Check your degree audit, MyDegree Tracker, in your Portal to see what courses in transfer were used for general education credit.  Speak with your academic advisor if you have questions about transfer work and how these were evaluated.

Maybe.  Check your degree audit, MyDegree Tracker, in your Portal to see what courses in transfer were used for general education credit.

Yes, but there are specific guidelines on how many courses you can use to “double dip” between the major and general education.  Refer to your catalog of record for the allowances (usually, it’s not more than two courses).

No, not usually.  You may appeal to the department and the undergraduate appeals committee to accept a course you completed for credit (CRD) from the major prior to declaring the major.

No.  Courses required for your major only fulfill one major requirement.  Minor courses must be unique to the minor.  If the same course is required in a double major then a substitute course must be taken in one of the two majors with advisor approval.

Yes, you must select a college major to graduate with a bachelor degree from the University of La Verne.  The semester hours needed to earn a major vary by department, but no major is less than 40 semester hours.  Although there is no hard deadline to select a major, we expect you to select a major no later than the end of the sophomore year.

If you are a transfer student then you must have a declared major at admission.

In either case, once you reach junior standing you cannot replace your major to undecided, you must replace your “old” major with a “new” major.

Because the selection of a college major is an important part of a baccalaureate education, it is critical that your selection of a major is done as early as possible to avoid delays in your graduation within four years.  Visit our “16 to Finish” workshops page for more information about why it is important to have a major and to always carry a full-time course load.

Yes, you can change your major.  Fill out a “Change of Advisor/Major” form here.

Our office will update your student record and the new major will be posted on an updated degree audit, MyDegree Tracker.

When you change majors, we will assign a new major advisor.  However, sometimes, we have to defer this assignment decision to some department chairs for internal assignments.  Once these assignments are done the department will notify us and we will update the student record.

The selection of a major is one of the most important academic decisions you’ll need to make – being undeclared about a major is not unusual, nor is it unusual for students who have chosen a major to change their minds at least once.  The University of La Verne has many resources available to you in selecting a major, including choosing a major workshops, your advisor, and the Career Center.

Visit the various pages on our website to explore majors, including the Career Center website to connect the major with a career track.

Once the bachelor’s degree is conferred, your student level will be changed to “graduate level” and you will be billed the current graduate tuition rate and graduate financial aid rules apply. At that time, you will be a current graduate student in that master’s degree program. Please check with the offices of Student Accounts and Financial Aid if you have specific questions about billing and/or financial aid, respectively.