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Plan B/CSU General Education Requirements

​​SCC Plan B - The CSU General Education Breadth Program

The CSU General Education-Breadth (GE-Breadth) program allows California community college transfer students to fulfill lower-division general education requirements at any CSU campus prior to transfer. The CSU-GE breadth pattern at SCC is known as Plan B/CSU GE​​​​​.

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For most students who transfer to the CSU, completing general education classes should be a priority along with pre-major coursework. Completion of general education courses before transfer is usually the most efficient path to transfer.

The CSU requires 48 GE-Breadth units. Thirty-nine of the forty-eight required units can be completed at Santiago Canyon College. The remaining nine units are upper-division courses and must be completed at the transfer CSU campus.

Highest Priority Courses

Most CSU campuses require students to complete a minimum of 30 semester or 45 quarter units of the Plan B/CSU-GEGeneral or the Plan C/IGETC prior to transfer. The Plan B/​CSU GE​-breadth pattern​ is divided into five areas of study. Within either pattern, the highest-priority classes are the three courses in the English language and one course in mathematics:


  • Oral communications
  • English composition
  • Critical thinking
  • A general education course in mathematics

High Unit Majors

If you are enrolled in high-unit majors such as engineering, some math-based fields, science, and other technical majors, you are highly encouraged to meet with a Santiago Canyon College counselor to plan general education and major preparation courses. CSU campuses do allow high-unit majors to take fewer general education courses before transfer.
However, you will need to meet the general education requirements in order to graduate. So if you enroll at a CSU campus with few general education units, completion of your baccalaureate program may take longer than expected.

Completion and certification of the 39 unit Plan B/CSU-GE Breadth pattern is not an admission requirement to a CSU campus, nor does it guarantee admission to the campus or major of choice.​