General Education Patterns
Cerritos College offers an array of general education (GE) courses for students to learn concepts and methods of inquiry that have breadth, depth, and relevance to their lives. General Education includes courses from the liberal arts, humanities, sciences, mathematics, arts, social science, and ethnic studies disciplines.
Cerritos College associate degree programs have specific GE requirements depending on the type of degree and the academic year for which students have established continuous attendance. In addition to GE, associate degrees require courses for a specific major and at least 60 degree applicable units.
Transfer-bound students who opt not to complete an associate degree may wish to complete a transfer-GE pattern.
View GE for students Who begin fall 2025 & beyond
For students who begin their college journey Fall 2025 or later, or would like to follow the newest general education patterns.
View GE for students who began before fall 2025
For students who established continuous attendance prior to Fall 2025 and wish to follow previous general education patterns.
Students transferring to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) are generally encouraged to complete CSU GE-Breadth, IGETC, or Cal-GETC prior to transfer. Completion of a transfer GE pattern is neither an admissions requirement nor an admissions guarantee; however, it can save you from taking additional lower division GE courses at the university.
You may request that Admissions & Records send “GE certification” upon completion of your transfer GE pattern to the university you will transfer to. This means that Cerritos College will tell the university you have fulfilled all lower division GE requirements for your bachelor’s degree. Such certification is accepted at all CSUs and most UC campuses and programs. Many private universities accept it as well.
Students normally apply for certification during their last semester at Cerritos College and prior to transferring to the university. Students who have passed external exams such as Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or have taken any GE courses at other colleges are advised to meet with a Cerritos College counselor to understand how external credit may be applied to GE. Test scores and/or official transcripts must be submitted to Admissions & Records.