General Education Courses at CCSF

City College of San Francisco's general education (GE) courses are approved by the Curriculum Committee. The approval process involves making sure that GE courses are categorized correctly and that courses' student learning outcomes (SLO) align with or map to gen ed learning outcomes (GELO). 

Gen ed courses satisfy graduation requirements, are transferable, and should be of a certain "breadth and depth" so that if a student were to take just one GE course in that particular area, that student would have received a strong foundation of learning in that particular area. 

Please note that community college guidelines for GE are changing. As of fall '24, CCSF's GE and graduation requirement courses will be organized a bit differently. Please read this Curriculum Committee resolution for more clarity on what will change and why.

CCSF GE Areas starting Fall '24

See a list of each GE area's approved courses.

GE Area 1A: English Composition
English Composition courses develop the ability to read texts and write essays, using conventions of standard English grammar and punctuation. Students will analyze and critically read college-level texts, annotating, synthesizing and evaluating primarily non-fiction material. They will compose organized expository essays, researching, selecting and integrating relevant and reliable sources, using an appropriate citation format.

GE Area 1B: Oral Communication and Critical Thinking
Oral Communication and Critical Thinking courses develop students’ abilities to express ideas with purpose and interpret information in culturally responsive ways. Students in oral communication courses will express ideas with clarity and analyze diverse communication practices. Students in critical thinking courses will analyze the logic of ideas and synthesize support for their own arguments.

GE Area 2: Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning
Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning courses strengthen students’ abilities to develop, present, use, and critique quantitative arguments. The focus is on the mathematical basis of the specific topic, not just on the application of mathematical concepts to another field of study. By developing a sound mathematical foundation, students will be prepared for environments in which public and private decision making relies regularly on quantitative calculation and reasoning.

GE Area 3: Arts and Humanities
Arts and Humanities courses explore the human experience through personal creative expression as well as critical analysis of language, reasoning, or artistic creation produced by diverse cultures and eras. Students recognize and explore the dynamics of human history, thought, experience, and expression by examining individual thinkers, artists, works, and ideas in their particular cultural and historical contexts.

GE Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences courses critically evaluate the ways people feel and act in response to social forces in diverse societies, cultures, and subgroups. In these courses students analyze how social conditions and institutions contribute to inequality; consider diverse viewpoints in order to understand and shape human behaviors, interactions, and rights; and learn how to use the methods of inquiry specific to the field of study. 

GE Area 5: Natural Sciences
Natural Sciences courses examine the physical universe and its life forms and give students the opportunity to apply the processes and practices of scientific inquiry to investigate phenomena and principles in particular fields of scientific interest. Students will explore scientific principles and use these to explain the behavior of physical and biological phenomena in the world around them and evaluate the interactions of these phenomena with our society.

GE Area 6: Ethnic Studies*
Ethnic Studies is the critical study of racially oppressed communities in the United States. Students of Ethnic Studies critique systems of power to address ideological, institutional, interpersonal and internalized forms of oppression in the U.S. Ethnic Studies at City College of San Francisco centers the knowledge of cultural systems of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Filipinx, and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. by analyzing power found in artistic expressions, political and decolonial movements, cultural representations, oral traditions, histories, and ethnic economies.

* Non Ethnic Studies departments (e.g., SOC, ART, or HIST) proposing an Ethnic Studies course must cross list with NAIS, LALS, ASAM, AFAM, or ETHN. Prior to proposing the course to the Curriculum Committee, consultation with the appropriate department chair is required, as is completion of this form to help ensure that the course meets Ethnic Studies expectations.

CCSF Graduation Requirement: U.S. History and Government
U.S. History and Government courses examine the historical development, democratic institutions, and political processes of the United States. Students will develop an understanding of the importance of participating in civic duties as they study and evaluate critical events in U.S. history and government.

CCSF Graduation Requirement: Health and Wellness
Health Knowledge and Physical Skills courses develop appreciation and understanding of the physical skills and health knowledge essential for mental and physical well-being. Students recognize and engage in the active integration of knowledge, skills, and values that lead to well-being of self and our communities, including how the dimensions of wellness affect diverse populations and how the health of individuals and communities is determined by the complex interaction of biological, political, economic, social, and cultural factors.