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General Education

MSJC offers two general education options for students. One is to meet MSJC Local General Education requirements, and the other is to meet Cal-GETC requirements to transfer to a CSU or UC.  Students are encouraged to meet with a Counselor to ensure they are following the proper general education option based on their educational goal. 

MSJC Local General Education 

MSJC Local General Education is required for students who are interested in completing a non-transfer Associates Degree from MSJC. Students following this pattern must satisfy all general education areas by successfully completing a course in that area. In addition to completing the general education requirements, students are also required to complete major requirements for their program of study. In order to successfully meet the requirements for a non-transfer Associates Degree, students must complete at least 60 degree-applicable units with a minimum overall GPA of 2.0.

MSJC Local AA/AS Degree GPA

Title 5 §55062 Conditions for Awarding the Associate Degree, section (a) allows for MSJC Local AA/AS degree earners to calculate Grade Point Average (GPA) based solely on courses that satisfy degree requirements when a student earns over 60 units. If units accumulated beyond those required for the associates degree lower a student's cumulative grade point average below 2.0, MSJC can compute the GPA based solely on those courses used to satisfy the degree requirements, provided that the coursework used to compute the grade point average fulfill all major/area of emphasis, general education and elective requirements.

Transfer General Education 

Cal-GETC, the California General Education Transfer Curriculum is the singular general education pathway for California Community College (CCC) students to fulfill lower-division general education requirements necessary for transfer and admission to both the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). Students must complete all areas of Cal-GETC with a grade 'C' or better in order to meet admission requirements for UC. In addition to meeting Cal-GETC requirements students are also required to complete major requirements for their program of study to work towards an Associates Degree for Transfer (ADT) or towards a local transfer degree (non ADT). In order to successfully meet the requirements for an Associates Degree for transfer, students must complete at least 60 transferable semester units with a minimum overall GPA of 2.0. 

Earning a MSJC Local AA/AS Degree Using Transfer General Education 

  • MSJC will award a local AA/AS degree to students who have completed transfer general education, (*CSUGE, *IGETC, Cal-GETC) provided that students fulfill all major/area of emphasis, general education, unit and GPA requirements.
  • MSJC will not impose any requirements in addition to *CSUGE, *IGETC, and Cal-GETC requirements, including any local college or district requirements, for students completing any of these general education plans for an associate degree.
  •  *Students must have catalog rights prior to 2025-2026