General Education Options

General Education Options

Campus shot with ASVC booth

About General Education

General Education (GE) is one of the required components of all Associate degrees. At Ventura College, there are three General Education options available including the Ventura College General Education pattern, Cal-GETC , or the GE pattern of the intended transfer institution (including meeting Title 5 minimum requirements). The major and/or transfer path a student is pursuing will dictate the choices available to the student.

1. Ventura College General Education Requirements

Ventura College's General Education (VC GE) plan is based on Title 5 requirements in the California Code of Regulations and District policy. It is not intended to prepare students for transfer and cannot be used with an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT). Majors at Ventura College for which students may complete Ventura College's GE plan include: 

2. California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)

The Cal-GETC (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). The Cal-GETC pattern is most helpful for students who want to keep their options open before making a final decision about transferring to a particular UC or CSU campus. Completion of Cal-GETC does NOT guarantee admission, nor is it required for admission. Many independent, private and out-of-state colleges and universities will also accept Cal-GETC as meeting full or partial general education requirements.

If you have completed substantial coursework from institutions outside the United States, consult a counselor to determine whether you should complete Cal-GETC or the lower-division breadth/general education requirements at the campus you plan to attend. In addition, some transfer students in some colleges or majors must follow a more prescribed lower-division curriculum than Cal-GETC allows. 

Programs designated as Associate Degrees for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) MUST be completed using the Cal-GETC. Other AA/AS degrees listed below may be completed with either the Ventura College General Education requirements or Cal-GETC. 

​Additional majors are being developed. Please see a counselor for more information. For the latest information on Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADTs), go to www.icangotocollege.com

3. General Education Pattern of the Intended Transfer Institution (including meeting minimum Title 5 requirements) 

​​Students transferring to a four-year university in high-unit majors or where completion of Cal-GETC is not appropriate or advisable may choose to instead follow the GE pattern of their intended institution. This may include students transferring to private universities, out-of-state universities, or UC/CSU campuses within majors that have their own specific GE requirements. This applies to all AA/AS that are designed to prepare students for transfer.