A general education provides a framework enabling one to appreciate and critically examine the significant aspects of civilization. Such a broad education is the foundation for concentrated studies that enable students to prepare for careers and to strive for an understanding of the world in which they live and about which they must make decisions. A university education nurtures the critical skills of oral and written communication, including the exercise of these skills in a language other than one's own. It must teach students to become verbally and quantitatively literate, to analyze and synthesize, and to regard the acquisition of knowledge as a lifetime activity. A university education must promote tolerance of the opinions of others and an understanding of the mutual dependence of human beings on each other and on their natural environment.
Students are responsible for meeting all requirements for graduation.
The following regulations and requirements are applicable to all undergraduate students on the Riverside campus. All university faculty assume that students are proficient in reading and writing English, and understand how to compose an essay on an academic topic. Receiving a passing grade on a Subject A test administered by the University of California system. All freshmen from California high schools who have not met the Subject A requirement and who are entering in the fall quarter will be required to take a two-hour Universitywide Subject A Examination to be administered throughout the state. The examination is normally given the second Saturday in May.