Graduation Requirements Checklist

General education, sometimes called core or breadth, is a set of categories every student must complete regardless of major. Typical categories include written communication, quantitative reasoning, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts, diversity, and ethics.

Requirements vary by school. Some allow a single course to count for two categories, some do not. Confirm the double-counting rules at your school before you assume a course covers more than one.

Your major has required courses, elective courses within the major, and usually a capstone or senior project. Some majors require a declared concentration that adds its own required and elective courses on top.

Grade minimums often apply inside the major. Many schools require a C or higher in major courses, and some require a minimum GPA in major courses separate from your overall GPA.

If you are pursuing a minor, it has its own required and elective course list. Minors often cap how many courses can double-count with your major, so the real cost of a minor is usually the non-overlapping classes.

You need a minimum number of total credits to graduate, usually 120 for a bachelor of arts or science in the US. You also need a minimum number of upper-division credits, often 40 to 45.

Residency rules require a minimum number of credits taken at your school. Transfer credits apply against requirements, but they usually do not count toward the residency minimum.

Minimum overall GPA, usually 2.0. Many majors require a higher GPA inside the major. Some professional programs require a specific GPA to stay in the program at all.

Academic integrity acknowledgments, required advising meetings, a petition-to-graduate form that has to be filed the semester before your last, required orientations for transfer students, and foreign language proficiency in some programs. Check every one.