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DARS Preface, Graduation Requirements, General Education, Liberal/ADT
What is DARS?
Degree Audit Reporting System, a tool for evaluating student progress toward degree completion.
Applied Path
A degree path for PSY majors that does not include a foreign language requirement.
Catalog Year
The academic year a student declares their major, which determines graduation requirements.
In Progress DARS
A version of the Degree Evaluation that shows courses currently being taken as part of a student's program.
What If DARS
A feature that allows students to see how their courses would count if they switched majors or added a minor.
Impaction Criteria
The minimum academic standards students must meet to declare a major or be accepted into upper-division status.
Golden Four
A set of foundational courses (Oral Communication, Written Communication, Critical Thinking, and Mathematics) that must be taken in the first year.
can’t take Cr/NC
if incomplete, a Task hold pops up that won’t impede registration
For PSY majors, the Gold Four should be split up with Written & Oral Comm in the ___ term and Critical Thinking & Math in the ____ term
FALL term; SPRING term
If a student gets less than a C- in Written Comm, they must take it again ________ satisfying Critical Thinking req
BEFORE
If a student completes the Critical Thinking req BEFORE the Written Comm req than….
a “Cases for A-team Review” google form must be filled
Students will NOT satisfy the Gold Four if they…
1) do NOT reach the C- minimum;
2) take a “credit” course instead of a regular course
What are the limits on earning credit?
can’t take 100-level written comms class after earning units for a 200-level critical thinking class
can only earn units in 1 course for each of the 3 reqs (EX: if a Ss gets a D- in Afras 140, they must retake AFRAS 140 to earn credit)
Where can you find the Golden Four on DARS?
Foundations: Communication and Critical Thinking
GWAR
Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement, which requires students to complete a writing course with a grade of C or higher.
Unit Minimum for Graduation
Must complete at least 120 units to be eligible for graduation.
Credit/No Credit Cap (Cr/NC)
up to 15 units
What is a Credit/No Credit class?
a class where you can either pass or fail with or without credit (EX: HGS or HB Keep)r/
Ethnic Studies Requirement
A graduation requirement separate from the GE cultural diversity requirement.
Language Requirement
need third-semester college equivalency in foreign language
PSY Major Requirements
Includes UD and LD courses + a cap on the number of PSY courses that count toward the degree
Double-Dipping Limit
The restriction that only a certain number of courses can satisfy multiple requirements at the same time.
Minor GPA Requirement
Students must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all minor courses to graduate.
Transfer Credits
Courses taken at other institutions that may count towards a degree at SDSU, subject to evaluation for equivalency.
Grade Forgiveness Policy
Allows students to retake a course and exclude the previous grade from GPA calculations under certain conditions.
How to know if a PSY student is taking a liberal or applied/ADT path?
At the top of DARS, where it says “Program Code,” liberal students have the code 778301 & applied/ADT has the code 778307
Why do we avoid using the Summary graphs?
They include mistakes:
the major graph doesn’t include the 31 additional units required to complete the SDSU residency;
Language listed without a bar means the student completed the requirement;
ethnic studies has 1 bar regardless of whether the student has met 1 or both ethnic studies requirements
What does the red “At Least One Requirement Has Not Been Satisfied” banner mean?
1) you need more credits
2) you’re GPA is below the minimum for graduation
Can you run a double major on the What If DARS yet?
No
Can a nursing student run a What If DARS if they want to add a psychology minor?
No; they must run a different major to see a Psy minor
What does the ADT banner indicate?
that a student applied to the SDSU Applied PSY path and their ADT was verified
Can you switch into or out of a PSY ADT path?
No, you have to apply for an ADT path & are on contract to complete in 60 units.
Students must graduate with an ADT & apply to SDSU under the Applied PSY ADT B.A.A. count as an ADT student.
List common symbols and their meaning in the Psy DARS advising
>D = course repeat
>X = course forgiveness
>S = substitute (NOT equivalent SDSU course)
> R = repeatable course
IP = in-progress course
MG = multiple courses transfer to satisfy ONE SDSU class, BUT grades are different in each course
True or False: Knowing the catalog year is important because Graduation & General Education requirements vary by catolog year
True
List the graduation requirements
Freshman competencies (Math + Writing)
American Institutions (AI)
Language Req
Ethnic Studies (GE LD Ethnic Studies)
Unit, GPA, and Residence Req
List the LD GE requirements
Foundations: Natural Sciences & Quantitative Math
Foundations: Social & Behavioral
Foundations: Arts & Humanities
Lifelong Learning & Self-development
Ethnic Studies
List the UD GE requirements
Explorations: Natural Sciences
Explorations: Social & Behavioral
Explorations: Humanities
Cultural Diversity
True or False: Courses that satisfy the Cultural Diversity requirement for UD GEs are indicated by a “+” sign
TRUE
What is freshman competency?
credits freshmen and transfers enter SDSU with;
means that incoming domestic freshmen do NOT need to take the Math and Science tests UNLESS they’re aiming to take Math 124, 141, 150, or Chem 200 or 202
Do international students enter with freshman competencies?
Typically, they do NOT; exams are needed for this requirement or an informational hold is placed on Tasks
How do you satisfy the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR)?
take one UD writing course & earn C min in that class
While most PSY students take RWS 305W (writing in Various Settings) to satisfy GWAR, it’s possible can take any course listed “___” as long as you meet the pre-reqs
W
RWS 508W (Scientific Writing) is recommended to satisfy the GWAR if the student is aiming for a _____
Ph.D. program
Why is it recommended that students wait to satisfy the GWARS?
many of those classes are “junior restricted,” meaning they can’t take it until the semester they reach 60 units (including IP courses)
True or False: It’s recommended to take the GWAR BEFORE Psy 301 or Psy 490 (the Research Methods classes) because they’re both writing-intensive courses
True
True or False: All American Institutions “double dip” with GE Foundations & Social and Behavioral Sciences
TRUE!
This includes HIST 109 & 110 -or- POL S 101 & 102
True or False: All American Institutions “double dip” with BOTH Ethnic Studies (but not Soc & Beh Sci)
TRUE!
This includes AAS 100 & 101-or-AFRAS 170A & 170B -or- AMIND 140 & 141 -or- CCS 120A & 120B -or CCS141A & 141B
Students can only double-dip ___ units of American Institutions courses with GE requirements
6 units;
[NOTE: only 2 AI courses can double dip overall with GEs (LD or UD)]
List ALL prerequisites for all PSY major prep courses in all PSY degree paths
Bio 100 (General Biology) or 203 (Princ of Cell and Molecular Bio)
Psy 101: Intro to Psy
Psy 201: Careers in Psy
Psy 211: Intro of Cog Psych
Psy 230: Dev Psy
Psy 260: Physiological Psy
Psy 280 (Statistical Meth in Psy) -or- Psy 281 (lab) + any stats lecture
To enroll in Psy 301, students must earn a C in ____ or _____ + _______, be junior status, and declared on a psych degree path
Psy 280 -OR- 281 + any stats lecture
To complete the Language requirement, students must…
1) take 3 college semesters in a foreign language (or a 5th college quarter);
2) take 4 years of a foreign language in high school;
3) take an exam;
4) graduate from a foreign high school
True or False: “credit” can satisfy the 3rd-semester college equivalency for language req
TRUE! A D- or higher can also satisfy it
True or False: In the GE catalog year through 2024, 2 language courses can NOT double dip with GE-Foundations Humanities
False; they can!
True or False: In the GE catalog year 2025+, 1 language course can double dip with GE-Foundations Humanities (bc only 1 Humanities course will be required)
True
True or False: there are 3 Ethnic Studies requirements
Falser! There’s are only 2: the Graduation Req Ethnic Studies + the Cultural Diversity category
Can you use LD courses that also fulfill Communication and Critical Thinking to satisfy the Grad Req for Ethnic Studies?
No
Picking any course from the ____ group will satisfy both the GE Cultural Diversity req and the GE Ethnic Studies req
GE Ethnic Studies Group
If a student has NOT met the AI requirements, then they could take certain courses toward missing AI requirements AND double dip for both ES requirements, but it would NOT double dip with _____. Which classes are eligible?
GE-Foundation Social & Behavioral Sciences;
NOTE the 6-unit caps on AI courses doubling for other GE
List the courses eligible to double dip with AI and ES requirements?
AAS 100,
AAS 101,
AFRAS 170A,
AFRAS 170B,
AMIND 140,
AMIND 141,
CCS 120A,
CCS 120B,
CCS 141A or B
It’s recommended that incoming transfers should wait ___ term before taking Ethnic Studies courses because their histories need to be manually checked and updated to see how many ES classes apply to them (if any)
1 term
Students need to take at LEAST ___ units to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree
120 units
Only ___ units of PSY courses can be applied toward the 120 units needed for a student’s bachelor degree; this included LD and UD courses (Bio 100 does NOT count)
56 units
The 56 unit cap on Psych courses applies to all psych majors EXCEPT those on the _____
Applied/ADT Path
Up to 90 units can be taken at other institutions, but transfers can only use ___ of those units from the community college (CC) coursework to apply to the 120-unit minimum needed. '
How can they get around that?
70 units;
They can either:
transfer 70 units from a CC & 20 from a different 4-year institution, or,
transfer 60 units from a cC, and transfer up to 30 units from a different 4- year university
True or False: If a student comes in with more than 70 units from another institution, some of the excess CC courses they took may satisfy requirements (EX: language) but not count toward the 120 units needed for graduation
TRUE!
What is the Credit/No Credit cap?
Students can take up to 15 units of Cr/NC courses
To graduate from SDSU, students need at least ___ units
30 units
Students can only bring ___ units from Open University or Extension courses, even if they’re taken AFTER admitting into SDSU.
24 units; Winter classes are taken through global Campus at SDSU and do NOT count toward this cap
To graduate from SDSU and with all Baccalaurate-level courses, students need a GPA score of at least ___
2.0
When working with UD students, make sure to point out if GEs are needed…
whether they are LD or UD
if extra GEs can be taken in PSY
if any must be taken at SDSU
On the DARS, “Earned” units include both ____ and ____ ____units
completed & in progress units
Residency Requirement
The number of units that must be taken at SDSU, including ½ of upper-division major units (16 UD units for PSY), and 6 upper-division minor units
Courses taken through SDSU’s _____ _____ and some _____ _____ program count toward residency
winter session and some study abroad programs
True or False: Students who’ve come in in 2025 and beyond will have different GE patterns than those who came in up tot 2024, with a whole 5 fewer units required
True!
Students on the ADT PSY Path (778307) won’t have ___ GEs listed individually, instead under the ___ GEs header it will say “Satisfied by Certification”
Lower-division GEs
An AP Bio exam of ___ or higher will count toward major prep and GE-Foundations Life Sciences
3 or higher
Only recommend taking Bio 203 instead of Bio 100 if the student is… (hint: there are 2 answers)
on the pre-health track or
a current/former bio student
Satisfying the GE Math/Quant looks different for different PSY majors
C- or higher to meet this GE req
C or higher to meet the PSY prep for the major
B or higher for those with an I/O Emphasis
an AP Stats exam score of 3+
NOTE: credit can’t satisfy this GE
To satisfy the GE Math/Quant req, it’s recommended that freshman take….
Psy 280 (Statistical Methods in Psych), OR…
Psy 281 (lab) + any stats course (if they have the prereqs)
True or False: For transfers, more than 1 PSY courses can go to GE Soc & Beh Sciences across LD and UD
FALSE! Only 2 PSY courses for transfers (across LD and UD)
There are a total of __ courses that need to be taken to satisfy the Foundations: Arts and Humanities req.
3 courses; 1 of those courses double dip with the Language req (if they need that req)
True or False: All students will have the Lifelong Learning & Self-Development req
FALSE; it only became a GE in 2019 and after Fall 2025 and beyond it will be DISCONTINUED
Which course from the Lifelong Leaning & Self-Development is NOT required but counts toward the 56-unit PSY cap?
Psy 117
To earn residence credit, GE Exploration & Cultural diversity…
must be taken in “residence” at a CSU campus BUT some study abroad can count
Students should take GWAR in the term you complete ____ units (or later) because some courses are junior restricted
60 units
In the Explorations category, a course with ___ sign will satisfy the Cultural Diversity req
plus sign (+)
True or False: For the upper-division requirement, a GE Explorations course can double-dip with both an upper-division major and a minor requirement
FALSE; it can only apply to either or
Advisors should encourage students to take a Cultural Diversity course when they meet ___ units or after
63 units; buffer between meeting a 60 units by the terms end
Psy majors and students in the Personality and Social minor can double dip the Social & Behavioral Science with either Psy 340 or 351 if _______, _______, and ______ is true
they had only 1 PSY course count for GE Foundations Soc & Beh Sciences;
the course was taken in the term a student will earn 60 units or later; and
students in the Personality and Social minor do NOT plan to use it for their major
it’s recommended that students save Psy 340 and 351 for until they’re juniors, because…
some students finish lower-division GEs early may plan both of these too soon because:
they’re not junior restricted, and
some sections are hybrid and can be easily accommodated in the same term
