The American Cultures Center
Source: https://americancultures.berkeley.edu/students/faqs
Parent: https://americancultures.berkeley.edu/
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Questions Answered
Do you have a question about UC Berkeley's American Cultures (AC) Breadth Requirement? We’ve created this FAQ page to address the most common inquiries from current and prospective UC Berkeley students. Our FAQs are divided into two sections to cater to the unique needs of different student groups:
- High School Graduates: For students who enrolled or are considering enrolling at UC Berkeley after high school.
- Transfer Students: For students who have transferred or are planning to transfer to UC Berkeley from a community college.
Please browse through the relevant section to find the information you need.
If you can’t find the answer to your question, don’t hesitate to email us at americancultures@berkeley.edu. We’re here to assist you!
High School Graduates FAQs
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AC is a Berkeley campus requirement, the one course that all undergraduate students at Cal need to pass in order to graduate. The AC requirement introduces students to the diverse cultures of the United States through a comparative framework. Courses are offered in more than forty departments in many different disciplines at both the lower and upper division level.
All students who entered Berkeley in fall 1991 or thereafter in lower division standing (as a freshman or sophomore with 0-55 transferable semester units), and all students who entered in fall 1993 or thereafter.
Yes, the AC requirement may be taken for either a letter grade of C- or better, or on a Pass/Not Pass basis.
No. Just because a course is on the approved list of AC courses at Berkeley doesn't mean it will be offered again in the future. For current course offerings, please consult the Online Schedule of Classes or use the side navigation bar to access a list of AC courses for the current semester.
Many AC courses are offered each term, but they often have high demand and long waitlists. Although you don't have to take an AC course in your first semester, the best advice is to satisfy your AC requirement early.
Yes. Many AC courses also satisfy college and major requirements, in addition to satisfying the campus-wide AC requirement.
It only counts if the course is listed as one of the approved courses at other colleges that satisfy the AC requirement. If not, then you would need to petition the AC subcommittee to determine if the course meets the criteria for AC. Unless the course meets very specific criteria outlined in the Academic Senate regulations, it probably doesn't satisfy the requirement. Currently the only History 7B course outside of UC Berkeley that satisfies AC is at Berkeley City College.
No. If you took the course prior to its being approved as an AC course, you would need to petition the AC subcommittee to determine if the course met the criteria for AC at that time, which is unlikely.
Yes, all students, including international students, need to satisfy the requirement.
Yes, but first consult your academic advisor.
No. Most AC courses have the AC suffix, but some do not. However the schedule of courses should indicate which requirements a course fulfills.
No. Sociology 3AC is AC-approved, but Sociology 3 is not. The same goes for similar pairs of courses. For AC purposes, these pairs of courses are different. For most other purposes (college breadth requirements or major requirements), these pairs of courses are equivalent.
No. The AC requirement is a campus requirement. The American History & Institutions requirements are University requirements. However, students may take History 7A or 7B to satisfy both their AC and American History requirements. Students may take Political Science 1AC to satisfy both the AC and American Institutions requirement. Information about AH&I can be found Here(link is external)
Transfer Student FAQs
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If your course is not listed as one of the approved courses at other colleges that satisfy the AC requirement, then you haven't satisfied the requirement. Unless the course meets very specific criteria outlined in the Academic Senate regulations, it probably doesn't satisfy the requirement. If you believe the course meets those criteria, then you can submit a petition.
No. Unless you specifically passed one of the approved courses at other colleges, you have not satisfied your AC requirement.