Both are ways to complete your lower-division general education at a California community college so it transfers as a block to a UC or CSU. The difference is which one governs you and what each one requires. Under Assembly Bill 928 (the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act), California replaced the separate UC and CSU GE patterns with one shared pattern, Cal-GETC, effective fall 2025. IGETC remains in effect for students who were already enrolled.
| Area | Cal-GETC | IGETC (legacy) |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Started a CA community college in fall 2025 or later | Continuing students who started before fall 2025 |
| Minimum units | 34 semester units | 37 semester units |
| Area 1 English Communication | 3 courses (composition, critical thinking, oral communication) | 2 courses (composition 1A, critical thinking 1B); oral communication 1C for CSU only |
| Area 2 Math and Quantitative Reasoning | 1 course | 1 course |
| Area 3 Arts and Humanities | 2 courses (one arts, one humanities) | 3 courses (one arts, one humanities) |
| Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences | 2 courses (two disciplines) | 2 courses (two disciplines) |
| Area 5 Physical and Biological Sciences | 2 courses (one physical, one biological, at least one lab) | 2 courses (one physical, one biological, at least one lab) |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies (1 course) | Language Other Than English (UC only; CSU does not require it) |
The three changes to watch: Cal-GETC reduces Arts and Humanities from three courses to two, adds oral communication to English for everyone, and replaces the foreign-language requirement with Ethnic Studies. Language is no longer part of general education under Cal-GETC.
It depends on the term you first started at a California community college, not the term you transfer.
TransferRoute defaults to Cal-GETC (the pattern for current students) and switches to IGETC when your start year is before 2025. Whichever pattern applies, the general-education area names and unit totals above are what your community college and your target campus will certify.
Cal-GETC is 34 minimum semester units across six areas, verified June 23, 2026 against the official Cal-GETC Standards version 1.3:
IGETC is 37 minimum semester units across six areas, verified June 23, 2026 against the UC IGETC requirements:
Follow Cal-GETC if you first started a California community college in fall 2025 or later. Follow IGETC if you started before fall 2025 and are a continuing student. Students who started in spring 2025 count as before fall 2025, so they follow IGETC.
Cal-GETC is a single lower-division general-education pattern that both the UC and the CSU accept, created under AB 928 and effective fall 2025. IGETC is the older pattern. Cal-GETC requires a minimum of 34 semester units; IGETC requires 37. Cal-GETC replaces the old language requirement with an Ethnic Studies course and reduces Arts and Humanities from three courses to two.
No. Under Cal-GETC the Language Other Than English requirement was removed from general education. Its Area 6 is Ethnic Studies instead. IGETC still carries a UC language requirement, usually met by two years of the same language in high school, and the CSU never required it.
Cal-GETC is a minimum of 34 semester units across six areas: English Communication, Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning, Arts and Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Physical and Biological Sciences, and Ethnic Studies. IGETC is a minimum of 37 semester units.
Add your completed courses and TransferRoute estimates your Cal-GETC or IGETC progress area by area, then routes you to ASSIST for official certification.
Build your profileTransferRoute is an independent planning tool and is not affiliated with the UC, the CSU, or ASSIST.org. The official sources for these patterns are:
Cal-GETC and IGETC area requirements and unit minimums verified June 23, 2026 against the official Cal-GETC Standards v1.3 and the UC IGETC requirements.