NEW Requirements at SWC

New Course Names! New Course Numbers!

The California Community College system has adopted a naming and numbering system that all colleges in the state will use for the most common general education courses. The Common Course Numbering (CCN) system will ensure that students take the correct classes they need for an associate degree or to transfer no matter what community college they attend. The CCN system will result in a smoother transfer process by reducing confusion over how courses transfer or meet degree requirements, making it easier for students to choose courses that align with their goals.

The courses list in the table below have been renumbered and renamed for Fall 2025, Fall 2026 and Fall 2027 is coming soon.

Current Course Number & Name Prior to Fall 2026	New Course Number & Name Beginning in Fall 2026
ART 150 Art History Survey - Stone Age to the Ages of Faith	ARTH C1100 Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era
ART 151 Art History-Renaissance to Contemporary	ARTH C1200 Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary
ENGL 220 Introduction to Literature	ENGL C1002 Introduction to Literature
ECON 101 Principles of Economics I	ECON C2002 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 102 Principles of Economics II	ECON C2001 Principles of Microeconomics
HIST 100 American Civilization I	HIST C1001 United States History to 1877
HIST 101 American Civilization II	HIST C1002 United States History from 1865
MATH 250 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I	MATH C2210 Calculus I: Early Transcendentals
MATH 251 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II	MATH C2220 Calculus II: Early Transcendentals
Current Course Number & Name Prior to Fall 2025	New Course Number & Name Beginning in Fall 2025
COMM 104 Public Speaking	COMM C1000 Introduction to Public Speaking
ENGL 115 College Composition: Reading and Writing Anallyticaly	ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL 116 Critical Thinking and Argument	ENGL C1001 Critical Thinking and Writing
MATH 119 Elementary Statistics	STAT C1000 Introduction to Statistic
PS 102 Introduction to American Government and Politics	POLS C1000 American Government and Politics
PSYC 101 General Psychology	PSYC C1000 Introduction to Psychology

Learn more about the Common Course Numbering Initiative below!

AREA 1 - ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

Students must take three courses: one English Composition, one Critical Thinking and Composition, and one Oral Communication (at least 9 units)

1A: ENGLISH COMPOSITION: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)
1B: CRITICAL THINKING AND COMPOSITION: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)
1C: ORAL COMMUNICATION: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)

AREA 2 - MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING

Students must take one course (at least 3 units)

AREA 3 - ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Students must take two courses: one Arts and one Humanities (at least 6 units)

3A: ARTS: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)
3B: HUMANITIES: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)

AREA 4 - SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Students must take two courses in two differnt academic disciplines (at least 6 units)

AREA 5 - PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Students must take two courses: one Physical Science and one Biological Science. One of the two courses must be associated with a one-semester laboratory (at least 7 units)

5A: PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)
5B: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE: Students must take one course (at least 3 units)
5C: LABORATORY: Students must take one course (at least 1 unit)

AREA 6 – ETHNIC STUDIES

Students must take one course (at least 3 units)

Requirements FAQs

More FAQs will be posted soon. Check back periodically for new information.

New students who begin in Fall 2025 and continuous students who began in Fall 2024 must take an Ethnic Studies course. For new students, the course meets a general education requirement. For students who began at SWC in Fall 2024, the course meets a graduation requirement and may be "doublecounted" to meet other associate degree requirements for your program.
Beginning with the Fall 2025 schedule, these courses will have new names and numbers. Instead of looking for these course names and numbers, look for the new names and numbers listed above. However, the Summer 2025 schedule will use the old names and numbers.
Yes. Beginning in Fall 2025, MATH 84 Support for Elementary Statistics will be named STAT 84 Support for Elementary Statistics. The course is required for students placed into STAT C1000 Introduction to Statistics but who require additional support based on their placement by the college's multiple measures assessment process. Students placed into STAT 84 can also take NC 284 Support for Elementary Statistics.

Have more questions? Contact an academic counselor for further guidance. For detailed course information, view the 2025-2026 Southwestern College online catalog (available Summer 2025).