Breadth Courses

Breadth Requirements

Breadth requirements vary from college to college within UC Berkeley. Please read the college-specific information below.

It is not possible to fulfill Breadth requirements through Advanced Placement (AP) test scores. If you have completed coursework at a community or junior college, you may be able to use those classes to fulfill a Breadth or Humanities and Social Science requirement. Visit the Assist.org website to determine if your courses are eligible, then check with your college to confirm transferability.

Note: If you have passed an AP exam in History of the United States or Psychology, and you choose to take FPF's History 7B or Psychology 1 course, respectively, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will only grant semester units for the course. Most campus departments do not accept AP exams in lieu of prerequisite major coursework.

College of Letters and Science

UC Berkeley's College of Letters and Science requires seven Breadth courses, designed to add depth to your general education, before you graduate. One of these courses must also fulfill UC Berkeley's American Cultures (AC) requirement.

College of Engineering

Instead of Breadth requirements, UC Berkeley College of Engineering (COE) students have a Humanities and Social Science requirement. COE students should refer to the College of Engineering advising page when choosing these courses.

Haas School of Business

If you intend to apply to the Haas School of Business, refer to their Undergraduate Program information page when choosing Breadth coursework.

Selecting Breadth Courses

As you read through the Breadth course descriptions below, find those that interest you and note which specific Breadth requirement they meet. You may choose Breadth courses based on your interest and schedule.

We strongly recommend choosing four alternative Breadth courses, in case your first choice is full. List alternative Breadth courses in order of preference on your Course Selection Form. If you do not choose alternate courses and the courses you request are full, we may choose Breadth courses for you.

FPF Breadth Course Offerings

While many courses fall under multiple Breadth categories, each course can only fulfill one Breadth requirement. However, some courses also fulfill UC Berkeley's American Cultures requirement allowing you to fulfill two requirements with one course. These courses include "AC" in their course title.

Arts and Literature
Art History 11
Classics 10A
English 31AC
Music 27

Biological Science
Anthropology 1
Integrative Biology 33
Integrative Biology 41
Environmental Science 2

Historical Studies
Art History 11
Asian American
Studies 20A
Classics 10A
Environmental
Science 50AC
Ethnic Studies 21AC
History 7B (AC)

International Studies
Geography 20
Political Science 2

Philosophy and Values
Classics 10A
Environmental
Science 50AC
Philosophy 2

Physical Science
Astronomy 10
Earth and Planetary
Science 80
Environmental Science 2

Social and Behavioral
  Sciences
Anthropology 1
Anthropology 3AC
Asian American
  Studies 20A
Ethnic Studies 21AC
Environmental
  Science 50AC
Gender and
  Women's Studies 50AC
Geography 20
History 7B (AC)
Philosophy 2
Political Science 2
Psychology 1
Sociology 3AC

Elective
Rhetoric 2

Course Descriptions

ANTHROPOLOGY 1—Introduction to Biological Anthropology (4 units)
This course provides an introduction to human evolution, focusing on the physical and behavioral adaptations of humans and their prehistoric and living relatives. Topics include evolutionary theory, interpretation of fossils, primate behavior, and molecular evolution. The course defines and discusses theoretical and methodological approaches, prehistoric activities, genetic components of behavior, and racial and geographic differences. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites required. Satisfies either the Biological Science or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

ANTHROPOLOGY 3AC—Introduction to Social/Cultural Anthropology (American Cultures) (4 units)
This introductory course to anthropology positions it as a discipline with key concepts for understanding diverse ways of life, with special insights into our global contemporary situations. The course also fulfills the American Cultures course requirement, focusing on the global formation of American society and culture. The emergence of a monopolistic global economy, and the rise of conflicts and violence in the world today including the United States, challenge our understanding of others whose cultural identities and practices are different from us. This course introduces students to the field of anthropology and its relevance to our contemporary world communities in particular in the United States from a comparative approach. It explores the history of the discipline; the methodology based on observation and participation in the daily lives of people in a particular setting; and current social issues such as gender relations, race and racial inequality, transnationalism, religious movements, popular culture, global and local politics, ethnic identities, health, social class and inequality, and sustainable development. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

ART HISTORY 11—Introduction to Western Art, Renaissance to the Present (4 units)
This course is a chronological survey of the major works of European and American art from 1400 through the modern era. We will characterize eras—for example, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern—and artistic movements—Classicism, Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism, among others. Artists studied will include Van Eyck, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Manet, Picasso and Pollock, to name a few. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Satisfies either the Arts and Literature or Historical Studies breadth requirement.

ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES 20A—Introduction to the History of Asians in the United States (4 units)
This introductory course examines critical aspects of Asian American histories and experiences from 1848 to the present. The principle objective is to provide students with an historical framework for basic understanding of the experiences of the major Asian American groups and an analytical foundation for comparative analyses. In doing so, the course will expose students to national and international factors which impact upon migration and related policies; intersecting issues of race, class and gender relations; inter-class conflicts between labor and capital; and intra-class conflicts as evidenced by labor agitation against Asian migration and resettlement. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies either the Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Studies breadth requirement.

ASTRONOMY 10—Introduction to General Astronomy (4 units)
This course is a description of modern astronomy with emphasis on the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the universe. Additional topics optionally discussed include quasars, pulsars, black holes, and extraterrestrial communications. A minimum of high-school-level algebra and geometry is assumed, but equation solving and memorization are not emphasized. Most students are not physical science majors, and the emphasis is on understanding the skills used in astrophysics that are of interest to society. Students receive no credit for Astronomy 10 after taking Astronomy 7A or 7B. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Physical Science breadth requirement.

CLASSICS 10A—Introduction to Greek Civilization (4 units)
This course provides an introductory survey of Greek Civilization from the period of around 800 to 399 B.C.E. Ancient Greece, one of the several civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean, has had an enduring influence in many areas of Western thought and culture, and the surviving literature of ancient Greece includes several works that continue to stand among the world's most significant. The study of this culture, in both its similarities and differences with our own, helps us understand contemporary individual and societal conflict. In this course, students read and discuss works of several different types of literature, including epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, comedy, history, and philosophy. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites; however, this is a writing- and reading-intensive course, and students' writing skills should exceed the College Writing course level. Satisfies either the Arts and Literature or Historical Studies or Philosophy and Values breadth requirement.

EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE 80 (GEOLOGY)—Environmental Earth Sciences (2 units)
This course surveys human interactions with the earth. We will examine topics ranging from geologic hazards, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, to human effects on the environment, such as pollution and climate change. We will also study geologic aspects of the use of the land and oceans. Two hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Physical Science breadth requirement.

ENGLISH 31AC—Literature of American Cultures: American Voices, American Lives (4 units)
In this class we try to see the world as others do by reading and discussing literary explorations of life in America by African American, Latino/a American, Asian American, Native American, and Middle Eastern American writers. This course assumes the American experience is best understood by encountering the many lives and voices of its people, be it the grandson of a slave, the daughter of a political refugee, or the son of a mother who never learns English. Memoirs, autobiographical essays, short stories, and poems will be read and discussed. Students will be encouraged to draw upon their own experiences of America as a way of deepening their appreciation of our cultural commitments and conflicts. Three hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and the Arts and Literature breadth requirement. College of Engineering students may satisfy the second half of the Reading &Composition requirement with this course.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, POLICY, & MANAGEMENT 2—The Biosphere (3 units)
An introduction to the unifying principles and fundamental concepts underlying our scientific understanding of the biosphere. Topics covered include the physical life support system on earth; nutrient cycles and factors regulating the chemical composition of water, air, and soil; the architecture and physiology of life; population biology and community ecology; human dependence on the biosphere; and the magnitude and consequences of human interventions in the biosphere. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Satisfies either the Biological Science or Physical Science breadth requirement.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, POLICY, & MANAGEMENT 50AC-Intro to Culture and Natural Resource Management (4 units)
An introduction to how culture affects the way we use and manage fire, wildland and urban forests, rangelands, parks and preserves, and croplands in America. The basic concepts and tools for evaluating the role of culture in resource use and management are introduced and used to examine the experience of American cultural groups in the development and management of western natural resources. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and either the Historical Studies, Philosophy and Values, or Social and Behavioral breadth requirement .

ETHNIC STUDIES 21AC—A Comparative Survey of Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States (4 units)
This survey course will examine the historical experiences of European immigrants, African Americans, and Latinos, emphasizing the themes of migration and economic change since the late 19th century. Though the course will focus on the three groups noted above, it will also address the experiences of Asian Americans, Native Americans, and recently arrived immigrants in the context of the themes of the course. Throughout the course, intra-group differences such as gender, socioeconomic stratification, and cultural variation will be discussed. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and either the Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirements.

GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES 50AC—Gender in American Culture (3 units)
Stories told in a hushed voice, those which tear the veil from parts of life we never knew, stay with us throughout our lives. Much of the fiction, memoirs, essays, folklore, and film explored in this course simulate this sense of intimacy between storyteller and listener. Because those stories which have gone unheard can be among the most compelling and life-altering, this course focuses on the exciting developments in African-, Irish-, and Chinese-American women's writing and cristicism. Women's lives make up half of humanity's great story arc, yet even now literary critics continue to uncover new and formerly-lost works. Specifically we will examine stories of Americans coming from Africa, Ireland, and China and those of their descendents. Our characters take startling risks along the way to building their lives in new and changing cultures. The dangers these women face, and their courageous responses, differ in many ways from stories led by male protagonists. We will study some of the differences between how gender is viewed—and enacted—in stories with female protagonists. With your contributions to class discussion and writing, you, too, can take part in the discovery process of this expanding field of liberal arts. Three hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

GEOGRAPHY 20-Globalization (4 units)
How and why are geographical patterns of employment, production and consumption unstable in the contemporary world? What are the consequences of NAFTA, an expanded European Community and post-colonial migration flows? How is global restructuring culturally reworked locally and nationally? Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Satisfies the International Studies or Social & Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

HISTORY 7B (AC)—From the Civil War to the Present (4 units)
This course examines the experiences and the conflicts that made up the history of modern American society. Students will be exposed to a wide range of historical actors and dialogues, in order to understand the past from the perspective of the men and women who experienced it and to gain some insight into the daily lives of Americans—their work and leisure, their cultures and ideologies, their relations with one another, and the political and economic system under which they lived. Lectures and readings focus on the complex interplay between political, economic and cultural interests and will examine in particular depth race relations, the laboring classes, reform movements, the interior of American lives, the changing conditions for success and survival in the culture Americans were shaping, and the emerging role of the United States as a world power. Three hours of lecture and two hours discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and either Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 33—The Age of Dinosaurs (3 units)
This is a lecture course on dinosaurs from appearance to extinction. Topics include the dinosaur skeleton, reconstructing dinosaurs, basic principles of evolution, classification and adaptation, and a survey of dinosaur types. We consider dinosaur reproduction, the question of dinosaur endothermy, and the origin of birds. We also survey the other animals that coexisted with the dinosaurs as we build a picture of the Mesozoic world. Lectures are often illustrated with slides. Three hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Biological Science breadth requirement.

INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 41—Marine Mammals (2 units)
A survey of marine mammal evolution, biology, behavior, ecology, and politics with a concentration on those species found in the North Pacific. Coverage would include: origin and evolution of cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, and sea otters; basic biology and anatomy of marine mammal groups, North Pacific species in particular; ecological interactions and role in nearshore and pelagic marine communities; and interactions between humans and marine mammals. Two hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Biological Science breadth requirement.

MUSIC 27—Introduction to Western Music (4 units)
This course is devoted to the development of listening skills and appreciation of the major forms of Western art music. It is not intended for music majors. The guided listening, lectures, and discussions present music as a language in which students can develop a basic fluency. The recorded music used in the course covers the gamut of Western art music from the Renaissance to the present day. Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Arts and Literature breadth requirement.

PHILOSOPHY 2—Individual Morality and Social Justice (4 units)
At the heart of modern democracies like ours is the idea that morality, like religion, is a matter of individual conscience; it is not the business of the government to decide such matters for us or to promote one religion or morality over another. This stance leaves us with a problem. If citizens have strongly differing conceptions of what is right and fair, how can we agree on principles of justice that apply to all? If one group holds that abortion is sometimes morally permissible but another believes it is always murder, will not any laws about abortion entail the government's favoring one moral stance over another? The same quandary arises with affirmative action, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, school prayer, the death penalty, and other issues. How do we get a system of social justice that everyone can agree to if there is so much diversity of opinion about what is right and fair? Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites; however, this is a writing- and reading-intensive course, and students' writing skills should exceed the College Writing course level. Satisfies either the Philosophy and Values or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

POLITICAL SCIENCE 2—Introduction to Comparative Politics (4 units)
This course is a comparative study of countries and their different levels of economic and political development. It examines what they are like and how they came to be the way they are. Topics include the nature of power, processes of politics, and the cultural and social forces that have given countries their distinctive identities. A number of countries (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, China, Japan, India, Mexico, Nigeria) are examined in some detail. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies either the International Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

PSYCHOLOGY 1—General Psychology (3 units)
This course examines a representative sample of topics in psychology, including the operation of neurons and the brain, animal behavior, sensory and perceptual processes, obedience to authority, and theories of personality, mental disorders, and psychotherapy. Topics also include the history of psychology (with brief readings from Plato, Darwin, James, Freud, and Watson), recent ideas about the role of consciousness in cognition, and computer modeling of cognitive processes. Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.

RHETORIC 2—Fundamentals of Public Speaking (2 units)
This course is designed as a practical tool for academic and personal improvement. It helps students establish and develop basic competence in the skills required for effective oral presentations, whether prepared in advance or spontaneous. Course materials cover formulation of a clear communicative intent, basic principles of communication and theories of persuasion, organization of presentation material, delivery, use of visual aids, and response to audience questions. Students make six different oral presentations during the term, with ample opportunity for ungraded practice and coaching prior to evaluation. Three hours of class per week. This course is offered only as a Pass/Not Pass. Although this course does not satisfy a College of Letters and Science breadth requirement, it may be used for units.

SOCIOLOGY 3AC—Principles of Sociology (4 units)
This course introduces the sociological analysis of individuals, institutions, groups, inequality, power, and privilege. We use this sociological lens to understand the experiences of four ethnic groups in the United States: Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and European Americans. We compare the experience of these groups in such arenas as class, work, family, gender, sexual orientation, and social change. Three hours of lecture per week. No prerequisites. Satisfies both the Berkeley Campus American Cultures requirement and the Social and Behavioral Sciences breadth requirement.