Academic Requirements Report (ARR)
An important resource that you should regularly check is your Academic Requirements Report (ARR), which is your degree audit at CSULB. Your ARR is a comprehensive list of your degree requirements—including General Education, major, and minor categories—along with completed and in-progress courses that meet those requirements.
This report is an interactive advising tool that will help you track your academic progress toward graduation. You should review this report before you enroll in classes every semester and any time you make changes to your schedule.
Along with your academic advisor, your ARR is a great resource to help you plan your overall class schedule. Consider this report, along with your Degree Planner, a roadmap from admission to graduation!
Explore more resources below:
Your ARR is personalized based on your current academic program(s), previously completed courses, and in-progress courses. Depending on your academic program, the requirements listed on your ARR may include the following for undergraduate students:
- General Education requirements
- Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR)
- Major (or pre-major*) requirements
- Minor or certificate requirements (if applicable)
- Overall unit requirement (minimum of 120 units for BA/BS degree)
- Upper-division unit requirement (minimum of 40 units for a BA/BS degree)
- GPA requirements (including major, CSULB, and cumulative GPAs)
- Transfer credit earned from other institutions (if applicable)
- Exam credit (such as CLEP, AP, or IB, if applicable)
Degree requirements are organized into different categories on your ARR. For example, all General Education requirements are listed together, as are your major requirements, and so on.
* To declare some majors, students must first meet precise major-specific criteria. These criteria will appear on the ARR as pre-major requirements. For more information, refer to “What appears on my ARR if I am a pre-major?”
Each degree requirement listed on your ARR has a status:
| Requirement Status | Icon |
|---|---|
| Requirement Met | Image
|
| Met with In-Progress Work | Image
|
| Will Be Met with Planned Work Courses planned for a future term using your Degree Planner will have this status. This status only appears in the Advising Report Planned, which you can access from your Degree Planner. | Image
|
| Requirement Not Met | Image
|
| Exception Made | Image
|
These statuses make it easy for you and your academic advisor to identify which requirements you need to fulfill to complete your degree.
All requirements listed on your ARR must be met in order for you to graduate. All requirements must have a status of Requirement Met (
) or Met with In-Progress Work (
).
Use your ARR to plan a degree completion roadmap in your Degree Planner. Your Degree Planner is an interactive tool that allows you to map your courses for future semesters to plan for timely degree completion. It is highly recommended that once you use your Degree Planner, you review your ARR to ensure that all outstanding requirements are included in your plan.
Your Degree Planner takes into consideration the recommended course sequences for your academic program—including General Education, major, and minor categories. It also identifies prerequisites and co-requisites to help you plan accordingly.
Remember, the Degree Planner is a personal planning tool and does not officially guarantee enrollment in any courses. For more information, see Degree Planner.
You can access your ARR at any time by selecting the Academic Requirements option in the expanded menu within the Academics panel in MyCSULB Student Center. All current undergraduate and graduate students in degree programs at CSULB have an ARR.
Tip: Find the expanded menu options, select the grey menu icon located in the top right of the Academics panel.
Your ARR automatically updates when:
- an official change is made to your enrollment (such as adding or dropping classes)
- an official change is made to your academic program (such as a change or major or minor)
- transfer credit is posted
- exam credit is posted (such as CLEP, AP, or IB)
To declare some majors, students must first meet precise major-specific criteria. These criteria will appear on the ARR as pre-major requirements. Depending on the intended major, these requirements may include:
- lower-division courses that prepare students for the major
- minimum GPA requirements
- General Education courses
If you are a pre-major, then your complete major requirements will not appear on your ARR yet. Instead, your pre-major requirements will be listed in their own category so that you can track your progress until you can officially declare the major. Therefore, your ARR will not include all your degree requirements until your major is declared. In the meantime, you can use your Degree Planner to create a plan based on your anticipated major requirements.
Once you declare your major, your ARR will be updated to include your complete major requirements. Your requirements will follow those in the CSULB Catalog in effect at the time of declaration.
For more information, visit Declare a Major (Pre-Majors/Undeclared).
If you believe there is a discrepancy on your ARR, you should contact your academic advisor right away.
In some cases, departments may grant exceptions that allow one course to be substituted for another in your degree requirements. Such exceptions must be submitted by your academic advisor to Enrollment Services to be accurately recorded on your ARR.
Additionally, a grade of C or better may be required in some courses to meet certain requirements, depending on your major. In such an instance, if you complete the course but do not receive the minimum grade, it will not meet the requirement and may instead appear in the “Unassigned Courses” category at the end of your ARR.
Some majors require a certain number of elective courses. These electives will generally appear in the elective category of your ARR.
Other unassigned electives that do not meet a subject requirement (such as General Education, major, or minor) will appear in the “Unassigned Courses” category at the end of your ARR.
If you are considering making any changes to your academic program, you should use the What-if Report feature. This feature allows you to review the requirements for a different academic program (such as a different major, a new minor, or GE requirements from another catalog year) and find out how your completed courses will count toward those requirements. Creating a What-if Report is a great way for you and your advisor to explore alternative program possibilities.
All requests to change majors are considered on a case-by-case basis. See Change of Major (Undergraduates)for eligibility details.
You can create a What-if Report at any time in MyCSULB Student Center:
- In the dropdown menu in the Academics section, select What-if Report.
- Then, select Create New Report.
- Choose the program(s) you are interested in to create your What-if Report.
After you have enrolled in your classes for the semester you plan to graduate, you should carefully review your ARR to make sure all requirements are met with previous or in-progress course work.
At the beginning of your ARR, your Graduation Status should be “Applied for Graduation” or “On Track with Course Work in Progress.”
All requirements must have a status of Requirement Met (
) or Met with In-Progress Work (
).
If you have any requirements with a status of Requirement Not Met (
) or Will Be Met with Planned Work (
), please contact your academic advisor right away.
Your ARR is an official Enrollment Services report that outlines all degree requirements necessary for you to graduate in a timely manner. Your ARR is personalized based on your current academic program(s), previously completed courses, and in-progress courses. It is your official degree audit.
The Degree Planner is a personal planning tool and does not officially guarantee enrollment in any courses. It is a very helpful tool that allows you to map out your time at CSULB based on the requirements outlined in your ARR. It is highly recommended that once you use your Degree Planner, you review your ARR to ensure that all outstanding requirements are included in your plan. Learn more about Degree Planner.
