What are Restricted Electives?

Restricted Electives are a way for SA&FS students to have more freedom in their upper division coursework. Each student needs to pass 20 units of upper division elective courses that relate to our major’s learning objectives in order to fulfill the RE requirement. Upper division courses are in the course level 100-199. The upper division courses that a student chooses must be in alignment with the major’s learning objectives (Systems Thinking, Experimentation and Inquiry, Interpersonal Communication, Understanding Values, Strategic Management, Civic Engagement, Personal Development). You can find more in depth descriptions of the SA&FS learning objectives on the “About” page of our major’s website.

To get approval for the restricted electives, our advising team recommends determining a list of interesting courses and contacting your track advisor before taking them. Check the general catalog and schedule builder to make sure that you have the prerequisites for the courses you are interested in. Track advisors can be contacted via email and during their office hours.

Restricted Electives FAQ’s:

• “Can I use my RE courses to fulfill a minor degree”
  Answer: No, you unfortunately cannot. You may, however, use one course that overlaps major and minor requirements according to CAES policy. That means one course from our major’s requirements (core, preparatory, additional preparatory, depth, Restricted elective) may be applied to a minor degree. Just one.
• “Can I really take whatever course interests me?”
  Answer: Yes, as long as they relate to the major’s learning objectives and you get approval from your track advisor.
• “How do I contact my track advisor?”
  Answer: Send them an email. You can find your track advisor and their contact information on the most current SA&FS internship packet and in the Biweekly Beet Newsletter.
• “How do I email my track advisor about RE approval?”
  Answer: Email them the courses you would like to take with their course descriptions and give a brief explanation of why the courses you chose reflect the major’s learning objectives. Save that email to use as proof of your RE approval and forward the email thread to our staff advisor, Lacole Brooks.
• “Do all of my RE’s need to be 4-unit courses?”
  Answer: No, you may mix it up and use different combinations of course units if you have 20 units to meet the requirements.
• “Can I use internship credit towards my RE’s?”
  Answer: Yes, you may use up to 4 units of excess internship units toward your RE requirement. Because you already need to complete 8 internship units for the internship requirement of the major, that means you can only use 4 internship units towards RE’s since 12 internship units is the maximum that can be applied towards one’s major.
• “What if I don’t have the prerequisites but I still believe I am capable of taking the course?”
  Answer: You may use Schedule Builder to create a prerequisite petition and give your reasoning for your capability of taking the course along with any corresponding documents for proof. You will be notified by email if your petition was approved.