The Coordinating Board for Higher Education has approved the following minimum recommended 16-unit core curriculum requirement for admission to all public four-year colleges and universities. The recommended core curriculum will affect all first-time full-time degree-seeking college students who graduate from high school in Spring 1996 or later.
| SUBJECT AREA | REQUIREMENTS |
| English/Communication Arts | 4 Units, one of which may be Speech or Debate; 2 Units emphasizing composition or writing skills are required (Excludes Newspaper and Yearbook courses). |
| Mathematics | 3 Units (high school level algebra and beyond). |
| Social Studies | 3 Units (Including American History and one semester of Government) |
| Science | 2 Units (Selected from Biology, Chemistry or Physics, one of which must be a laboratory course) |
| Visual/Performing Arts | 1 Unit (visual/performing arts courses in visual arts, music, dance, and theatre). |
| Electives | 3 Units, selected from foreign language and/or combinations of the above courses (two units of foreign language are strongly recommended). |