CSU Students Will Be Required to Take Ethnic Studies Course to Graduate

California State University–Fullerton students gather for a State of the Union watch party at the Dreamers Research Center on campus in Fullerton, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2019. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Aug. 17 requiring all students in the California State University (CSU) system to complete an ethnic studies course in order to earn their undergraduate degrees.

With the passage of Assembly Bill 1460 (AB 1460) into law, all CSU campuses statewide will be required to offer courses on race and ethnicity beginning in the 2021–2022 academic year. By 2024–2025, students will be required to take a three-credit ethnic studies course in order to graduate.