### Understanding Your Catalog Year Before you begin browsing courses, you must identify your "catalog year." Your catalog year determines the specific graduation requirements you must follow. Typically, your catalog year is the academic year you first enrolled at Cal Poly Pomona or another California community college or CSU, provided you have maintained continuous attendance. Because curriculum requirements can change from year to year, you are held to the rules of your specific catalog year. If the university updates a major's requirements after you enroll, you are generally grandfathered into your original requirements, though you can formally request to change to a newer catalog year if it is advantageous to you. ### How to Navigate the Online Catalog To find your specific degree requirements within the catalog: 1. Go to **catalog.cpp.edu**. 2. Locate the drop-down menu in the top right corner of the page and select your specific catalog year. 3. Use the left-hand navigation menu to click on **Academic Programs**. 4. Browse by college (such as the College of Engineering or the College of Business Administration) or search directly for your major or minor. 5. Click on your program to view the list of required core courses, elective options, and prerequisite requirements. ## Utilizing CPP Curriculum Sheets and Roadmaps

While the university catalog serves as the official database, Cal Poly Pomona offers visual, user-friendly planning guides called Curriculum Sheets and Roadmaps. These documents are highly recommended for semester-by-semester planning. ### What is a Curriculum Sheet? A curriculum sheet is a static document that lists every course required to earn a specific degree. It breaks down your requirements into three main sections: * **Major Required Core:** The essential courses within your department that all majors must take. * **Subplan/Option or Support Courses:** Specialized courses that align with your specific track or foundational courses from other departments (such as math or physics for engineering majors). * **General Education (GE):** The university-wide breadth requirements divided into different areas (Areas A through F). ### What is an Academic Roadmap? An academic roadmap is a term-by-term planning guide. It suggests a semester-by-semester sequence of courses designed to help you graduate in four years (for first-time freshmen) or two years (for transfer students). Following the roadmap ensures you take prerequisites in the correct order, preventing scheduling bottlenecks. ### Where to Find Sheets and Roadmaps You can access these documents by visiting the main CPP website and searching for "Curriculum Sheets" or navigating to the Academic Advising tools page. They are archived by academic year, so make sure to download the PDF that matches your specific catalog year.

## Tracking Progress with the BroncoDirect Degree Progress Report (DPR) If you are a currently enrolled student, the most accurate way to track your real-time progress toward graduation is through BroncoDirect, the university's student portal. ### How to Access Your DPR 1. Log in to your **BroncoDirect** account. 2. Navigate to the **Student Center**. 3. Under the "Academics" section, click the drop-down menu, select **Degree Progress Report**, and click the double-arrow icon to generate the report. ### Reading Your DPR The DPR is an interactive audit tool that compares your completed, in-progress, and transfer coursework against the official degree requirements for your catalog year. * A **green checkmark** indicates a requirement has been fully satisfied. * A **yellow diamond** indicates the course is currently in progress. * A **red square** indicates an outstanding requirement that you still need to complete.

Always review the red squares when planning your registration for upcoming semesters to ensure you do not miss any graduation requirements. ## Tips for Verifying Your Graduation Requirements Because academic policies, course numbers, and department requirements can change, it is important to verify your information regularly. ### Meet with an Academic Advisor Do not rely solely on self-tracking. Schedule regular appointments with your college's advising center (such as the College of Science Advising Center or the CLASS Advising Center) or your assigned faculty advisor. They can help clarify complex requirements, verify your catalog year, and ensure your DPR is accurate.

### Submit Course Substitutions If a required course is discontinued, or if you took an equivalent course at another institution that did not automatically transfer, you must work with your advisor to submit a Course Substitution Petition. This ensures the course is manually applied to your DPR. ### Avoid Unofficial Sources Avoid relying on student-run forums, social media groups, or outdated PDFs shared by peers. Curriculum requirements can change annually, and relying on unofficial information can lead to taking unnecessary classes and delaying your graduation. Always refer back to **catalog.cpp.edu** and your official DPR.