Division I Core Courses

What are the Division I

Core Courses Required by the NCAA?

Below is a list of the NCAA Division I Core Courses.  The NCAA requires potential recruits to meet certain core courses to be Division I eligible.  Most high school athletes think that the NCAA looks only at their GPA when determining eligibility status.  That is not true.  The NCAA is also concerned about your core courses.  That means you cannot use gym, music, etc to calculate your GPA so hit the books and keep your grades up!

Complete 16 Core Courses: They are:

• 4 years of English
• 3 years of mathematics *(algebra 1 or higher)*
• 2 years of natural or physical science *(one year must be a lab science)*
• 1 extra year of English, Math, or Science
• 2 years of social science
• 4 years of extra core courses *(can be from foreign language, philosophy, nondoctrinal religion, or any of the categories above)*

In addition to the 16 core courses you must also

• Graduate from high school
• Earn a minimum core course GPA of 2.3 and;
• Earn a combined ACT or SAT score with your core course GPA.  Use the sliding scale to gauge where you stand.
• Ten (10) core courses completed before the seventh semester; seven (7) of the 10 must be in English, math or natural/physical science.  These courses/grades are “locked in” at start of the seventh semester (cannot be repeated for grade-point average [GPA] improvement to meet initial-eligibility requirements for competition).

Download a copy of the Core Course Spreadsheet here

PDF copy here

Eligibility Center Worksheet here