General Education Requirements
The mission of general education is to promote learning that is central to the intellectual pursuits associated with our educational programs and to enable students to make informed choices about matters of public and personal significance in a diverse, democratic society and global community. The general education program helps students to become informed, independent thinkers by developing competencies in communication, quantitative analysis, and critical thinking by helping them understand and appreciate the diversity of culture, individuals, the natural environment, and the global society. Courses that are used to satisfy the program’s Major Requirements cannot also be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
The General Education Program consists of 36 hours of course work in six elements:
- Communication,
- Quantitative Reasoning,
- Arts and Humanities,
- Natural Sciences,
- Social and Behavioral Sciences,
- Diversity of Perspectives and Experiences.
Students must earn the specified number of hours in each of these Elements.
Some courses may be listed in more than one General Education category. However, no single course can be used to satisfy more than one General Education requirement.
Changing General Education Requirements
The following General Education program is highly integrated with University requirements, therefore students moving into the newest catalog will be held to these General Education and University graduation requirements, as well as major requirements as listed in this Catalog.
Students will have one catalog year governing all graduation conditions. To see how a Catalog change will impact their progress toward degree, students are expected to first run a “What-If” Degree Works audit and study the impact of a Catalog change. Once a student has moved forward to a new catalog year they cannot move back to a previous year.
The courses listed award three hours of credit, unless a number appears in parentheses following the course name. This number represents the hours awarded for such courses. Courses with an “L” are laboratory classes and one credit hour unless otherwise noted. Course numbers followed by (^) have prerequisites or other restrictions on enrollment. Refer to Course Descriptions in Section Seven of this Catalog for specific restrictions.
Summary Checklist for General Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Element 1 | ||
| A: Written Communication | 3 | |
| B: Written Communication | 3 | |
| C: Oral Communication | 3 | |
| Element 2 | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | |
| Element 3 | ||
| A: Arts | 3 | |
| B: Humanities | 3 | |
| Element 4 | ||
| Natural Sciences | 6 | |
| Element 5 | ||
| A: Historical Science | 3 | |
| B: Social Behavioral Science | 3 | |
| Element 6 | ||
| Diversity of Perspectives Experiences | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Students are expected to complete Elements 1 and 2 within their first 60 hours of college credit.