GEP requirements are determined by student matriculation date and are listed in the Course Catalog in effect in the year of matriculation. Students may have different program requirements depending upon whether or not they have transfer, AP, or CLEP credit.
For the most accurate information on program requirements, consult the General Education Requirements page in the Course Catalog. For matriculated students, the degree audit will track the completion of the General Education requirements. Students are responsible for consulting their audit frequently to make certain that these requirements are being completed in a timely manner. Certain transferred courses can be used to meet General Education requirements and students should make certain that transferred courses appear on the degree audit as well. The requirements below apply mainly to first time freshmen.
Practical Skills Courses
Practical Skills Courses focus on getting our students READY by,
- Honing their ability to do critical and creative thinking,
- Enhancing their communication, information literacy, and quantitative skills,
- Practicing different modes of inquiry and expression.
Practical Skills Courses have our students explore how they will be ENGAGED with the world by,
- Evaluating evidence to reach informed positions on the issues they care about.
Practical Skills Courses help our students become CONFIDENT in themselves by,
- Discovering their abilities, passions, strengths, and potential for growth,
- Finding their voice to express themselves with confidence.
Requirements
1 Composition Course
1 Quantitative Skills Course (mathematics)
1 Foreign Language Course
1 Oral Communication Course
Learning Experience
While other courses in the General Education Program and individual Majors teach valuable skills, Practical Skills Courses focus on the most fundamental skills for success at college and beyond. These courses concentrate more on concrete use of the skills than on the mastery of a knowledge domain. Practical Skills Courses are structured for students to work intensively on skill building with constant feedback targeting student improvement.
Key Choices
Students can select specific topics to focus on when choosing Practical Skills Courses and in many cases, they can choose a Practical Skills Course best suited to their major or program of study. Students can select General Education Program courses and Major courses that are designed to reinforce and expand upon the Practical Skills Courses.
Knowledge Area Courses
Knowledge Area Courses focus on getting our students READY by,
- honing their ability to do critical and creative thinking,
- enhancing their communication and information literacy,
- practicing different modes of inquiry and expression,
- cultivating a broad knowledge base for future learning.
Knowledge Area Courses help our students become CONFIDENT in themselves by,
- Discovering their abilities, passions, strengths, and potential for growth,
- Finding their voice and expressing themselves with confidence.
Requirements
1 Fine Arts Course (F)
1 Fine Arts Performance Course (P)
2 Humanities Courses (H)
1 Natural Science Course (N)
1 Natural Science Laboratory Course (L)
2 Social Science Courses (S)
Learning Experience
Across all Knowledge Area Courses students focus on identifying and evaluating their own and others’ reasoning. Students prepare to learn different forms of specialized knowledge by learning the major traditions of knowledge production as well as the foundational concepts and theories of a discipline of scholarship. Students become better writers in these courses as they learn to recognize the critical choices they make based on their purpose, audience, and context of their writing. By writing in a variety of very different disciplines, students practice different genres of writing.
Key Choices
Students can select from various liberal arts disciplines as they complete their Knowledge Area Courses. Knowledge Area Courses represent a key opportunity for students to discover topics and fields of knowledge that interest them beyond their major.
Perspectives Courses
Perspectives Courses focus on getting our students READY by,
- Honing their ability to do critical and creative thinking,
- Integrating learning to solve complex problems.
Perspectives Courses have our students explore how they will be ENGAGED with the world by,
- Reflecting on their place in the world and their responsibilities to others,
- Appreciating the richness of human diversity, creativity, and cultural difference,
- Exploring ethical issues and weighing alternative perspectives.
Perspectives Courses help our students become CONFIDENT in themselves by,
- Discovering their abilities, passions, strengths, and potential for growth.
Requirements
1 Perspectives on Gender Course offered at the 100- to the 400-level (W)
1 Diversity Course offered at the 100- to the 400-level (D) or 1 Other World Civilizations Course offered at the 100- to the 300-level (O)
1 Contemporary Issues Course at the 300- or 400-level (I)
Learning Experience
Perspectives Courses devote significant time to examine how people’s lives are shaped by their position in the world around them and lead students to struggle with enduring issues around human existence. Perspectives Courses are located across the curriculum to allow students to engage with these issues at increasingly sophisticated ways and move from understanding to problem solving.
Key Choices
Students can complete some Perspectives Courses within their Knowledge Area Courses and others within their majors. The Contemporary Issues Courses represent a capstone experience within the General Education Program. These courses address an issue of contemporary or enduring significance by integrating learning from across Knowledge Area Courses. Students can choose Contemporary Issues Courses from within or outside their major. Student can also complete multiple Contemporary Issues Courses to hone their ability to integrate their learning.