General Education
A Broad Foundation for Building Knowledge
General Education provides students with a broad foundation for building knowledge and understanding throughout their academic, professional and civic lives. Introducing students to new ideas in a wide variety of disciplines demonstrates the complexity of the world around us and facilitates an interdisciplinary understanding. For example, a physician might develop a greater attention to minute detail by taking an art course, or a social worker might gain a perspective on how malnutrition might affect behavioral development in children. General Education also allows students to explore disciplines they may not be familiar with, potentially stimulating new areas of inquiry. This breadth of training is what differentiates a university from a professional or technical school.
The General Education curriculum includes courses in arts and humanities, communication, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences and is designed around these objectives:
The Value of General Education
Students often question the need for a broad General Education curriculum outside of their major, unsure how it relates to their goals of earning a degree, securing a job, and achieving a fulfilling life. The General Education requirements, by design, help students develop the knowledge, perspectives, and abilities to appreciate our society's history and aspirations, its relationship with and responsibility to the natural world, its diversity, its problems and its needs.
General Education empowers students to become independent thinkers, capable of turning learning into meaningful action. These courses encourage exploration of new disciplines and ideas, offering fresh perspectives on the world. This foundational coursework supports not only academic success and lifelong learning but also the responsibilities of local, national, and global citizenship.
