The General Education Program
All students entering the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who wish to earn BA, BS, BFA, BLS, or BM degrees must complete the requirements of the General Education Program (GEP).
There are 9 required areas within the General Education Program with 12 different categories of courses. To fulfill the area requirements, students may select from numerous subjects and departments, with all GE courses providing a foundation in critical thinking, reading, and writing. More advanced GE courses allow students to continue the pursuit of a wide-range of interests relating to or in addition to the major well into the senior year.
Areas and Requirements
- Rhetoric: a minimum of 4-8 semester hours, as determined by the Department of Rhetoric.
- Foreign Language: Fourth-semester proficiency required or the departmental equivalent; may be completed through high-school study.
- Interpretation of Literature: a minimum of 3 semester hours. English majors should select an alternate course from the Humanities area to fulfill this requirement.
- Historical Perspectives: a minimum of 3 semester hours.
- Humanities: a minimum of 3 semester hours.
- Natural Sciences: a minimum of 7 semester hours; must include one lab
- Quantitative or Formal Reasoning: a minimum of 3 semester hours.
- Social Sciences: a minimum of 3 semester hours.
- Distributed General Education: at least 6 semester hours with a minimum of 3 semester hours taken from two different categories listed below:
Academic Policies Pertaining to Students
Students should be aware of all additional academic policies pertaining to the General Education Program.
Note: The University accepts credit by examination for some areas of the GE Program, including AP, CLEP, and IB credit. Visit the following Admissions site for specific information. Transfer credit also may be used to fulfill some areas. Please consult with Admissions.