General Education

Through its General Education program, the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) seeks to ensure that its degree-completion undergraduate students:

• are exposed to as wide a range as possible of human intellectual and creative activity;
• possess, upon graduation, the breadth of knowledge (as well as the depth of knowledge in their specific program areas) characteristic of college-educated persons;
• have their natural intellectual curiosity not only stimulated but disciplined in such a way as to foster out-of-class and post-university exploration, learning, and knowledge acquisition.

CGCS General Education Requirements:

• English: the equivalent of 6 semester credits.  At least 3 credits are in a general expository writing course or its equivalent.  The remaining 3 credits will be in either an upper-division (300-400 level) professionally-oriented writing course, or a course within the program discipline that is designated an intensive writing course by the CGCS.

• Literature: the equivalent of 3 semester credits in a course that examines a particular literary genre and/or a particular critical approach.
• Mathematics: the equivalent of 6 semester credits.  At least 3 credits are in a general college mathematics course.  The remaining 3 credits will be in elementary or descriptive statistics. 
• History: the equivalent of 3 semester credits in a course that applies basic historical method to either one time period or one region of the world.
• Humanities: the equivalent of 3 semester credits in a course that examines one aspect of human creativity or the non-physical human condition other than literature.  Subjects include but are not limited to Art, Art History, Classics, Language, Music, Philosophy, Religion, and Theater.
• Social Science: the equivalent of 3 semester credits in a course grounded in one of the disciplines that examine the behavior of human beings in groups. Subjects include but are not limited to Anthropology, Archaeology, Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, Geography, Government, International Relations, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. 
• Science: the equivalent of 6 semester credits.  All 6 credits may are in one or more discipline-specific courses, or in courses that examine more broadly the philosophy of science, the epistemology of the scientific method, and the role of statistics in the testing and validation of scientific knowledge.
• Ethics: the equivalent of 3 semester credits in a course that examines the characteristics and application of at least two ethical theories. 
• Capstone:  a 6-credit, program-specific course as the final and summative educational activity in the program.  This course may NOT be satisfied by prior institutional or extra-institutional learning.

NOTE: in all cases, academic programs may stipulate higher requirements or specific courses or course areas as part of the degree requirements.

CGCS students may demonstrate satisfactory fulfillment of the General Education Requirements in one of three ways:

1. CGCS Coursework: Complete designated as fulfilling all or part of a General Education Requirement.
2. Prior Coursework: Complete courses at other institutions of higher education as fulfilling all or part of a General Education Requirement at the discretion of the academic Program Manager.  Such courses are subject to the requirements in the Transfer Credit policy .
3. Extra-Institutional Learning: Complete all or part of a General Education Requirement as:
   1. Credit by Examination: includes independent examinations such as CLEP, DANTES, AP, etc., as well as challenge examinations created by CGCS.
   2. Credit for Training: military and professional training programs and activities as meeting all or part of a General Education Requirement.
   3. Credit for Competence: CGCS may create a competency-based evaluation that allows students to demonstrate sufficient competence in one or more of the General Education Requirements.