Excerpts from the General Education Program Description

Goals of the General Education Program

The General Education Program teaches both the skills and the general body of knowledge needed for students to intelligently participate in public discourse.

Knowledge Goals

  1. The major areas of human investigation and accomplishment -- the arts, the humanities, the mathematical sciences, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.
  2. An understanding of one's own culture and the cultures of others.
  3. The tradition of humane inquiry that forms moral and ethical choices.

Skills Goals

  1. To engage in articulate expression through effective writing and speaking.
  2. To think critically and creatively.
  3. To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.
  4. To integrate different areas of knowledge and view ideas from multiple perspectives.

The Structure of the General Education Program

The General Education Program is divided into three sections: the Foundations Categories, the Cultural Emphasis Requirements, and the Thematic Group.

The Foundations Categories

Courses in the Foundations Categories introduce students to the major areas of human thought and endeavor. These courses present the academic disciplines as different ways of looking at the world, they introduce students to the varied methods used to create knowledge, and they acquaint students with major questions and principles of the field. The pedagogy of the Foundation Categories helps students develop the essential skills of creative and critical thinking, articulate expression, and information literacy.

The Foundations Categories are:

  • The Arts (one course)
  • The Humanities
    • Philosophy and Literature (one course)
    • Historical Perspectives (one course)
  • The Mathematical Sciences (one course)
  • The Natural Sciences (one of the science Courses must contain a lab)
    • Physical Sciences (one course)
    • Life Sciences (one course)
  • The Social Sciences (two courses from two disciplines)

The Humanities: Philosophy and Literature Courses

Completion of one of the following courses is required.
  • COM 202 Critical Interpretation
  • ENG 201 Classical Literature
  • ENG 203 World Literature
  • ENG 205 Literatures in English
  • ENG 212 Introduction to Shakespeare
  • LIB 100 Introduction to Liberal Studies
  • PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy
  • PHI 102 Ethics
  • RST 331 Russian Literature in Translation (1800-1880)
  • RST 333 Russian Literature in Translation (1932 to present)