What Are General Education Requirements?
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General education requirements help students build a fundamental understanding of many areas of study. Gen eds are important courses that give insight into specific courses of study or departments a student may choose to major or minor in before graduation. Additionally, most professions require the hard or soft skills that these courses teach.
Students in college and university took the same classes in a “liberal education” curriculum before majors and minors.?
Today, the first half of the higher education experience focuses on general education requirements. They concentrate on familiar subjects and lay the foundation for more advanced coursework.
General education courses, also called “gen eds,” cover standard subjects like mathematics, history, language and science. The departments within a college and the institutions themselves choose which courses count toward general education requirements.
Why Are Gen Eds Important?
General education courses give students a foundation of knowledge and skills that apply to everyday life.?
General education requirements give students information on core topics that apply to various fields.?
These courses help students determine what other learning opportunities they may need to reach their academic and professional goals. Some may have an easier time deciding which major or minor they should choose based on their experience in gen eds.
How Many General Education Courses Do I Need to Take?
A college or university decides how many gen eds students must take for their degree requirements. Additionally, specific departments may require additional gen eds as prerequisites depending on their rules. However, in most cases, the general education requirements cover a third or half of all college credits.
A full-time undergraduate taking around 12 to 15 credit hours per semester must enroll in four or five three-credit classes each semester.?
Say an institution requires 60 credit hours in general education courses. To meet this requirement, the student completes 20 gen ed classes worth three credit hours (20 courses x 3 hours per course = 60 credit hours).
This would cover about two years’ worth of a full-time bachelor’s degree program course load. Most institutions require at least 40 credit hours’ worth of gen ed courses.
Many students may select their major before the end of their second year in a four-year program. However, they may make this decision earlier (or later) also.
Gen eds give students a better idea about what skills and information they may need in various programs as they advance into more intermediate, specific courses. For this reason, the number of prerequisite gen ed courses will continue to change as the requirements for different fields change.
Can I Transfer Gen Ed Credits?
It is often simple to transfer general education courses from one institution to another. Programs design these courses to teach the fundamental concepts of that subject, meaning they should be similar across all institutions.
A typical example is a student who wants to complete their general education requirements at their local community college before enrolling at a more expensive four-year university.
Always talk to the academic advising team at the institution to ensure that all the gen eds will transfer if this is part of your educational plan.?
Standard Gen Eds for Most Students
Even though specific programs may create their general education requirements, most institutions follow certain standard areas of study, including:
Some programs may also include course requirements on other subjects, like diversity or gender studies.
Math
Basic number skills are essential in several professions. Gen ed math classes focus on refreshing a student’s understanding of mathematical concepts.?
Common gen ed mathematics courses include:
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English
Even if you’re not an English major, you will still need to write various papers, documents and projects for major-required courses or even as a professional after graduation. The gen ed English course will help with learning the most basic, fundamental skills that these tasks require, including organizing thoughts concisely.
Common gen ed English course options include:
Natural Science
Learning about the natural world is important to understanding our surroundings. It also encourages critical thinking about how different factors impact the planet.?
Common gen ed science courses include:
Social Science
Social science courses are important because they give students a better understanding of themselves and the people around them.
Common gen ed social science courses include:
Humanities
Many subjects fall into the humanities category, but most reflect on culture and civilization.?
Common gen ed humanities courses include:
Final Thoughts on Gen Eds
For some students, gen eds may not seem essential to the program. Some courses may have nothing to do with the major a student chooses.
The goal of these classes is not always to align with your major, however. Instead, gen eds help students gain valuable hard and soft skills that apply to many professions.
Instead of thinking of gen eds as a waste of time, consider them a useful way to gain a larger set of skills.
Students may choose to complete their gen eds through a community college or an affordable state program to save money. College is more expensive than ever, and since these credits typically transfer to any school, this might be something for students to consider before attending their first year.
Key Takeaways
What are general education requirements?
(Reporting by NPD)