General Education Program

The three (3) traditional components of undergraduate education are: 1) the General Education program; 2) the academic major; 3) a minor and/or electives.

A key purpose of General Education is to provide the components of a liberal education that develop and cultivate the capacities required for effective social, intellectual, and cultural engagement in a diverse democratic society and global environment. The General Education program provides the opportunities to gain the skills, knowledge and values that support full social participation and citizenship.

One must have the critical analytical and communication skills, as well as knowledge of the natural, social, and quantitative sciences to understand and argue the important issues of the day. Furthermore, these issues call for aesthetic and ethical values and reflection that are developed most profoundly through the arts and humanities. In the major, the principles of liberal education are further developed as students examine a specialized field in depth and develop knowledge in preparation for a career. By their choice of a minor and electives, students are able to pursue additional or supplemental areas of intellectual interest.

General Education Curriculum

Given the purpose of general education, the success of the program depends on realizing a concrete set of expected outcomes. Those outcomes are as follows:

I.  Skills:

Students should be able to:

A.  think critically, reason soundly, and argue effectively,
as demonstrated by the ability to:

1. analyze arguments according to standard criteria
2. assume and defend a position on a given topic
3. use systematic processes, including the collection and analysis of evidence, to form and support conclusions
4. read and analyze complex texts, including the analysis of rhetorical devices and modes of inference

Students should be able to:

B.  demonstrate competence in the use of information technology,
as demonstrated by the ability to:

1. locate, retrieve, and filter information using appropriate resources
2. use appropriate software for developing written and graphic materials and for organizing, analyzing, and presenting data
3. use appropriate network communications software

Students should be able to:

C.  communicate effectively,
as demonstrated by the ability to:

1. write coherent analytical and persuasive papers using effective expression
2. speak with clarity and organization of thought
3. address diverse audiences

II.  Knowledge:

Students should know:

A.  The natural and designed world,

1. demonstrating a general knowledge of current scientific understanding of the history and nature of the universe, the earth, and of life forms
2. demonstrating a general knowledge of  the methods and traditions of analysis in the natural sciences

Students should know:

B.  The social, political, economic, and psychological world,

1. demonstrating a general knowledge of scholarly understanding of the range of social, political, geopolitical, and economic organization
2. demonstrating a general understanding of human development, behavior, and health
3. demonstrating a general knowledge of American politics and society, including the experience of significant minority groups
4. demonstrating a general knowledge of the methods and traditions of analysis in the social sciences

Students should know:

C.  History, literature, art, music, and philosophy,

1. demonstrating a general knowledge of the nature, origins, and contributions of major civilizations
2. demonstrating a more detailed knowledge of formative influences in the recent past
3. demonstrating a general knowledge of the methods and traditions of analysis in the humanities 

Students should know:

D.  Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning

1.  demonstrating general knowledge of the breadth, power, development of major areas of mathematics

2.  demonstrating proficiency in solving problems using mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning

III.  Values:

Students should value:

A.  The creative arts,

responding aesthetically in a sufficiently sophisticated way to both contemporary and past works from several cultures, including American

Students should value:

B.  The Other,

demonstrating an appreciation of the Other sufficient to motivate an understanding of individuals and groups who differ in significant ways from the Self, such as differences generated by race, gender, class, and culture in both domestic and international contexts

Students should value:

C.  Ethical behavior,

1. acquiring knowledge and skills necessary for ethical judgment and its application to everyday life
2. developing the habit of reflecting on their own values and fulfilling their ethical and civic responsibilities

The skills, knowledge and values that are the aims of general education are objects of life-long pursuits.

The general education curriculum that follows is designed to facilitate that pursuit and encourage the dispositions of mind that will sustain it.