There are over 700 different General Education courses on our campus, so how do you narrow down your options? Below we have provided helpful resources to assist you with Gen Ed course selection.
Academic Advisors
Students should work with their academic advisors to discuss General Education course options. Individual colleges/schools or curricula may require specific courses or course categories. Students should consult their advisors about selecting the general education courses which best fit their programs of study, balancing schedules between major and Gen Ed coursework, discussing interests and areas of skill building, and many other items to help students narrow down Gen Ed courses.
Course Explorer
The Course Explorer: General Education provides lists of courses approved for each category. Students may look through course titles and descriptions to find any of interest offered during the upcoming semester.
Course Explorer Search Function
The Course Explorer: Search is another way to explore Gen Ed courses. Gen Ed categories may be selected under “GenEd REQs,” and students may enter in a “Keyword” to explore courses.
Example: Entering the subject “Food” and selecting “Natural Sciences & Technology” will return a number of courses such as ACES 102: Intro Sustainable Food Systems; FSHN 101 The Science of Food and How it Relates to You; CPSC 113 Environment, Agriculture, and Society.
Gen Ed Themes
Focusing Gen Ed courses within a thematic area provides students the opportunity to examine an issue through multiple perspectives and disciplines. Themes are broad and interdisciplinary and allow students to select an area that compliments their major or explore an area of interest or passion. The themes also provide a list of courses across different Gen Ed categories and disciplines students may use to select courses of interest.
Build Your Skills
Select Gen Ed courses based on essential skills for your career. Every employer is looking for employees who display certain traits, skills, and competencies. In order to have a successful transition to the workplace, there are steps you can take while you’re in college to ensure that you have what employers are looking for when hiring new employees. Utilize the resources and guidance from our campus career centers to determine the skills you should build and select Gen Ed courses aligned with those skills.
Instructional Type
Gen Ed courses are taught in many different formats, including small interactive courses where you may explore around the campus or community, classes where you watch movies or attend a performance and discuss, studios where you let your creativity flow, large traditional style lectures with accompanying discussion sections, and so many other formats. We encourage students to consider the format and interaction which best fits their learning style, skills they would like to build, and what is of most interest. Information about the course format and instructional style may be found in the Course Explorer or Student Self-Service where you may also view the class size. Your academic advisor would also be able to discuss.
- In-person, Online (Synchronous/Asynchronous), Hybrid
- Small, Medium, Large
- Lecture, Discussion, Lab, Studio, Interactive
- Project, Research, Innovation, Presentations, Skills