What is General Education?
Before colleges and universities offered majors, all students were required to take the same courses – a type of curriculum called "liberal education." However, today, all undergraduates must spend time studying literature, history, philosophy, and other liberal art subjects through the concept of general education.
US universities require all undergraduate students to take classes in several subjects before concentrating on their majors. General education or "Gen Ed" classes at many universities take up most of an undergraduate's first two years. These usually include introductory liberal art courses like English and History, as well as Science and Math.
In a broad sense, general education is a program that develops students' general knowledge, literacy, skills, and competencies to equip them with the foundation for lifelong learning and an advanced academic curriculum. Gen Ed provides students with a solid educational footing for an undergraduate degree.
How is it different from Interdisclipanry Education?
People often get confused about whether general education and interdisciplinary education are similar. They are often used interchangeably, but there is a fundamental difference between the two programs.
General education programs typically cover a wide variety of course topics to provide students with broad skills in critical thinking to encourage lifelong learning. In contrast, interdisciplinary studies programs are more career-focused than general studies, a combination of disciplines designed to help students pursue a particular career path.
How is it different from a General Education Degree?
There is a significant difference between the general education requirement and the general education degree. A general education degree program is an undergraduate course of study designed to provide an education that is as broad as possible. This degree program is meant to provide students with a strong, broad educational background in various subject areas, including the humanities and science. This program prepares students for a wide range of entry-level careers and graduate-level study in a specific field. In comparison, the general education requirement forms the foundational year of most degrees in US universities. It emphasizes more on the development of critical thinking and essential life skills.
How much of your degree will be in General Education?
Colleges have a lot of leeway in determining how many General Education credits go into their offered degree. However, most general requirements cover one-third to half of a degree, between 42-60 semester-based college credits. Highly-focused or technical degrees may have fewer Gen Ed requirements to allow for more time on core subjects.
By offering accredited online courses, students are allowed to meet the Gen Ed requirements. According to Pearson, these accredited online courses also allow students to save on the cost since they are 36% less expensive than the average price of college courses.
Why is General Education Beneficial?
Many students might wonder about the point of studying something that isn't directly related to their majors, but there are many reasons why general education requirements are an asset. Here's a list of reasons why it is beneficial:
Explore new academic disciplines
Gen Ed classes are usually completed during the first two years of study, and you take courses from many different academic departments before you finalize and focus on your majors.
While in the Gen Ed classes, you may discover a new passion and decide to change your major or add the new-found passion to your studies as a "minor." This is one of the most significant advantages of the US system. You can focus on more than one subject without taking a lot more time to complete your degree.
Builds complementary skills
By taking classes from different academic departments, you learn skills you can use across subjects. A lot of focus here is on learning to think in different and innovative ways. This is a vital part of being creative and critical. The Gen Ed classes can help you:
Improve your skills in writing and speaking.
Ask important questions and know how to find the answers.
Design and carry out projects independently.
Learn about cultures and perspectives that are different from your own.
These are valuable skills irrespective of what subject you study or the career you pursue.
Customize your degree
Compared with other countries, US Bachelor's degrees are highly customizable, primarily when we address the general education credits. If you are at a large university, you will have hundreds of options to fulfill your Gen Ed requirements. You may be surprised by the range of topics offered and the extent to which you can tailor your degree to align with your interests.
Reshape your outlook on learning
Gen Ed courses provide a wide breadth of learning opportunities and skills that can also be applied to everyday life. Gen Ed curriculum is meant to provide a foundation that promotes successful behaviors that lead to lifelong learning.
Be more employable
The stats below demonstrate the importance of General Education to employers. Over 50% of employers consider general education a crucial factor in their applicant's educational background. Taking Gen Ed classes goes beyond just academics, making you more employable.
Apart from these stats, employers typically look for skills in their employees that Gen Ed helps them foster and develop, especially communication, critical thinking, decision-making, and collaboration.
List of Gen Ed Classes
We have listed some of the most common categories of Gen Ed classes:
English Language and Literature
Courses covered in English Language and Literature ensure the development of writing, communication, and critical thinking skills in students. They are also taught to appreciate and critique literature to make students more analytical and creative. Universities usually require three to six credits of English, including the following subjects:
College Composition
Oral Communication
Literary criticism
The Headmaster Tip: To prove your proficiency in the language, you can take an on-campus language exam to transfer your credits or waive the course requirement.
Arts and Humanities
Arts and Humanities consist of a broad range of classes that allow students to pursue their interests while they explore a diverse range of human cultures, modes of thought, and bodies of knowledge. Students must learn to think critically, express themselves, and analyze new information. Each student is required to take three to six Arts and Humanities credits in the following subjects:
Arts
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Ethics
History
The Headmaster Tip: There are various subjects to choose from in Arts and Humanities. However, some subjects are more challenging to score well in than others, for example - Religion and Philosophy. Therefore, we recommend our students opt for more accessible subjects like Photography, Music (instruments), etc.
Social Sciences
These courses give the students an in-depth insight into how humans interact with each other and how they develop meaningful relationships. Students are taught to build strong analytical and problem-solving skills by adopting qualitative and quantitative approaches to learn more about the human world. These subjects fall under the category of Social Sciences:
Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
History
Economics
Political science
Government
Geography
Natural Sciences
Natural Sciences encompass a wide variety and diversity of interests. These subjects help students understand and apply scientific methodologies in analyzing empirical data. Students who pursue fields outside of STEM should possess basic knowledge in any of the following courses:
Chemistry
Biology
Anatomy and physiology
Ecology
Geology
Environmental science
Astronomy
Physics
Oceanography
Microbiology
Mathematics
Mathematics helps students develop problem-solving skills by encouraging logical reasoning and mental rigor. It also equips students with an effective way of building the mental discipline needed for improving analytical skills. Universities typically require three to six math credits, including the following subjects:
Algebra
Geometry
Calculus
Trigonometry
Statistics
Quantitative analysis
Diversity
Many subjects were not a part of the curriculum before but are now being introduced to 21st-century higher education programs. These are included in the Diversity category. These courses teach students to value and appreciate others' cultures and beliefs, thus, promoting the understanding of diversity. These subjects equip students with the analytical skills needed to understand issues of diversity, like structural inequalities. Here are the subjects encompassed in Diversity:
Cultural diversity
Social responsibility
Gender studies
World religions
Foreign Language
Being proficient in a foreign language is beneficial and becoming an edge in the professional context. Learning a foreign language can help students improve their memory, problem-solving, and spatial abilities while expanding their worldview. Depending on your college, you might be offered several foreign language courses, including:
Spanish
French
German
Portuguese
Japanese
The Headmaster Tip: Universities have a lot of on-campus exams that allow the applicant to prove their foreign language proficiency, waiving off the need to take these classes or transfer their credits. We highly recommend taking these exams to waive off the credits, especially if you are bi-lingual or multi-lingual.
We highly recommend seeking a credit transfer for courses like Maths, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. If you belong to the IB Curriculum and have an HL in these courses, you can get your credits transferred and have the requirement waived.
How to Choose Gen Ed Classes?
Since Gen Ed aims to broaden your perspectives, you usually can't take classes within the major to fulfill general education requirements. As a result, you have more choice over what you learn outside your majors before you even start studying your field of major. In addition, most colleges allow their students to choose from long lists of courses for each general education requirement.
When choosing which Gen Ed to take, think about how they will set the foundation for your future career. Remember, the purpose of Gen Ed is to help you gain transferable skills that lead to better opportunities in the future. Therefore, avoid choosing classes just because they are easy. Instead, find a balance between easy and challenging courses. Look for subjects that speak volumes to you and encourage you to be more engaged so you'll learn something valuable to take away with you.
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