General Education (GE)
General Education (GE) profoundly influences undergraduates by providing the breadth of knowledge necessary for meaningful work, lifelong learning, socially responsible citizenship, and intellectual development. This 49-unit program, which comprises over one third of an undergraduate’s course of study, places specialized disciplines into a wider world, enabling students to integrate knowledge and to make connections among fields of inquiry.
The General Education program at SDSU prepares students to succeed in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Our students will live and work in the context of globalization, scientific and technological innovation, cross-cultural encounters, environmental challenges, and unforeseen shifts in economic and political power. Through this program, students will acquire knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world that will enable them to engage significant questions, both contemporary and enduring.
To put their breadth of knowledge to work, students gain intellectual and practical skills such as inquiry and analysis, creative and critical thinking, written and oral communication, scientific and quantitative literacy, and technological-information proficiencies. Students practice these skills in progressively challenging venues, mastering learning outcomes from a series of courses drawn from the following sections: I, Communication and Critical Thinking; II and III, Foundations of Learning; IV, Explorations of Human Experience; and V, Ethnic Studies. In order to acquire the skills required for advanced coursework within and across disciplines, student should complete these sections sequentially.
The General Education program at San Diego State University is evolving. A standing committee of faculty and students reviews the program continually and encourages the development of new courses, concepts, and learning experiences.
Examples[edit | edit source]
General Education (GE) categories include:
- I Communications and Critical Thinking
- II Foundations
- III American Institutions
- IV Explorations
- V Ethnic Studies
- Not GE
Where Data Element Appears[edit | edit source]
ASIR Public Student Data Dashboards & Reports:
See Also[edit | edit source]
Definition Source[edit | edit source]
"General Education (GE) profoundly influences undergraduates by providing the breadth of knowledge necessary for meaningful work, lifelong learning, socially responsible citizenship, and intellectual development. This 49-unit program, which comprises over one third of an undergraduate’s course of study, places specialized disciplines into a wider world, enabling students to integrate knowledge and to make connections among fields of inquiry. The General Education program at SDSU prepares students to succeed in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Our students will live and work in the context of globalization, scientific and technological innovation, cross-cultural encounters, environmental challenges, and unforeseen shifts in economic and political power. Through this program, students will acquire knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world that will enable them to engage significant questions, both contemporary and enduring. To put their breadth of knowledge to work, students gain intellectual and practical skills such as inquiry and analysis, creative and critical thinking, written and oral communication, scientific and quantitative literacy, and technological-information proficiencies. Students practice these skills in progressively challenging venues, mastering learning outcomes from a series of courses drawn from the following sections: I, Communication and Critical Thinking; II and III, Foundations of Learning; IV, Explorations of Human Experience; and V, Ethnic Studies. In order to acquire the skills required for advanced coursework within and across disciplines, student should complete these sections sequentially. The General Education program at San Diego State University is evolving. A standing committee of faculty and students reviews the program continually and encourages the development of new courses, concepts, and learning experiences."[1]