Mar 19, 2024  
2013-2014 Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education Requirements


 

Objectives

General Education requirements are designed to assure that all graduates of the University, whatever their major, have acquired essential skills, experiences, and a broad range of knowledge appropriate to educated people within a society. Students who complete the General Education program examine the modern world and issues facing societies from multiple perspectives and translate knowledge into judgment and action in the form of civic engagement.

They will be able to:

Goal 1. Evaluate issues and integrate ideas from multiple perspectives, including cultural, national and international, and disciplinary perspectives, and identify actions consistent with their own responsibility.
Goal 2. Identify clear, logical, and creative arguments.
Goal 3. Find and critically examine information.
Goal 4. Communicate effectively using a variety of formats.
Goal 5. Understand the physical universe and its life forms, scientific methodology, and mathematical concepts, and use quantitative reasoning.
Goal 6. Cultivate intellect, imagination, sensibility and sensitivity through the study of philosophy, literature, languages, and the arts.
Goal 7. Understand social, cultural, political, and economic institutions and their historical backgrounds, as well as human behavior and the principles of social interaction.
[SP 06-06 revised]

Requirements

As a graduation requirement, all CSU Channel Islands (CI) students must complete 48 units of General Education distributed across categories A-E. Nine of the 48 units of General Education are required to be resident upper division, interdisciplinary courses numbered in the 330-349 or 430-449 ranges.

Transfer students who enter CI as GE certified will need to complete 9 units of upper division, interdisciplinary general education coursework to meet the 48 unit requirement. In planning to fulfill the General Education requirements, students are encouraged to consult an academic advisor and the General Education Informational Brochure.

Upper Division Interdisciplinary General Education Courses

Nine of the 48 units of General Education have been designated as upper division, interdisciplinary courses. These courses integrate significant content, ideas, and ways of knowing from more than one discipline. Each of these courses will involve the student in collaborative work, critical thinking, and integration of ideas. By taking nine units of these courses in categories A-E, students will extend their experience across the curriculum and gain more breadth of educational experience. In addition, they will begin to make connections between their majors and a variety of other fields and ways of knowing, increasing both their knowledge and their ability to communicate with people across the disciplinary spectrum.

  • The 9 units of resident upper division General Education required of all students must be selected from the listing of upper division interdisciplinary courses. Courses may be cross-listed in two or more disciplines. A minimum of three semester units must come from a discipline outside the student’s major and not cross-listed with the student’s major discipline.
  • All upper division, interdisciplinary courses will include substantive written work consisting of in-class writing as well as outside-class writing of revised prose.
  • Courses numbered 330-349 do not have prerequisites.
  • Courses numbered 430-449 may have prerequisites.
  • Students must have junior standing or permission from the instructor to enroll in these courses.

Major Specific Courses

Some majors require specific GE courses. Students should consult the catalog for their majors’ requirements or contact their advisors.

Cross Listed Courses

Many upper division General Education courses are cross-listed. Students may only receive credit once for each cross-listed course. For example: PSY 345 is cross-listed with SPED 345. The student may choose to receive course units for either of the two courses but not both.

Double Counting

A course may meet the content requirements for two or more program areas (majors, minors, and other sub-programs) with permission of the program; however, the units for the course are counted only once toward the total units for graduation. Double counting between a program and General Education requirements is allowed; however, only 6 of the 9 units of upper division, interdisciplinary General Education courses may be double counted between a major and General Education.

Courses in More Than One Category

A course may be found in more than one GE category. The student may choose which category requirements the course will fill, but a single course cannot fulfill requirements for two categories or sub-categories except in the following instances of the Multicultural requirement (C3b) and the Upper Division Interdisciplinary General Education (UDIGE) requirement. See GE: Double Counting Multicultural & UDIGE Course List 

General Education Categories and Courses