The purpose of general education at NDSU is to ensure that students acquire knowledge, perspectives, and skills basic to a university education. The program is designed so that students will be able to adapt to and anticipate changes in their profession and in society. Students also will be able to integrate and use the knowledge and perspectives they have gained to live productive, intellectually rewarding and meaningful lives.
General Education Category Descriptions
The following descriptions are elaborations of the general education categories approved by the Faculty Senate.
- Communication (C) is the clear, precise, and purposeful exchange of information in a variety of contexts, using either written or oral means.
- Cultural diversity (D) focuses on the social, personal, and interpersonal effects of variety and differences among cultures.
- Fine arts (A), as an integral component of the humanities, promote the appreciation of aesthetics and the expression of creativity.
- Global perspectives (G) focus on analysis of worldwide issues illustrating the interdependence of the world and its people.
- Humanities (A) systematically explore cultural and intellectual forces shaping events, individual expression, and social values.
- Quantitative reasoning (R) is an organized set of quantitative methods used to solve problems or extend knowledge. Quantitative methods are a set of principles and procedures that could be used to manipulate numerical data.
- Science (S) is an organized body of knowledge, including principles and procedures based on scientific methods, used to explain physical or biological phenomena.
- Social and behavioral sciences (B) use scientific methods to analyze the behaviors, structures, and processes of individuals and groups.
- Wellness (W) is a dynamic and integrative process of becoming aware of healthy lifestyles, of learning to make informed choices, and of developing a balanced approach to living.
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
Course List Code | Title | Credits |
| Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM) | |
| College Composition I | |
| College Composition II | |
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | |
† | |
Total Credits | 40 |
General Education Program Assessment
General education assessment has three basic purposes:
- To improve student learning and development by identifying the intended student outcomes for the program.
- To provide feedback on the progress toward the intended student outcomes.
- To use the feedback to modify aspects of the program to ensure that the outcomes are being achieved and that student learning is improved.
Assessment activities are valued at NDSU and include the participation of students. Results will not be used to penalize students or faculty. Student performance on assessment of the general education program will not become part of the transcript.
NDSU Study Abroad and Study Tour Experiences
UNIV 492: Study Abroad – three study abroad credits, completed successfully and transferred back to NDSU, will qualify for either of the general education categories of Cultural Diversity or Global Perspectives. Six or more study abroad credits, completed successfully and transferred back to NDSU, will qualify for both Cultural Diversity and Global Perspectives categories.
(Prefix) 379: Study Tour – NDSU study tour instructors may apply for general education course approval in any category that pertains to the course content (including cultural diversity and global perspectives), especially but not only if the tour is offered with some regularity. Course approval for study tours requires a syllabus and a one-page rationale for how the tour addresses a general education outcome and should be sent to the Director of General Education for General Education committee review. Study tours must actively and substantially address the outcomes requested (comparable to an approved 3-credit course).
General Education Transfer
Students transferring lower-division general education credits within the North Dakota University System need to consult with advisers in their academic programs at NDSU for two reasons. First, degree requirements of individual programs and colleges at NDSU may exceed the university-wide general education requirements. Second, meeting the university-wide lower-division general education requirements by transfer credits may not necessarily prepare students for advanced, upper-division study in an academic major at NDSU. See also the NDUS GERTA Agreement.
Undergraduate Learning Outcomes
The intended learning outcomes resulting from general education include the following:
- Communication - students will use a variety of modes, particularly written, oral, artistic, and visual to
- effectively communicate analysis, knowledge, understanding, expression and/or conclusions
- skillfully use high-quality, credible, relevant sources
- demonstrate appropriate conventions in a variety of communication situations
- demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences in a variety of contexts
- Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, and Problem Solving - students will
- explain the nature of evidence used for analysis
- apply quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data
- apply creativity and divergent thinking
- evaluate the assumptions, evidence, and logic of competing views and explanations
- identify methods of inquiry, approaches to knowledge, and their assumptions and limitations in multiple disciplines
- evaluate, synthesize, and apply evidence to understand and address complex, real world problems
- generate creative, reasoned, approaches or solutions to unscripted, real world problems
- Technology - student will
- use technology to enhance understanding
- identify the social, aesthetic, and ethical implications of technological decisions
- analyze how technology evolves and shapes human experience
- apply technology to demonstrate creativity and solve problems
- demonstrate how technology augments our experiences and understandings
- Natural and Physical Sciences - students will
- analyze components and dynamics of natural and physical worlds
- develop models to explain phenomena within the natural and physical worlds
- identify the role of scientific methods in the study of natural and physical worlds
- Human Societies - students will
- identify the nature and impact of aesthetic and creative activities in human experience
- analyze the interplay of self and society, particularly how social structures shape human experiences and how humans shape social structures
- analyze the components and dynamics of human societies in their artistic, cultural, and historical contexts
- apply theories or research methods to understand human events, identities, artifacts, or social structures
- engage in a creative, aesthetic, or artistic activity
- Diversity and Global Perspectives - students will
- identify how values and contributions of diverse societies provide contexts for individual experiences, values, ideas, artistic expressions, and identities
- identify the role diversity plays in the ability of biological organisms to adapt to a changing environment
- analyze how diversity contributes to and shapes solutions to challenges confronting the global community
- evaluate how diverse systems (both natural and human-made), technologies, or innovations emerge from, interact with, and affect various communities
- collaborate with others in diverse interpersonal, intercultural, or international settings
- Personal and Social Responsibility - students will
- examine their own values, biases, and conclusions
- analyze the ethical basis for and implications of personal, professional, and civic decisions
- comprehend and demonstrate appropriate and healthy standards of personal and professional behavior
- identify stewardship of the land and its people as integral to a land-grant university
- analyze how personal choices impact communities and the world
- engage in service learning
General Education Administrative Policies
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education requirements and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable.
- Departments or colleges may preclude their students from double counting general education courses with major courses.
- Department or college requirements for graduation may include general education courses that exceed the university minimum required for general education.
- Except for courses that meet the cultural diversity or global perspectives requirements, no course can fulfill the requirements for more than one general education category.
- General education requirements can be met through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DSST, International Baccalaureate (IB), departmental examinations, the Advanced Placement program (AP) of the College Entrance Examination Board, or equivalents.
- General education requirements can be met by successful completion of a course for which an approved general education course in the same department is a prerequisite or by successful completion of an advanced course in the same department with comparable course content.
- No general education course may be taken for graduate credit.
- Except for courses offered only on a pass/fail basis, no courses taken to meet the general education requirements may be taken for pass/fail grades.
- The general education minimum requirements apply to all baccalaureate degree programs.
- Transfer students who have only partially fulfilled general education category requirements by transfer-approved courses must complete the requirements in approved courses within the NDSU deficient categories. No category credit requirement may be deficient by more than a partial semester credit. However, in the communication category, if the transfer course(s) have been evaluated as equivalent to ENGL 110 College Composition I, ENGL 120 College Composition II, and COMM 110 Fundamentals of Public Speaking and total no less than eight semester credits, the lower-division category requirement has been met. Transfer students meet NDSU's general education "College Composition I and/or College Composition II" requirement in the lower-division Communication category if they have credit in any English course (in composition, composition and literature, or the equivalent) totaling at least 2.67 semester credits per course. The total for all general education categories must be at least 39/40 semester credits for new students.
- Students may receive placement credit for ENGL 110 College Composition I based on a minimum English ACT score (or SAT equivalent) and satisfactory performance (grade of 'C' or better) in ENGL 120 College Composition II or equivalent.
- A student who has completed a general education program in the United States or Canada consisting of a minimum of 36 semester credits at a regionally accredited institution and who transfers to NDSU or who pursues a second baccalaureate degree at NDSU is considered to have completed his or her lower-division general education requirements at NDSU. Transfer student coursework from outside the United States and Canada will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis. [NOTE: Undergraduate curriculum guides identify courses in the general education section of the guide that typically satisfy both general education and major requirements. These courses must still be satisfied as part of the major requirement and cannot be waived by general education policy #12.]
- General education courses at other accredited institutions, which do not have equivalent courses or general education status at NDSU, may be accepted in transfer as part of the general education requirements at NDSU.
- All general education course syllabi and course web sites must identify the course as having been approved for meeting general education requirements and include the general education outcomes for which each course is approved. (See Syllabus Requirements)
- Effective spring semester 2015, students who have completed basic military training (which is the commitment for enlistment) will receive a waiver for the Wellness category. Military record documentation is required for the waiver; documentation is to be submitted to the Office of Registration and Records with a completed Appeal for Exception to General Education Requirements form. The waiver for the training will not lead to course credit, and all other minimum graduation requirements apply.
General Education Courses
A dynamic list of approved general education courses by term is always available on the General Education Requirements website.
The following is representative of the courses approved in each general education category for the specific catalog year. The general education component requires a minimum of 39-40 total credits with a minimum credit requirement in each of the seven categories. Cultural diversity and global perspectives may be satisfied by completing courses in another category.
First Year Experience Course (F) 1 credit*
*First year experience may be exempt if student is transferring in 24+ credits.
Category 1: Communications (C) 12 credits
Nine Credits must be in Writing, three at the Upper-Level*:
Course List
Code |
Title |
Credits |
ENGL 110 | College Composition I | 3 |
or ENGL 112 | ESL College Composition I |
ENGL 120 | College Composition II | 3-4 |
or ENGL 121 | Honors Composition II |
or ENGL 122 | ESL College Composition II |
COMM 110 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
or COMM 111 | |
ENGL 320 | Business and Professional Writing | 3 |
ENGL 321 | Writing in the Technical Professions | 3 |
ENGL 322 | Writing and the Creative Process | 3 |
ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences | 3 |
ENGL 325 | Writing in the Health Professions | 3 |
ENGL 326 | Writing in the Design Professions | 3 |
ENGL 357 | Visual Culture and Language | 3 |
ENGL 358 | Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences | 3 |
ENGL 459 | Researching and Writing Grants and Proposal | 3 |
FREN 360 | Studies in Language and Style | 3 |
HIST 390 | Historical Research and Writing | 3 |
MICR 354 | Scientific Writing | 3 |
PHIL 450 | Metaphysics | 3 |
PHIL 451 | Epistemology | 3 |
SPAN 401 | Advanced Spanish Grammar and Writing | 3 |
Category 2: Quantitative Reasoning (R) 3 credits
Known Quantitative Reasoning Equivalencies*:
*General education requirements can be met by successful completion of an advanced course in the same department with comparable course content to a lower division general education course.
CATEGORY 3: Science & Technology (S) — 10 Credits
-
At least four credits must be in natural or physical sciences.
-
A one-credit lab must be taken as a co-requisite with a general education science/technology course unless the course includes an embedded lab experience equivalent to a one-credit course.
Natural Science (Sn):
Physical Science (Sp):
Course List
Code |
Title |
Credits |
CHEM 117 | Chemical Concepts and Applications | 3 |
CHEM 117L | Chem Concepts and Applications Lab | 1 |
CHEM 121 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
CHEM 121L | General Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
CHEM 122 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
CHEM 122L | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
GEOL 105 | Physical Geology | 3 |
GEOL 105L | Physical Geology Lab | 1 |
GEOL 106 | The Earth Through Time | 3 |
GEOL 106L | The Earth Through Time Lab | 1 |
GEOL 107L | Eastern North Dakota Field Course May be taken as a co-requisite lab if taken with GEOL 105 or GEOL 106. | 1 |
HNES 250 | Nutrition Science May be used for Category 5b: Wellness if taken in addition to the 10 credits required in Science & Technology. It may not be counted in more than one category. | 3 |
PHYS 110 | Introductory Astronomy | 3 |
PHYS 110L | Introductory Astronomy Lab | 1 |
PHYS 120 | Fundamentals of Physics | 3 |
PHYS 120L | Fundamentals of Physics Laboratory | 1 |
PHYS 211 | College Physics I | 3 |
PHYS 211L | College Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
PHYS 212 | College Physics II | 3 |
PHYS 212L | College Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
PHYS 220 | Physics for Designers | 3 |
UNIV 150 | Foundations of Science | 3 |
UNIV 151 | Science and Society | 3 |
Known Physical Science Equivalencies*:
Course List
Code |
Title |
Credits |
CHEM 150 | Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
CHEM 151 | Principles of Chemistry II | 3 |
CHEM 160 | Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
CHEM 161 | Principles of Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
PHYS 251 | University Physics I | 4 |
PHYS 251L | University Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
PHYS 252 | University Physics II | 4 |
PHYS 252L | University Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
*General education requirements can be met by successful completion of an advanced course in the same department with comparable course content to a lower division general education course.
Technology (St):
Course List
Code |
Title |
Credits |
CSCI 114 | Microcomputer Packages | 3 |
or CSCI 116 | Business Use of Computers |
CATEGORY 4: Humanities & Fine Arts (A) — 6 Credits
- No more than 3 of the 6 credits may be in fine arts performance.
Fine Arts Performance:
- Any performance courses must be in addition to those required for the student's major.
CATEGORY 5a: Social & Behavioral Sciences (B) — 6 Credits
CATEGORY 5b: Social & Behavioral Sciences—Wellness (W) — 2 Credits
- At least two credits must be taken from the following list
- Required is a social/behavioral science course that integrates at least two areas of lifelong wellness: emotional well-being, nutrition, physical activity, and psychological development.
CATEGORY 6: Cultural Diversity (D)
- This requirement may be met by 3 credits taken in any department as part of the 40 credits required for general education in a course approved for cultural diversity.
CATEGORY 7: Global Perspectives (G)
- This requirement may be met by 3 credits taken in any department as part of the 40 credits required for general education in a course approved for global perspectives.
North Dakota University System General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement
The North Dakota University System (NDUS) General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement (GERTA) was established by the State Board of Higher Education to ease student transfers within the system. Although subject to revision by the board, the policies at the time of this printing were as follows:
- If students have completed the lower-division general education course requirements (36 credits or more) at one NDUS institution and transfer to another NDUS institution, then the lower-division general education requirements will have been met.
If the lower-division general education requirements have not been completed before transferring, the general education courses from the indicated areas are applicable to an appropriate general education requirement of the institution to which they are transferred. In these cases, the number of credits required to complete the general education requirement in each area is determined by the policies of the institution to which the courses are transferred.
Students transferring lower-division general education credits within the North Dakota University System need to consult with advisers in their academic programs at NDSU for two reasons. First, degree requirements of individual programs and colleges at NDSU may exceed the university-wide general education requirements. Second, meeting the university-wide lower-division general education requirements by transfer credits may not necessarily prepare students for advanced, upper-division study in an academic major at NDSU.
Students transferring from non-ND University System institutions will have their general education requirements evaluated on a course-by-course basis when they enter NDSU.