The General Education Home Page

The General Education Program fosters an important intellectual attitude: commitment to and participation in a life of thought and continuous learning. The Program includes three essential parts: a Baccalaureate Competencies component, a Breadth of Knowledge (BoK) component, and a Program/Major component. 

Baccalaureate Competencies are the critical abilities shared by all educated persons, and they comprise a major component of the General Education Program. There are four Baccalaureate Competencies: Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Knowledge Integration, and Social Responsibility. Rather than create a set of specific courses to address these, the General Education Program emphasizes the development of these abilities in all undergraduate courses, particularly those that fulfill a BoK requirement.

Breadth of Knowledge includes ten different academic areas. English Composition is one, and all students must complete a minimum of two 3 credit-hour English Composition courses. The six areas of Fine Arts, Historical Perspectives, Humanities, Literature, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences are identified as the Distribution Areas. All students must complete a minimum of eight 3 credit-hour courses selected from a minimum of five of the Distribution Areas. Quantitative Reasoning, Diversity and Culture, and Social and Ethical Issues are three additional areas, and all students must complete at least one 3 credit-hour course or an equivalent experience in each.

One of the more innovative aspects of the University of Cincinnati General Education Program is that students may fulfill certain requirements (shown with a circle bullet in the above diagram) either through courses or designated experiences. These designated experiences are generally related to a student's academic program, so students should check with their advisors to verify what might be available and appropriate for them. A list of designated experiences throughout the university is being prepared by the General Education Coordinating Committee.

Program/Major Requirements, which comprise the third major component of the General Education Program, includes two items: Methodology and Capstone Experience.

All baccalaureate degree students entering the University of Cincinnati in the fall of 2001 or later and graduating in 2005 or later must fulfill the General Education Program requirements. Students enrolled in the University of Cincinnati prior to fall, 2001 need not fulfill the General Education Program if they complete their baccalaureate degrees by spring, 2008. Following this date, all candidates for a first baccalaureate degree must fulfill the requirements of the General Education Program. (Exceptions might be made for students who were enrolled prior to fall, 2001 in extended programs.)