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.
Students 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 civic 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]
As a graduation requirement, all CSU Channel Islands (CI) students must complete 48 units of GE distributed across Areas A-E. Students will need to earn a grade of C- or higher to receive GE credit for courses taken in Areas A1, A2, A3, and B4. Nine of the 48 units are Upper Division General Education (UDGE) courses, and are required to be taken in-residence within the CSU (per Article 2.24 of EO regarding CSU GE Breadth Requirements. Find a Policy > search for CSU General Education Breadth Requirements).
Transfer students who enter CI as GE-certified will need to complete nine units of UDGE courses to meet the 48 unit requirement. In planning to fulfill the GE requirements, students are encouraged to consult this section of the Catalog or an academic advisor.
Nine of the 48 units of GE have been designated as UDGE 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. 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. Students must complete one course each in Areas UDGE-B, UDGE-C, and UDGE-D.
To graduate, students must complete one course designated as having a Multicultural Perspectives (MP) Mission Pillar.
Some majors require specific GE courses. Students should consult the catalog for their major’s requirements, or contact their faculty or academic advisors.
Many UDGE courses are cross-listed. Students will only receive credit once for each cross-listed course. For example: HIST 340 is cross-listed with PSY 340 . The student will receive course units for the prefix of the course that they register for, but not both.
A course may meet the content requirements for two or more program areas (majors, minors, and other sub-programs), however, the units for the course are counted only once toward the total units for graduation.
Double-counting between a program and GE requirements is allowed.
Some Upper Division General Education (UDGE) courses will also fulfill the Multicultural Perspectives (MP) graduation requirement: GE: Double counting MP and UDGE courses
A course may be found in more than one GE Area. The student may choose which area requirements the course will fill.