General Education
General Education silvaaThe general education portion of the degree will be structured to a significant extent by the Areas of Inquiry (AoI), which consist of three broad areas of study:
- Arts and Humanities (A&H)
- Social Sciences (SSc)
- Natural Sciences (NSc)
In addition, students must also complete coursework in these areas:
- English Composition (C)
- Writing (W)
- Reasoning (RSN)
- Diversity (DIV)
What is General Education?
General Education requirements represent the foundation of a UW education and will support the advanced learning students will do the rest of their life. The objective is to introduce students to many new ideas, rather than training them in one specific subject, so that they are in a position to create linkages across a wide expanse of different topics and disciplines. Areas of Inquiry (AoI) are meant to allow students to embrace the exploration of new ideas and work diligently to make connections, especially where none seem to exist.
English Composition courses emphasize how to organize and express ideas effectively. In composition courses, students will refine their skills by rewriting papers after receiving feedback on them.
Basic Skills
- 5 credits English Composition (C) with a minimum 2.0 grade required.
- 10 credits in Writing (W) courses required.
This requirement is intended to ensure that you have the opportunity to practice and use writing, broadly conceived, to deepen your learning, to think critically, and to solve problems. The Writing requirement is divided into two parts: a Composition course and Additional Writing courses.
- 5 credits of Reasoning (RSN) required.
This requirement is intended to ensure that students have the opportunity to improve your capacities for and abilities to critically evaluate and effectively use information utilizing symbolic and/or numeric methods, or the theoretical study thereof.
First-year and transfer students admitted with less than 40 credits who have not completed their world language requirement at the time of admission must complete the requirement prior to graduation. The world language requirement is satisfied by completing college level study through the 102 level or by submission of the high school transcript verifying two sequential years. (If a student is a native speaker of a language other than English, they may already meet this requirement. Contact the Office of Admissions for more information.)
- A minimum of 5 credits from the approved University list; may overlap with other Areas of Inquiry requirements. For students admitted to the University prior to autumn quarter 2023, the DIV requirement is a minimum of 3 credits.
Courses that meet the Diversity (DIV) requirement study diversity in the United States with focus on the sociocultural, political, and/or economic diversity of the human experience and help students develop an understanding of the complexities of living in increasingly diverse and interconnected societies.
Areas of Inquiry (AoI)
A minimum of 180 college credits must be completed (with more required in some programs) and include a total of 40 academic credits in the following areas:
- A minimum of 10 credits of Arts & Humanities (A&H) required.
The intent of this requirement is for students to become familiar with the methodologies, contributions, and limitations of artistic and humanistic inquiry, broadly defined.
- A minimum of 10 credits of Social Sciences (SSc) required.
The intent of this requirement is for students to become familiar with the methodologies, contributions, and limitations of social science inquiry, broadly defined.
- A minimum of 10 credits of Natural Sciences (NSc) required.
The intent of this requirement is for students to become familiar with the methodologies, contributions, and limitations of natural science inquiry, broadly defined.
Other Transcript Designations
The S and R designations appear on the Time Schedule and transcript. The S designation which will signal to employers and professional and graduate programs that students have chosen community engaged learning experiences in their undergraduate education, while the R designation indicates that they have chosen undergraduate research experiences in their undergraduate education.
Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) is defined as "experiential learning with community partners through the mutually beneficial exchange of creativity, knowledge and resources." CEL is considered a High Impact Educational Practice, and has been shown to improve deep learning and persistence in undergraduate students. CEL allows students to engage in educationally purposeful activities and reflection tied to experiences in community-engaged outreach, scholarship, service, teaching/learning, research, creative endeavors or other activity. Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) course(s) are designated by an "S" (Service) in the course schedule.
To qualify for an R designation, significant and sustained effort in the course must be dedicated to "authentic research/scholarship." Undergraduate research is defined as an original or creative contribution to the discipline, which can include encountering/uncovering new data which is incorporated into existing frameworks, discovering new insights or new data that alter the boundaries and/or contours of the field, drawing novel comparisons or making heretofore unrecognized connections within the field, and/or making new assessments of current knowledge/interpretations what is already known or accepted. Undergraduate Research course(s) are indicated by an "R" in the course schedule.
Special Topic courses are curriculum practice courses to test interest in a course before seeking formal approval.