General Education Program

General Education requirements apply to all students pursuing bachelor’s degrees offered by the University of Michigan-Flint. Students should plan to satisfy these requirements as early as possible to allow flexibility in completing program and upper division requirements.

The College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and Human Services, the School of Health Professions and Studies, and the School of Management determine the General Education program requirements for their own students. The majority of the requirements below apply across units; however, students should consult their unit’s section for possible modifications. Petitions by students for waiver of General Education requirements are made to the academic standards committee of the college or school in which the student is enrolled.

Program Mission

The General Education Program at the University of Michigan-Flint fulfills an important academic role in the student’s total educational experience. The Program is designed to provide training in reasoning and critical thinking, and to introduce the fundamental disciplines through which people seek to understand themselves, their surroundings, and cultures different from their own. In accordance with the University’s mission, the Program aims to educate all students in an environment that emphasizes literacy, critical thinking, and humanistic and scientific inquiry.

General Education Goals and Assessment

The General Education Program is designed to provide a broad base for learning both at the University of Michigan-Flint and after graduation. While the General Education Program offers students considerable flexibility in selecting courses, it has a set of common educational objectives for all students, and courses in the Program are designed to meet these objectives. The following goals in the areas of knowledge, perspectives, reasoning and skills were approved by the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences. Courses in the General Education Program are designed to meet one or more of these goals, which exemplify qualities that prepare a liberally educated person for a successful and satisfying life. The General Education Program participates in the University-wide effort to assess its academic programs. Information on assessment plans, including goals, methods and outcomes is available at http://assessment.umflint.edu.

Knowledge

• Understanding of one’s position within and relationship to the global community
• Understanding of diversity as a national and global phenomenon with a particular focus on the American experience.
• Understanding the evolution of ideas and range of expressions through the humanities and the arts
• Understanding scientific processes and concepts and their relation to social, natural, and physical phenomenon.

Perspectives

• Recognition of the value and importance of learning.
• Appreciation for the importance and value of a broad range of disciplines.
• Appreciation for cultural, racial, and gender differences, similarities and contributions at both national and global levels.
• Recognition of the value and importance of ethical decisionmaking.
• Appreciation for the creativity, intuition, and leap of thought essential to artistic expression, creative writing, and the advancement of knowledge.

Reasoning

• Ability to take reasoned positions on issues of importance and support those positions with evidence.
• Ability to apply reasoning to solve authentic problems through experimentation, data collection, and induction of principles.
• Ability to apply quantitative reasoning to problem-solving.
• Ability to critically examine issues that affect their world.

Skills

• Proficiency and clarity in oral and written expression.
• Acquisition of fundamental numerical skills.
• Ability to analyze and interpret information from a variety of resources, including data, primary sources, and secondary materials.
• Ability to use computer-related technologies and applications appropriate to their disciplines.

Program Requirements.

The General Education Program consists of requirements in six groups: English Composition, Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Additional Courses as described below. A worksheet is provided at the beginning of this Catalog section.

1. English Composition.
   Completion of ENG 112 or the equivalent. This requirement is ordinarily satisfied by ENG 111 and 112. Some students will need additional credits in ENG 100 and ENG 109 to complete the requirement. Reading test scores and a writing placement exam are used to determine placement. See the English Department pages for more information on reading placement. Based on their performance on the Writing Placement Exam, all incoming students and transfer students who do not transfer in sufficient applicable writing credits will be placed in the appropriate starting course: ENG 109 for 3 credits, ENG 109 for 1 credit concurrent with ENG 111/112, ENG 111, or ENG 112 (only students with previous applicable credit for ENG 111 are eligible for any ENG 112 placement). Writing Placement Exam performance will not exempt students from ENG 111 or ENG 112 but rather will determine if additional help through ENG 109 is needed during or before completing the ENG 111 and ENG 112 sequence. Transferring students must have completed a sufficient number of credits in writing courses that meet the state outcomes of UMFlint’s writing courses to fulfill the English Composition requirement. Students transferring from schools on the quarter system must in most cases have completed three quarters of appropriate composition courses in order to fulfill the English Composition requirement. Students selected for the Honors Program ordinarily satisfy this requirement by completing HON 155 and HON 156. The University strongly recommends that students complete this requirement as early as possible in their first 45 credit hours of coursework.
2. Fine Arts (f).
   Three credits in courses designated as applicable to the fine arts requirement (art, dance, music, theatre, or other departments). The letter f immediately following the credit parentheses of a course indicates that the credit applies to the fine arts General Education Requirement.
3. Humanities (h).
   Nine credits in courses designated as applicable to the humanities requirement and elected in at least two of the following fields: English and American literature, comparative literature, foreign literature, geography, humanities, philosophy, and other departments. The letter h immediately following the credit parentheses of a course indicates that the credit applies to the humanities General Education Requirement.
4. Natural Sciences (n).
   Eight credits in laboratory science courses designated as applicable to the natural sciences requirement (astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, physical geography, physics, psychology, science, and other departments). The letter n immediately following the credit parentheses of a course indicates that the credit applies to the natural sciences General Education Requirement.
5. Social Sciences (s).
   Nine credits in courses designated as applicable to the social sciences requirement and elected in at least two of the following fields: African-American studies, anthropology, criminal justice, economics, geography, history, international studies, linguistics, Mexican American and Latino studies, political science, psychology, resource ecology, social work, sociology, substance abuse treatment, women’s and gender studies, and other departments. The letter s immediately following the credit parentheses of a course indicates that the credit applies to the social sciences General Education Requirement.
6. Additional Courses.
   Students elect courses from fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, foreign languages, linguistics, mathematics, and computer science, but excluding the discipline of the student’s concentration, to bring the total number of general education credits to 50.

Please note:
The faculties of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Schools of Education and human Services (SEHS), Health Professions and Studies (SHPS) and Management (SOM) are considering changes to the General  education requirements for their respective students. Please visit the on-line catalog at http://www.umflint.edu/catalog/ to see the specifics of these plans, and talk to an academic advisor.

General Education Worksheet

The General Education Worksheet can be found here .

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