General Education Requirement

All undergraduates in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College -- "exploratories" as well as students with declared majors -- complete 33 credits of general education courses before they graduate. The general education program in the School of Humanities and Sciences provides the resources necessary for a lifetime of inquiry, discovery, and responsible citizenship. The program fosters literacy in the liberal arts, including an understanding of concepts, perspectives, and methodologies across the humanities and sciences curriculum and the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and appreciate diverse cultures and perspectives.

As an H&S student, you'll take courses in general education that emphasize an interdisciplinary approach and that may cover one or more of three broad curricular areas:

• self and society;
• science, mathematics and formal reasoning;
• and language and visual and performing arts.

Through coursework in the general education program you'll achieve breadth in your undergraduate education as well as depth in your chosen discipline.

You'll find that the general education requirement provides a focus and coherence as you make course selections during your first two years at the College. Yet you'll still enjoy the freedom to explore coursework in various disciplines. You may discover that your general education classes lead to the selection of a major or minor. And don't worry about selecting a major outside of H&S: general education courses count as liberal arts electives in other schools at the College.