Navigating Penn State's General Education Requirements

Penn State University requires a comprehensive set of General Education courses. By taking courses in a variety of disciplines and incorporating a range of skill sets, students will be prepared to engage in complex thinking and to develop an area of specialization. The General Education component of the Curriculum is comprised of two elements.

Understanding the General Education Framework

The General Education program extends the concept of flexibility to all aspects of the degree program. Penn State wants students to use General Education as an opportunity to experiment and explore, to take academic risks, to discover, and to learn. To these ends, students may, with the permission of their adviser and dean's representative, substitute a 200- to 499-level course for an Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, or Social and Behavioral Sciences course found on the General Education list.

In order to ensure that students participate in the full breadth of General Education, students may not select a course in their academic major to satisfy one of the Knowledge Domains area requirements. For example, an Economics major may not use an ECON course or a course cross-listed with ECON to fulfill a General Education requirement.

Key Components of General Education

Penn State's General Education requirements cover a wide range of disciplines and skills. From the course search scroll down to the bottom and in the Course Attribute drop down, enter the name of any of the General Education requirements below to find courses that fulfill that requirement. A summary of the applicable attributes to determine if a course satisfies a requirement is available on the University Course Description page. The keystone symbol appears by the title of any course that is designated as a General Education course.

Writing and Speaking (GWS)

In Writing and Speaking (GWS) courses, students do more than improve their abilities to communicate information clearly. They learn to set forth arguments persuasively and well, both orally and in writing. Students should emerge from their GWS courses as more accomplished writers and speakers, competent in a wide variety of settings. Writing plays a central role within the College curriculum. Students must take a writing seminar to fulfill the College's Writing Requirement. It is recommended that students take this course during their first year of study.

Quantification (GQ)

In Quantification (GQ) fields, students practice and master basic mathematical and statistical skills of lifelong value in solving real world problems. Students should learn to apply mathematical skills appropriate to solve such problems. College students are required to take at least one course to develop their ability to understand and interpret the cultures of peoples with histories outside of the United States.

Health and Wellness (GHW)

In Health and Wellness (GHW) fields, students focus on the physical and psychosocial well-being of individuals and communities. They expand their theoretical and practical knowledge about health and wellness-concepts that are multidimensional and culturally defined. The University provides opportunities for students to study such diverse topics as nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, healthy leisure, alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use, sexual health, and safety-all useful in maintaining lifelong health and wellness and in creating healthy work and community environments.

Natural Science (GN)

In Natural Science (GN) fields, students develop the skills necessary to make informed judgments about scientific information and arguments. Along with building knowledge of foundational scientific principles, students expand their understanding of how and why science works, why it is an effective tool for knowledge generation, and how it can address contemporary questions and challenges. Courses in this sector study the variety of approaches that are useful in understanding the diversity of living organisms, their interrelatedness, and their interactions with their environment. Analytical approaches employed range from analyses at the molecular and cellular level, to analyses of the cognitive and neural bases of behavior, to analyses of evolutionary processes and ecological systems. Students learn the methods used by contemporary natural science to study these topics, including ways in which hypotheses are developed, tested, and reformulated in light of new research findings. Courses in this sector aim to provide insight into the content and workings of modern physical science. Some courses in this sector are part of a major, while others are designed primarily to provide an introduction to the field for non-science majors. Courses for non-science majors may include some discussion of the historical development of the subject as well as the most important conceptual notions and their mathematical expressions.

Arts (GA)

In Arts fields (GA), students focus on exploring or creating works of art. Students should become familiar with the importance of significant creative works, the traditions and history associated with those works, and the important role that the arts play as expressions of the cultural values of society and the human condition. Most courses in this sector are concerned with works of creativity-paintings, films, poetry, fiction, theatre, dance and music. They generally address a considerable breadth of material rather than an individual work or artist. The objective of Arts and Letters courses is to confront students with works of creativity; cultivate their powers of perception (visual, textual, auditory); and equip them with tools for analysis, interpretation and criticism. General Education courses in the Arts are denoted by the “GA” after the course number.

Humanities (GH)

In Humanities (GH) fields, students focus on exploring important works of literature, history, religion, philosophy, and other closely related forms of cultural expression, thereby broadening their understanding of diverse ways of seeing, thinking about, and experiencing the self and society. Students will enlarge their intellectual horizons and knowledge of the world through encountering humanistic representations of both lived experiences and imaginative or speculative constructions, past or present. Students thus become increasingly prepared to live as thoughtfully engaged members of multiple communities, whether local, regional, or global. GH Student Learning Criteria. General Education courses in the Humanities are divided into literature, history and culture, language and philosophy and will have a “GH” after the course number.

Social and Behavioral Science (GS)

In Social and Behavioral Science (GS) fields, students focus on analyzing the forces that influence behaviors, values, habits, attitudes, and institutions. GS courses allow students to explore the multiple perspectives and methodologies useful in analyzing and addressing complex social issues. Courses in this sector use many analytical techniques that have been developed to study contemporary society, with its complex relations between individuals and larger forms of mass participation. Some Society courses are largely devoted to the analysis of aggregate forms of human behavior (encounters, markets, civil society, nations, supranational organizations, and so on), while others may focus on the relations between individuals and their various societies. While historical materials may be studied, the primary objective of Society courses is to enable students to develop concepts and principles, test theories, and perfect tools that can be used to interpret, explain and evaluate the behavior of human beings in contemporary societies. General Education courses in the Social and Behavioral Sciences are denoted by “GS” after the course number.

Inter-Domain Courses

Students will engage with diverse approaches to society, history, tradition and the arts more deeply than a single course from each domain can allow. In this sector, students seek to broaden their perspective by taking a course in the humanities or social sciences that has been approved as a general education course but that cuts across two or more of sectors I, II, and III. Some courses approved for this sector will seek a more integrative approach by addressing a problem or topic from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Others will combine disciplinary study with community service or activism, and constructively and reflectively connect the theoretical with the actual. Each of the General Education areas will receive approximately equal attention (in course topics, assignments, or other course components). Each such course is taught by an instructor, or team of instructors, with appropriate expertise. Inter-Domain courses are proposed by faculty (or teams of faculty) with expertise in the relevant disciplines represented; proposals will follow the established curricular processes for course approvals. Single-offering or permanent approval for the Inter-Domain Courses designation(s) may be requested.

Additional Requirements

United States and International Cultures

College students are required to take at least one course to develop the skills necessary for understanding the population and culture of the United States as it becomes increasingly diverse. Through historical inquiry, the study of cultural expressions and the analysis of social data, students will develop their ability to examine issues of diversity with a focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and religion. College students are required to take at least one course to develop their ability to understand and interpret the cultures of peoples with histories outside of the United States. All students must also take 3 credits each of US Culture denoted by (US) and International Culture (IL). Students may use a study abroad program to fulfill the IL requirement. ‡Students may, with the permission of their adviser and dean's representative, meet the United States Cultures (US) and International Cultures (IL) requirement through completion of an experiential learning program or practicum (one-semester or year long) approved by their college dean's office.

Language Requirement

Competence in more than one language is important for participation in the global community. Language study encourages us to understand and appreciate cultural difference, and nothing brings this more sharply into focus than the experience of learning of another language. It not only affords unique access to a different culture and its ways of life and thought; language study also increases awareness of one's own language and culture. While students often opt to satisfy the Language Requirement by continuing to study the language that they have already begun in high school or earlier, the wealth of languages that the University offers is such that many students decide to explore a new culture and area of our globe by beginning a language that they have never studied before. Note: Three credits of a foreign language taken at the 12th credit level (level III at Penn State, e.g. SPAN 003), or higher, may be used as a course in any of the Arts, Humanities, or Social Science categories, but the foreign language course cannot be the only course in that category.

Quantification

Students in the College must complete a course that uses mathematical or statistical analysis of quantitative data as an important method for understanding another subject. Through such study, students learn to think critically about quantitative data and the inferences that can be drawn from these data. Courses in calculus and computer science do not fulfill the requirement because these courses do not require students to analyze actual data sets with the goal of evaluating hypotheses or interpreting results. In contrast to Quantitative Data Analysis courses, which deal with inductive reasoning, courses designated for this requirement focus on deductive reasoning and the formal structure of human thought, including its linguistic, logical and mathematical constituents. These courses emphasize mathematical and logical thinking and reasoning about formal structures and their application to the investigation of real-world phenomena.

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Health and Physical Activity

All students must take 3 credits in Health and Physical Activity.

Considerations for Engineering Students

In addition, the Accreditation Organization for Engineering (ABET) requires that our curricula include courses in mathematics, science, communication skills, humanities, social sciences, analysis, and design. The required courses for the biomedical engineering degree satisfy certain categories of the Penn State General Education requirements such as the Natural Sciences and Quantification. The Writing/Speaking requirements are satisfied by prescribed courses including ENGL 015, ENGL 030, CAS 100A, CAS 100B, ENGL 202C, and our writing-intensive course BME 450W. All engineering students must take a 3-credit economics course. Students may select from ECON 102 or ECON 104 and it will count towards your Social and Behavioral Science General Education requirement. Students wishing to pursue a 9-6-3 sequence must notify the department of their intention. So that we have record of your plan and to ensure your audit is updated, submit the request on the College of Engineering’s e-Petition system. If you use the form, it does not require an adviser’s signature, however, a copy will be kept in your student file.

The Value of General Education

General education is about more than just preparing students for a job market, though. Public institutions have an implied mandate to improve the well-being of society at large by molding productive, informed individuals with broad perspectives. The gen ed system isn’t perfect. Some classes are difficult to justify taking depending on your major, and all of these classes cost money, after all. Without these requirements, though, Penn State students would happily avoid taking classes that either expose their weaknesses or simply don’t pique their most basic interests.

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