General Education

One of the principles on which a modern university rests is the assumption that there is an important difference between learning to make a living and building the foundation for a life. While the first goal is important, the second is fundamental.

In focusing on the students’ development as whole or “educated” people, a university distinguishes itself from a trade school. The goal of a university education is not simply the acquisition and application of knowledge, but the creation of people who firmly grasp the worth of clear thinking and know how to do it; who understand and appreciate the differences between peoples and cultures as well as their similarities; who have a sense of history and social forces; who can express thought clearly and have quantitative ability; who know something about the arts as well as how to enjoy them; who can talk and think intelligently about the physical and life sciences, the humanities, and literature; and, above all, who have the desire and capability for learning. This goal is why a university degree is so highly valued by individuals, employers, and the community at large.

The Sacramento State General Education Program is designed to educate in this holistic sense. Thus, it is not simply a series of courses to complete or hoops for students to jump through as they complete the courses in their major. Rather, general education lies at the heart of what a university education is all about.

Therefore students should carefully select courses and actively seek subject areas that are new and may challenge their world views or cherished assumptions and offer new experiences, such as inquiry-based or community-based learning. In short, students should not take the easy way out. This is their opportunity to lay the foundation for the rest of their lives, and to define themselves as educated members of the human community. Their time at the university is precious and the General Education Program has been designed to help them begin the process of becoming truly educated people. In deciding to pursue a university degree, they have chosen well and should make the best use of the opportunities open to them.

Objectives

Upon completion of the General Education Program requirements, students will be expected to:

• read, write, and understand relatively complex and sophisticated English prose;
• construct a non-fallacious verbal argument, recognize fallacious arguments, and follow the verbal arguments of others;
• find and use common information resources, engage in specialized library research, use computers, and seek out appropriate expert opinion and advice;
• use mathematical ideas to accomplish a variety of tasks;
• gain a general understanding of current theory, concepts, knowledge, and scientific methods pertaining to the nature of the physical universe, ecosystems, and life on this planet;
• develop an acquaintance and understanding of cultures and major dynamic social institutions which affect one’s life,
• possess a significant and useful understanding of peoples from a diversity of cultures and backgrounds, including women and ethnic and other minority groups who have been the objects of prejudice and adverse discrimination within our society.

In addition to these basic skills, courses in the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences have been selected to help students attain the university’s baccalaureate learning goals and to satisfy particular GE Area Learning Outcomes. The Baccalaureate Learning Goals include:

• Competence in the Disciplines: The ability to demonstrate the competencies and values listed below in at least one major field of study and to demonstrate informed understandings of other fields, drawing on the knowledge and skills of disciplines outside the major.
• Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts. Focused by engagement with big questions, contemporary and enduring.
• Intellectual and Practical Skills, Including: inquiry and analysis, critical, philosophical, and creative thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, teamwork and problem solving, practiced extensively across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance.
• Personal and Social Responsibility, Including: civic knowledge and engagement—local and global, intercultural knowledge and competence 1 , ethical reasoning and action, foundations and skills for lifelong learning anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges.
• Integrative Learning 2 , Including: synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies.

Understanding of and respect for those who are different from oneself and the ability to work collaboratively with those who come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Interdisciplinary learning, learning communities, capstone or senior studies in the General Education program and/or in the major connecting learning goals with the content and practices of the educational programs including GE, departmental majors, the co-curriculum and assessments.

Sacramento State General Education courses are designed, selected, and approved by the faculty to meet these program objectives. Students will benefit from consultation with the Academic Advising Center or advisors in their major departments in planning their General Education course choices. Students may search the online Schedule of Classes by Area or other specification(s) for currently available GE courses.

Course Requirements

The following courses have been approved to meet the 48-unit General Education pattern required of Sacramento State students. At least 9 units must be in upper division GE courses (100-199) from Areas B, C, and D taken after you complete 45 units of coursework. Enrollment in upper division General Education courses is limited to students who have completed Areas A1, A2, A3. Upper division General Education courses must be completed in residence with the CSU.

General Education/Graduation Requirements Checklist

Students must choose their General Education classes from the Areas and classes listed below:

Area A: Basic Subjects (9 units)

These requirements must be completed before enrollment in upper division GE courses. A grade of "C-" or better is required in all courses taken in Area A.