General Education Overview

General Education courses and requirements are organized into five areas of study that we call "clusters." What do "five clusters" mean for you in terms of course requirements and scheduling?

All Undergraduate Students are required to complete five clusters.

The following is a brief outline of the classes needed to complete each of the five clusters which totals 13 to 14 individual courses or 41 credit hours:

Cluster One: Skills for the 21st Century (3 courses)

Complete one course in each of the following areas:
- Critical Thinking
- Human Communication
- Writing
Information Literacy Tests (Tech Level I and the ISST)
Must be completed by the end of your freshman year

Cluster Two: Arts and Humanities (3 courses)

Complete one course in each of the following areas:
- Human Questions and Contexts
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Literature

Cluster Three: The Natural World (3-4 courses)

Complete Track I or Track II and Lab Requirement
Cluster Three should be completed by the end of your sophmore year

Cluster Four: Social and Cultural Processes (2 courses)

Complete ONE course in each of the following areas:
- The American Experience
- The Global Experience

Cluster Five: Individuals in the Human Community (2 courses)

Complete ONE course in each of the following areas:
- Wellness
- Sociocultural Dimension

A description of each cluster and the course choices, and printable checklists are available at the General Education Cluster Information page.