General Education: The Human Community
Introduction to General Education
The General Education Program “The Human Community” is the core
academic program
of James Madison University. It is required
of all students regardless of their major or
professional program.
The Human Community seeks to educate students in ways that
have
been fundamental to higher education and to thinking people for centuries.
The mission of The Human Community is four-fold:
- to graduate students who will be informed citizens, well
prepared to participate in public life and public
decision-making;
- to provide students with critical skills in reasoning,
communication, and technology that build a strong foundation for
course work at JMU as well as for their lives and careers after
college;
- to introduce students to core areas of knowledge that are
central to the history of western civilization, including its
interactions with other traditions within the global community;
and
- to invite students to know themselves intellectually,
emotionally, and physically and to consider the connections
between values and behavior.
In order
to accomplish this mission, the university requires students to complete
41-44 credit
hours of course work in five major areas of study
we call “clusters.” The Human Community
provides fundamental knowledge
and skills across the breadth of traditional disciplines so
that
students learn how to:
- think and
communicate effectively (Cluster
One);
- appreciate
the arts and humanities as an essential component of the human
experience (Cluster
Two);
- recognize
the relevance of science and mathematics in the world they inhabit
(Cluster Three);
- identify
ways in which political, social and economic forces shape American
and global experiences (Cluster
Four); and
- understand
themselves both as individuals and members of various groups in
society (Cluster
Five).
The JMU Center for Assessment and Research Studies publishes the assessment reports for General Education. (http://www.jmu.edu/assessment/JMUAssess/GenEdOverview.htm)
For a full description of the Five Clusters and the learning
objectives of each, visit the Human Community website at http://www.jmu.edu/gened.
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