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JMU's General Education Requirements




Guidelines for Transfer Students Planning Courses at a Four-Year Institution or Community College Outside the Commonwealth of Virginia

Students wishing to transfer to James Madison University should review the General Education Requirements for the current academic year, including the required technology tests.

To satisfy the General Education requirements at JMU, follow the specified directions defined for each cluster. You must complete selected course work in each of the five clusters.  The courses listed below serve as a guide in determining the general education/liberal studies courses you take at the institution you are planning to attend or are currently attending. 

Please note that this is a guideline only. It is not a guarantee that the courses you take at your current institution will count toward JMU's requirements. Courses that usually transfer into the JMU General Education program are:

Cluster One

  • Human Communication (must include theory and public speaking) 
  • Composition (must include formal documentation)        

Cluster Two

  • World History (not Western Civilization) or Introduction to Philosophy or Religions of the World
  • Art History or World Music or Introduction to Theatre
  • Literature (must be writing-intensive; 5000 word minimum)

Cluster Three

  • Mathematics (statistics or calculus, not algebra)
  • Two sciences: one physics or chemistry AND one biology, geology, astronomy, physical anthropology or physical geography. One science should include a lab.

Cluster Four

  • United States History (must include from the Colonial Period to the present; may require a two-semester course sequence)
  • Macroeconomics

Cluster Five

 

For additional information on General Education requirements at JMU, go to http://www.jmu.edu/gened/welcome.shtml.