General Education: The Human Community is an essential part of every undergraduate degree program offered at JMU. Its learning outcomes are organized into five areas of study. Courses in each area have been designed by JMU faculty to meet the specific outcomes associated with that area. In order to graduate, each student must complete fourteen requirements across all five areas, which typically comprise one-third of a student’s coursework - about 41 credit hours. Area Search Codes can be found HERE.

Below is a brief overview of the program’s requirements. For an area-specific breakdown of learning outcomes and courses, please click on the links at left.

Complete one course for each of the following:

• Critical Thinking
• Human Communication
• Writing

Note: The Information Literacy requirement was, prior to fall 2022, satisfied by passing the MREST. Now, information literacy competencies are addressed through learning modules and quizzes embedded within SCOM 121/122/123: Fundamental Human Communication. 

Complete one course for each of the following:

• Human Questions and Contexts
• Visual and Performing Arts
• Literature

Complete one course for each of the following:

• Quantitative Reasoning
• Physical Principles
• Natural Systems
• Lab Experience

Complete one course for each of the following:

• The American Experience
• The Global Experience

Complete one course for each of the following:

• Wellness Domain
• Sociocultural Domain