General Education Curriculum

To ensure undergraduate students are engaged and immersed in the breadth and diversity of the arts and sciences, Columbian College faculty approved a new general education curriculum for implementation beginning fall 2011.

The fundamental elements of the curriculum are perspective, analysis, and communication. Courses representing each of these elements will be required in a range of disciplines to offer a learning environment focused on developing rigorous analytical skills.

Learning Goals

The general education curriculum was created with the belief that Columbian College students should:

• participate actively in the political, social, cultural, and physical world surrounding them;
• learn to analyze a variety of problems from different disciplinary perspectives;
• work both independently and collaboratively; and
• leave college with the confidence that they can make a difference in society.

Specific Requirements

I.  A minimum of 24 credits of analytic course work distributed across a range of disciplines in the following manner:

• 3 credits in mathematics or statistics to achieve learning goals for quantitative reasoning
• 6 credits in natural and physical sciences (must include a lab component) to achieve learning goals for scientific reasoning
• 6 credits in social sciences to achieve the learning goals in either quantitative, scientific,  critical, or creative thinking
• 6 credits in humanities to achieve learning goals in either critical or creative thinking
• 3 credits the arts (visual, performing, critical, or historical practices) to achieve learning goals in either critical or creative thinking

II. In addition to the 24 credit hours of course work listed above, the general curriculum requires a written communication component that includes University Writing 1020 (four credits) in the freshman year and two Writing in the Discipline (WID) courses. Any of the general education curriculum courses could be WID courses, but students may double count only one WID course towards the 24 credit hours of analytic course work. Students must take UW1020 before taking a WID course if they wish that WID course to count towards the fulfillment of the general education curriculum credits.

III. Of the general education curriculum analytic courses, students must take one that includes a global or cross-cultural perspective and one that includes a local/civic engagement perspective.

IV. Students must take one course that includes a component of oral communication, selected either from the general education curriculum analytic courses or selected from a course required for the student’s major. Students may fulfill an oral communication requirement in a WID course as well as in a general education curriculum course, including courses that count for cross-cultural/global perspectives and courses that count for civic engagement.

V.  Courses taken to fulfill the general education curriculum requirements may also be counted towards a major.

For more information, contact the Office of Undergraduate Studies, at 202-994-6210.