What are general education courses?
GE courses are courses that all students take regardless of major. GE classes are designed to provide you with a broad base of knowledge, and usually include the areas of English, Math, Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and Physical & Biological Sciences. For students pursuing their Associate of Arts degree, please consult the catalog for a full list of general education requirements, or make an appointment with a counselor. For students preparing for transfer, please consult the Transfer Center web site for specific general education requirements, or make an appointment with a counselor.
General education courses are those classes which are outside of a student’s major course of study and cover a wide range of disciplines such as the natural sciences, humanities and fine arts, language and reasoning, the social sciences, etc. This broadening and expansion of academic fields helps to complement those courses in a student’s major, which tend to focus and specialize knowledge in a particular field.
WMU requires a minimum of 37 semester hours of general education courses in order for a student to graduate. These requirements are applied to all students in all studies. The General Education program is designed to ensure a well rounded, academic education for every student. Students must complete 4 proficiency areas: college level writing, baccalaureate level writing, college level math, and an enhanced or developed proficiency. There are also 8 distribution areas: fine arts, humanities, the United States culture/issues, other cultures and civilizations, social and behavioral science, natural science with lab, natural science and technology, and health and well-being. There are introductory courses to explore new areas of knowledge along with more advanced courses for if you wish to develop in specialized areas.
