General Education Program

In the General Education Program, the University identifies five areas in which students gain general knowledge to enrich their lives and enhance their academic experience. These five areas are Behavioral/Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Fine Arts and Math/Quantitative Reasoning. Every undergraduate student must take courses from a list of designated courses in each of these areas.

It is expected that the knowledge gained in these courses will provide an academic foundation that will help prepare students for the major and minor course areas and will encourage students to become life-long learners in many different and divergent fields of study.

Goals

The goal of the General Education Program (often called "Gen Ed") is to assist students in developing the following:

The ability to communicate both in writing and orally;
The skills required to gather, analyze, document, and integrate information;
An understanding of historical processes and cultural differences; aesthetic and literary sensitivity;
An understanding of the modes of thought, concerns, and methodologies of the fine arts, the humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, and the natural sciences;
And the ability to use quantitative methods in the natural, social, and behavioral sciences.

Students are required to take a minimum of 39 credit hours of General Education courses. These courses are distributed as described in detail below, and require students to take two courses in the Fine Arts, three courses in the Humanities, four courses in the Social/Behavioral Sciences, three Natural Science courses (including one laboratory course, and one Math/Quantitative reasoning Course.)

Transfer students may fulfill General Education requirements with courses taken at other colleges or universities. Students who transfer with an approved Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) Model Associate of Arts or Sciences degree or have completed the Illinois General Education Core Curriculum prior to transferring to Northeastern Illinois University will have met their General Education requirements. Students must have taken a college level Math course and received a minimum grade of D to fulfill the Math/Quantitative reasoning area of general education. For information regarding the Illinois General Education Core Curriculum, visit the web site at http://www.itransfer.org/. Students seeking a teaching certificate may be required to take additional course work.

Fine Arts

2 courses, 6 credit hours from two of the following areas of study: Art, CMT(Media and Theatre only), Music (including Dance) . Courses are noted in the Schedule of Classes as FA.

Humanities

3 courses, 9 credit hours from at least two of the following areas of study: CMT (Communications only), English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Women's and Gender Studies, World Languages & Cultures. Courses are noted in the Schedule of Classes as HU.

Behavioral/Social Sciences

4 courses, 12 credit hours from at least two of the following areas of study: African /African American Studies, Anthropology, Computer Science, Economics, Geography, History, Latino & Latin American Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology. Courses are noted in the Schedule of Classes as SB.

Natural Science

3 courses, 9 credit hours from at least two of the following areas of study: one course must have a laboratory component: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics. Courses are noted in the Schedule of Classes as NS.

Math/Quantitative Reasoning

1 course, a minimum of 3 credit hours, that has Intermediate Algebra as a stated prerequisite OR is on the General Education Program List of Approved Courses. Courses are noted in the Schedule of Classes as MA.

Please note the following rules regarding the General Education Program:

Only courses included on the General Education Program List of Approved Courses of Courses during the term of enrollment (published in the Schedule of Classes) are applicable towards the General Education requirements.
The Pass/Fail option may not be used to meet any General Education requirement.
A student may use no more than six (6) hours of "D" to meet the distribution area requirements.
By the tenth week of the Fall and Springs semesters, faculty teaching General Education courses must notify any student with less than a "C" average of his/her grade in the course.
Majors in the Fine Arts, Humanities, Behavioral/Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences may waive up to six credit hours of General Education requirements in the corresponding distribution area.
A student may use no more than two (2) courses from any one area of study (including courses transferred to Northeastern) to meet the distribution requirements in Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. No more than one course from any area of study (including transferred courses) may be used to meet the Fine Arts distribution requirements.
At the discretion of the major department, majors in the Natural Sciences may waive up to an additional six credit hours of General Education in the Natural Science distribution area.
Courses completed elsewhere by students transferring to Northeastern may be applied to General Education requirements. Such courses will be evaluated by the Admissions Office to determine appropriate General Education credit.
Students who have specific questions should contact either their Academic Advisor. You may also consult with the Coordinator of the General Education Program, in the Dean's Office, College of Arts and Sciences, Bernard Brommel Hall, room 158.
Freshman and transfer students who require developmental courses in reading, writing and/or mathematics must take the indicated courses during their first 30 credit hours at NEIU.