The general education program, which comprises more than 40 percent of undergraduate coursework, is a significant component of the baccalaureate program at USIU. The general education program intersects with the University's overall mission in providing students with grounding in higher order thinking, literacy, and development of global understanding and a multicultural perspective.

Four interrelated parts make up the general education program:
1) The First Year Experience;
2) Symbolic Systems and Intellectual Skills;
3) Global Perspectives; and
4) The Senior Experience.

The First Year Experience assists students in exploring various academic disciplines and their interrelatedness through a global and multicultural perspective. Symbolic Systems and Intellectual Skills function as the "core" of the general education program. Students take courses, which include composition and reading, mathematics, computer literacy, intercultural communication, and foreign language.

In addition, a community service or project requirement provides students with opportunities to serve others and to develop a heightened sense of responsibility to the larger community. Global Perspectives applies a variety of disciplinary fields in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to a deeper and broader development of an international and global perspective.

Finally, the Senior Experience focuses on the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge and preparation for a career.

Each undergraduate student is required to complete a total of 48 units of general education, and 6 units of the Senior Experience.

All courses taken must be applied toward fulfilling the requirements of one of the following areas: general education, the major, the minor, or electives. A course used to satisfy a requirement in one area may not be used to satisfy a requirement in another area.

General Education Requirements   48 units
Courses are three units unless otherwise indicated.

The First Year Experience   3 units
The First Year Experience is taught as a combined lecture and small seminar course. It is designed primarily for new students who have no previous college or university experience. Transfer students with less than 36 credits may be required to take the First Year Experience course. The First Year Experience course may not be used for an elective and is open only to first year students.

The First Year Experience consists of the following:
FYE 1010  Planning and Strategies for  Success

Core Curriculum: Symbolic Systems and Intellectual Skills  15 units
Written, Analytical, Critical Thinking Skills  6 Units
ENG 1106   Composition I (WI)
ENG 2206   Composition II (WI)

Quantitative And Technological Skills  9 Units
IST 1010   Introduction to Information Systems
MTH 1109   College Algebra
MTH 2210   Introduction to Applied Statistics

Global and multicultural perspectives  9 units
COM 1500  Intercultural Communication (WI)

Language Studies (6units)
Students must have credit for a foreign language or must take up to a three-course foreign language sequence of one language. USIU offers courses in French, Japanese, Spanish, and Swahili and Chinese.

Students at USIU may meet the foreign language requirement in one of the following ways:
   1.  Successful completion of a three-course sequence of one language at USIU;
   2.  Transfer credit from another college or university for an academic year of study in one foreign language other than English or the student's primary language(s);

Community Service  3 Units
CMS 3700  Community Service

Global Perspectives Through the Humanities   6 units
Note: One course must be designated Writing Intensive. Writing Intensive (WI) courses have the following minimum standards:
1. At least 3250 written words;
2. At least four different pieces of writing, one of which must be written in class;
3. A variety of writing assignments, such as expository essays and research;
4. Writing that demonstrates higher order thinking through collecting, analyzing, and evaluating data;
5. Writing evaluation based 50 percent on content and 50 percent on form.

See course descriptions to identify (WI) courses.
HUM 1000   World Civilization

Choose one course in the humanities, which must be upper division. Choose from the following areas: fine arts, literature, and philosophy.

Global Perspectives Through the Social Sciences  6 units
Note: School of Business

ECON1010 Principles of Microeconomics 
ECON1020 Principles of Macroeconomics

Note: School of Arts & Sciences
Choose three courses in the social sciences, one of which must be upper division. Choose one from at least two of the following areas: economics, geography, history, international relations, political science, psychology, and sociology.

PSY 2125 Human Sexuality is compulsory as a lower level social science requirement for Psychology majors. You will be required to do only one other course (upper level).

Global Perspectives Through the Natural Sciences  6 units
Note: One course must be designated Writing Intensive (WI). See course descriptions to identify (WI) courses.
Choose one from the following:
ENV 2000   Introduction to Environmental Studies (WI)
ENV 2001   Sustainable Resource Management (WI)
ENV 3500   Regional Environment
ENV 3800  Environmental History (WI)
NSC 2212  Life, Environment and Society (WI)
NSC 3304   Biology and the Environment (WI)

Choose one from the following:
NSC 2205   Human Physiology
NSC 2215   Introduction to Physical Mechanics
NSC 2216   Introduction to Earth Sciences

The Senior Experience
The Senior Experience is meant to serve as a "capstone" for the student's college career and requires that the student demonstrate competence and skills in the intellectual enterprise.

The Senior Experience consists of two parts:
1) the integrated seminar; and
2) the project or internship.

The senior project and internship will be related to the student's major; the integrated seminar will be interdisciplinary.