Selecting General Education Courses
These are suggested steps for selecting general education courses.
1. Look at the general education page on the website and/or in the Undergraduate Catalog to familiarize
yourself with the requirements.
2. Look at the pre-requisite requirements (courses you need to take before moving into an academic
major program) for those major programs you are considering.
3. Look at the curriculum guide that has all the current general education courses listed.
a. This list shows the course name and number, the title, the learning outcome, the area of
knowledge, and the curricular theme for each course.
b. There is also a brief description of the courses and any pre-requisite knowledge or skills
needed to be successful.
c. Most general education courses are 3 semester or credit hours although some might be 4
semester hours. Lab courses are usually 1 semester hour and are tied to lecture courses that
are 3 semester hours.
4. Make a list of courses you want to try to take in the next two – three semesters.
a. In your first set of courses pay attention to those courses that can count towards two or three
general education requirements. For example, a course might be in Social/Behavioral Science
(Area of Knowledge), Critical Thinking (Learning Outcome), and Civic Engagement (Curricular
Theme) and thus help you meet all three requirements. As you accumulate courses, you will
want to pay even closer attention to the general education requirements that you have
remaining and the courses that can meet those requirements.
b. Most students will take 4 – 5 courses each semester in their first couple of years and might use
summer school to try to earn about 30 credits each year. For example, successful completion
of four 3 hour courses in the first semester (4 X 3 = 12 earned hours); five in the second
semester (5 X 3 = 15) and a science course and lab in a session of summer school ((1 X 3) + (1 X
1) = 4) would be 31 earned hours for the year. Since it takes 30 earned hours to be a
sophomore, you would start your second year as a sophomore and be on track to graduation
in four years.
c. If you are considering majoring in science or a health care field you will need to think about
the sequence of science and mathematics pre-requisite courses. Do not try to overload with
too many science and mathematics courses too early. College-level science courses can be
unexpectedly time-consuming and demanding.
d. For your first year, start slowly and move into a more demanding schedule after a year, when
you know exactly how much you can do.
5. Look at the course schedule for the current semester and see what courses on your list are being
offered and at what days and times. Create a draft schedule for the semester including a few extra
courses in case what you want is already filled.
6. Meet with your academic advisor and discuss your plans and schedule. Make adjustments based on
the conversation with your advisor.
7. Go to your account in Rams On-line and select the courses on your list.
8. Work with your advisor to make any adjustments because of course availability.