The common core of General Education consists of requirements in Basic, Area, and Writing Intensive courses. Courses in the General Education
Curriculum meet UHH hallmarks or “Mākia” as indicated on the following page. A provision (“Language Option”) exists within the General
Education Curriculum, but is not a requirement.
Current General Education Requirements
Basic Requirements: Lower Division
Written Communication English/100/100T or ESL 100
Quantitative Reasoning
World Cultures
Hawaii Asia Pacific (not formerly part of
Basic Requirements)
Area Requirements
Lower division only; students may not double-count course for Basic and Area requirements; may double-count/triple count
Area courses for WI and H/A/P
Humanities: 3 different Humanities disciplines or 2 Humanities and one interdisciplinary course (e.g., Honors)
SocSci: 3 different Social Sciences disciplines or 2 Social Sciences and one interdisciplinary course (e.g., Honors).
NatSci: lecture courses from 3 different
Natural Science disciplines or 2 Natural
Sciences and one interdisciplinary course; 1 lab course in biological or physical science
Writing Intensive
1 Math Course
Two courses from approved list
One course from approved list
3 Courses
3 Courses
3 lecture courses and 1 lab course
3 courses, two of which are upper division
Proposed
Basic Requirements
Any two lower-division courses that meet the Basic
Written Communication Hallmarks
Any two lower-division courses that meet the
Quantitative reasoning hallmarks
Any two lower-division courses that meet the World
Cultures Hallmarks
Any course that meets the Hawaii Asia Pacific hallmarks (upper or lower)
Area Requirements
Lower-division and upper-division courses are eligible; same provisions for double-counting as currently exist
Any course that meets the Humanities area hallmarks; 2 different disciplines
Any course that meets the Social Science area hallmarks; 2 different disciplines
Any two lecture courses that meet the Natural
Sciences area hallmarks, including a laboratory course in a physical or biological science.
Three courses, two of which will be upper division
Draft 2005-2006 General Education Working Document
Current & Proposed UH Hilo GE Requirements Four Colleges

Written Communications Mākia
 introduce students to different forms of college-level writing, including, but not limited to, academic discourse, and guide them in writing for different purposes and audiences
 provide students with guided practice of writing processes-planning, drafting, critiquing, revising, and editing-making effective use of written and oral feedback from the faculty instructor and from peers
 require at least 5000 words of finished prose-equivalent to approximately 20 typewritten pages
 help students develop information literacy by teaching search strategies, critical evaluation of information and sources, and effective selection of information for specific purposes and audiences; teach appropriate ways to incorporate such information, acknowledge sources and provide citations
 help students read texts and make use of a variety of sources in expressing their own ideas, perspectives, and/or opinions in writing.
Quantitative Reasoning Mākia
 enable students to understand the use of mathematical concepts as representations of real world events and phenomena
 require students to develop skills in chains of reasoning from data to conclusions
 require students to develop skills in problem-solving using mathematical concepts and techniques
World Cultures Mākia
 analyze the development of human societies and their cultural traditions through time and throughout the world, including Africa, the
Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Oceania (Pacific Basin)
 offer a broad, integrated analysis of cultural, economic, political, scientific, and social development that recognizes the diversity of human societies and their cultural traditions
 examine processes of cross-cultural interaction and exchange that have linked the world's people through time
 engage students in the study and analysis of writings, narratives, texts, artifacts, and/or practices that represent the perspective of different societies and cultural traditions
 exception for language course: Second semester or above language course that include a World Cultures component through language or cultural comparison.
Draft 2005-2006 General Education Working Document
Current & Proposed UH Hilo GE Requirements Four Colleges

Mākia for the Area Requirements
Humanities Mākia
 involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication
 use the terminology of the visual, performing, or creative arts; or of the study of philosophy, language, communication, or religion; or of literary representations
 engage students in the study of artifacts, texts, performances, processes, theories, or issues of the concern in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature
 demonstrate the methods or modes of inquiry employed in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature
 illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the social or natural sciences
Social Sciences Mākia
 involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication
 use the terminology of theories, structures, or processes in the social sciences
 present theories, concepts, models, practices, research methods, or issues of concern in the study of these structures or processes
 demonstrate inquiry that is guided by theory and/or by quantitative and/or qualitative methods employed in the study of structures or processes within the social sciences
 illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or natural sciences
Natural Sciences Mākia
 involve students actively in critical thinking, numeracy, and written or oral communication
 use the terminology of computational, physical or biological sciences
 include knowledge and theories of the computational, physical or biological sciences
 foster a student's ability to perform inquiry that is guided by the scientific method, including observation/experimentation and scientific reasoning/mathematics

illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or social sciences
Draft 2005-2006 General Education Working Document
Current & Proposed UH Hilo GE Requirements Four Colleges

Natural Sciences Laboratory Mākia
 use the laboratory methods of physical or biological science
 involve the process of, or considers the issues of, experimental design, testing/measurement, analysis and interpretation of experimental data/results
 consider the strengths and limitations of the scientific method
 demonstrate the interaction of observation/experiment, and reasoning/analysis
Writing Intensive Mākia
 use writing to promote the learning of course materials. Instructors assign formal and informal writing, both in class and out, to increase students' understanding of course material as well as to improve writing skills.
 provide interaction between teacher and students while students do assigned writing; in effect, the instructor acts as an expert and the student as an apprentice in a community of writers.
 be graded to a significant extent by the student's writing performance
 require students to do a substantial amount of writing—a minimum of 4000 words, or about 16 finished pages—formal, or informal, including analytic essays, critical reviews, journals, lab reports, research reports, or reaction papers, etc.
 normally be restricted to 20 students.
Hawai‛i, Asia, or the Pacific Mākia
 investigate major aspects of the culture, language, economy, history, or natural environment of Hawai'i or of another indigenous culture or nation or region of the Pacific or Asia
 foster critical understanding of different cultural perspectives, values, and world views and the ability to acquire additional knowledge about these
 illustrate the interrelationships among various disciplines in the study of the culture or region
Language Option
 The provision exists in the General Education Curriculum for a language option (see World Cultures Mākia)
Draft 2005-2006 General Education Working Document
Current & Proposed UH Hilo GE Requirements Four Colleges