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Janette Kenner Muir, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education
Office of the Provost
Phone: 703-993-8722
Web: provost.gmu.edu/gened/
All undergraduates seeking a baccalaureate degree must complete the University General Education Program requirements. Additional requirements for specific degree programs can be found in the college or school sections of this catalog. At Mason, we have created several distinctive ways to develop your liberal education: the University General Education Program, detailed in the following pages; New Century College’s Mason Cornerstones program; and, for a small group of outstanding students, the Honors College .
General Education at Mason
General Education at George Mason University is designed to complement work in a student’s chosen area of study. These classes serve as a means of discovery for students, providing a foundation for learning, connecting to potential new areas of interest and building tools for success in whatever field a student pursues. Learning outcomes are guided by the qualities every student should develop as they move toward graduating with a George Mason degree. Through a combination of courses, the general education program helps students to become:
Critical and Creative Scholars
Students who have a love of and capacity for learning. Their understanding of fundamental principles in a variety of disciplines, and their mastery of quantitative and communication tools, enables them to think creatively and productively. They are inquisitive, open-minded, capable, informed, and able to integrate diverse bodies of knowledge and perspectives.
Self-Reflective Learners
Students who develop the capacity to think well. They can identify and articulate individual beliefs, strengths and weaknesses, critically reflect on these beliefs and integrate this understanding into their daily living.
Ethical, Inquiry-Based Citizens
Students who are tolerant and understanding. They can conceptualize and communicate about problems of local, national and global significance, using research and evaluative perspectives to contribute to the common good.
Thinkers and Problem-Solvers
Students who are able to discover and understand natural, physical, and social phenomena; who can articulate their application to real world challenges; and who approach problem-solving from various vantage points. They can demonstrate capability for inquiry, reason, and imagination and see connections in historical, literary and artistic fields.
University General Education Requirements
University General Education is divided into three sections: foundation, core and synthesis. Each section contains courses that have specific learning outcomes for students and are assessed on a regular basis.
Total: 40 credits
Writing-Intensive Course Requirement
As part of the university’s commitment to student writers in all undergraduate programs, at least one upper-division course in each major has been designated as fulfilling the “writing intensive” (WI) requirement. While other courses in the major may require written projects, teachers of the designated WI courses will devote class time to instruction on how to complete assignments successfully, assign and grade a minimum of 3500 words, provide constructive feedback on drafts, and allow revision of at least one graded assignment. See the description of each major for the specific course or courses that fulfill the WI requirement. |
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