General Education is the heart of the undergraduate experience. From the sciences to the arts and humanities, General Education at Penn State prepares students to thrive personally and professionally in our diverse global society. Through General Education, students acquire skills, knowledge, and experiences for living in interconnected contexts, making life better for themselves, others, and the world. Depending on the degree you wish to earn, your Gen Ed requirements will be different.

Bachelor's Degrees

Students in a bachelor’s degree program will take 45 credits of General Education courses comprised of

9 credits each of Writing and Speaking (GWS0 and Natural Sciences (GN);
6 credits each of Quantification (GQ), Arts (GA), Humanities (GH), and Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS); and
3 credits of Health and Wellness (GHW).

Integrative Studies Requirements

Within these 45 credits of coursework, 6 credits must be made up of Integrative Studies courses. These courses look at subject matter from the perspective of multiple disciplines. Fulfilling the Integrative Studies requirement can be done with two types of courses: Inter-Domain and Linked.

Inter-Domain courses observe multiple perspectives on an issue as a part of a single course, whereas Linked courses are two stand-alone, single-discipline courses that both address the same topic. An example of an Inter-Domain course would be a single course that looks at both the scientific (GN) and social (GS) aspects of a topic like forensics.

Linked courses, on the other hand, are two separate courses from different knowledge domains that have been approved for use together when studying a given topic. Using our previous example of forensics, a stand-alone Criminology (GS) course would be linked with a stand-alone Forensic Science (GN) course.

You may select either pathway to complete this requirement, and like many of your academic decisions the pathway you choose is an excellent topic for discussion with your academic adviser. If you would like to read more about the Integrative Studies requirement, further information on the topic can be found on the Integrative Studies page.

Bachelor's of Arts Requirements

If you're enrolled in a bachelor of arts program, you'll take an additional 24 credits of bachelor of arts requirements, which include 12 credits of foreign language; 9 credits of course work that can include any course in Quantification, Natural Science, Arts, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, or a second foreign language; and 3 credits of Other Cultures, which are courses in areas other than Western cultures.

Associate Degrees

Associate degrees by their very nature have a different set of requirements attached to them.

Students in an associate's degree program will take

3 credits each of Health and Wellness (GWS), Quantification (GQ), Natural Sciences (GN), Arts (GA), Humanities (GH), and Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS); and
3 credits in any General Education area.

Integrative Studies Requirements

The Gen Ed requirements for associate degrees do not include an Integrative Studies requirement, but you can certainly use approved Integrative Studies courses to fulfill your Gen Ed elective. You'll need to work with your adviser to ensure that these courses populate into the Gen Ed area where they will help you the most. This is a particularly good strategy to employ if you anticipate that you'll move into a bachelor’s program at some point in the future.

Major Field Requirements

Your degree will also have major field requirements. These are courses that you must take to complete your degree. You may also be required to take supporting and related courses, chosen from a specific list, that allow you to customize your degree a bit based on your interests. Some majors have options, which have prescribed courses that provide a focus in a specific major-related area. Your academic adviser will work with you to review all of these requirements and help you plan the sequence in which you'll schedule them.

Electives

Finally, some programs include electives. Electives are any courses you want to take for which you have met the prerequisites.