General Education Requirements

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Every student who graduates from Friends University will complete a general education program intentionally designed to build essential skills and prepare you for a diverse and ever-changing work environment. General Education course are provided by different academic divisions to provide a cross-discipline approach to developing skills in critical thinking, quantitative analysis, written and verbal communications, and collaboration with peers from different disciplines.

The University’s General Education Program has eight educational goals, each providing a number of distinct learning outcomes, which can be met by a variety of courses and educational experiences. General Education goals are best met early in a student’s undergraduate career, however there are courses that are appropriate to take in a student’s junior and senior years.

The following courses are required for all undergraduate students. Courses may be titled as listed or may be designated as a themed course.

General Education Goal 1: Intellectual and Practical Skills (1-3 credit hours)

Two semesters of Friends Experience GNST 110 and GNST 111 are required of first year students.

One semester of Friends Experience GNST 110 or GNST 111 is required for all transfer students who transfer 28 or more credit hours.

GNST 110 - Friends Experience
GNST 111 - Friends Experience
The following courses are options for Honors Students only:
HNRS 110 - Introduction to Honors I
HNRS 111 - Introduction to Honors II
The following course is an option for CAPS students only:
CAPS 200 - Principles and Skills of Adult Learning

General Education Goal 2: Quantitative Literacy (3 credit hours)

For CAPS students, course must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

MATH 101 - Math for Liberal Arts
MATH 111 - College Algebra
Other MATH course with a College Algebra pre-requisite

General Education Goal 3: Communication Skills (9 credit hours)

Written Communication (6-9 credit hours)

Courses must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. Course requirements are dependent upon placement.

COMP 110 - Integrated Reading and Writing - Part I *
COMP 111 - Integrated Reading and Writing - Part II *
*Completion of both Part I and II is required for registration in COMP 202.
COMP 201 - Writing 1
COMP 202 - Writing 2

Oral Communication (3 credit hours)

Choose one of the following:

General Education Goal 4: Breadth of Knowledge (16 credit hours)

Humanities (3 credit hours)

Natural Science (4 credit hours)

Business (3 credit hours)

Arts (3 credit hours)

Social Sciences and History (3 credit hours)

General Education Goal 5: Culture and Diversity (3 credit hours)

General Education Goal 6: Personal and Social Responsibility (3 credit hours)

General Education Goal 7: Integration, Applied, Learning, Creativity (3 credit hours)

REL 299 - Faith at Friends
The following courses are options for CAPS students only:
ACCT 462 - Accounting Capstone
BMGT 490 - Capstone Project
CSE 490 - Capstone Project
ELEM 440 - Elementary School Student Teaching
HRMT 490 - HR Capstone: Current Issues in Human Resources Management
PSYC 490 - Senior Seminar
SOSC 490 - Capstone Change Project

General Education Goal 8: World Religion and Christianity (3-6 credit hours)

Choose one of the following:

Choose one of the following (CBASE students only):

Total General Education Requirements: 43-48+ credit hours

Additional General Education Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Science: Students must have an additional 6 hours of science and/or math.
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Music: Students must have 8 additional hours in a single foreign language. See Undergraduate Student Academic Policies section under Degree Requirements and Graduation Information.