Course: General Studies

In a general studies major you’ll build a broad-based education. You won’t learn the skills you’ll need to do a certain job. Instead, you’ll learn how to think critically, communicate effectively, and pull together knowledge from many disciplines -- skills you’ll need to be successful in almost any career.

However, the general studies major is more than a collection of courses chosen at random from the course catalog. At some schools, general studies majors design their own program and pick courses that relate to a certain theme. In others, they follow a more structured curriculum set by the university, taking a certain number of credits in the arts, the sciences, and the social sciences.

Students of general studies programs take a multidisciplinary approach to education. Programs combine study of the arts, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Are You Ready To...?

• Consider signing up for online courses and other alternatives to classroom learning
• Make connections between different subjects and disciplines
• Take part in class discussions
• Sharpen your oral communication and writing skills
• Do a lot of reading
• Work closely with advisors and professors to design your own program

It Helps To Be...

College Checklist

• Talk to a general studies advisor about the general studies program. Do students design their own program? What requirements will you have to meet?
• If you are designing your program, make sure that the courses you’d like to take will be available to you.
• Talk to other general studies majors and ask them about the programs they’ve created.
• Talk to professors about the program you’d like to design. Do they share your interests? Some general studies programs require you to have faculty sponsors. 
• How easy is it to transfer to other majors?
• What kinds of learning options are open to general studies majors? Are there evening and weekend classes? Correspondence and online classes? Credit by examination?