General Education

The General Education Program is designed to complement a student’s academic major by promoting the integration of knowledge derived from multiple perspectives and stresses the development of problem-solving skills and intellectual creativity through the exploration of a broad range of disciplines and fields. 

 

To successfully complete the bachelor's degree General Education Program, students must complete ten (10) courses from the components listed on the spreadsheet below. Students must achieve a grade point average of "C" (2.0) or better across all ten courses to meet the bachelor's degree General Education Program requirement. All courses in this program are at least three credits. The number of courses that are required to meet each component are indicated in parentheses following the component title. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs. 

 

A downloadable PDF version of the General Education Program can be found here. 

General Education Spreadsheet (last updated October 2024).  

Graduation Requirements

There are four graduation requirements that students must complete. 

  1. A Laboratory Science course (one selected from those listed as laboratory science courses in the Scientific Inquiry component of the General Education Program)
  2. A World Cultures course (one course selected from the list of World Cultures courses)
  3. The Written English Competency requirement (students must earn at least a "C" or better grade in both EN111-College Composition I and EN211-College Composition II)
  4. The Mathematics Competency requirement (one course selected from the list of courses meeting Mathematics Competency).

Additional Baccalaureate Requirements

  1. Students must earn a 2.00 or greater Grade Point Average across all ten courses to meet the General Education Program requirement.

Graduation Requirements

Students select two courses from this component. Students who complete the Effective Communication component will demonstrate communication skills that express and convey ideas clearly and effectively.

Notes:

EN 109 (minimum grade of “B”) and EN 111 (minimum grade of “C”) count toward the first year composition requirement.

EN 211 (minimum grade of “C”) counts toward the intermediate composition requirement.

Students select one course from this component. Students who complete the Human Expression component will demonstrate analysis and evaluation of artistic, literary or rhetorical expression.

Notes:

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

Students select one course from this component. Students who complete the Integrative Thinking component will demonstrate integrative thinking by synthesizing disciplinary knowledge and applying this synthesis to new contexts.

Notes:

HON 211 is open to honors program students only.

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

Students select one course from this component. Students who complete the Integrative Thinking component will demonstrate integrative thinking by synthesizing disciplinary knowledge and applying this synthesis to new contexts.

Notes:

HON 211 is open to honors program students only.

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

Students select one course from this component. Students who complete the Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis component will demonstrate interpretation of quantitative data leading to conclusions.

Notes:

All mathematics courses in the component meet the Mathematics Competency University Requirement if completed with a grade of “C” or better.

Transfer courses designated as MA 1001 will also count toward the Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis component, as well as the Mathematics Competency University Requirement.

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

 

Students select two courses from this component. Students who complete the Scientific Inquiry component will demonstrate use of scientific processes to investigate and report knowledge about natural or social phenomena.

Notes:

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements. Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

 

Students select one course from this component. Students who complete the Social Responsibility in a Diverse World component will demonstrate engagement with cultural and ethnic diversity.

Notes:

Students must achieve a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or better across all ten courses to count toward the General Education Program requirements.

Courses in the program may be used in the student’s major or minor programs.

 

Graduation Requirements

A. First-Year Composition

Students should satisfy this requirement during their first or second semester in college. Students can satisfy this requirement in one of three ways:

  1. Earning a B (3.0) in EN 109 - Intensive College Composition [EFFC] [COMP], and its co-requisite, EN 109W - Intensive College Composition Workshop [COMP] (counts toward Effective Communication component); or
  2. Earning a C (2.0) or better in EN 111 - College Composition I [EFFC] [COMP] (counts toward Effective Communication component); or
  3. Successfully completing one of the following:
    1. CLEP - CLEP English Composition General Examination with Essay with a score of 50 or higher (counts toward Effective Communication component as EN 111 - College Composition I [EFFC] [COMP]);
    2. AP - English Literature and Composition or English Language and Composition with a score of 3 or higher (counts toward Effective Communication component as EN 111 - College Composition I [EFFC] [COMP]);
    3. IB - International Baccalaureate English Language Examination in English with a score of 5 or higher (counts toward Effective Communication component as EN 111 - College Composition I [EFFC] [COMP]);
    4. Accuplacer WritePlacer Exam score of 7 (Serves as a placement exam; students still need two courses from Effective Communication component);
    5. An equivalent or higher level composition course from another accredited college or university with a grade of C (2.0) or higher.

Note: If a student has already satisfied Intermediate Composition requirement, this also serves to meet the First Year Composition requirement.

B. Intermediate Composition

Students should satisfy this requirement soon after completing the First-Year Composition requirement. Students can satisfy this requirement in one of three ways:

  1. Earning a “C” (2.0) or better in EN 211 - College Composition II [EFFC] [COMP] (counts toward Effective Communication component); or
  2. Earning a “C” (2.0) or better in an equivalent course to EN 211 transferred from an accredited college or university (counts toward Effective Communication component as EN 211 - College Composition II [EFFC] [COMP]); or
  3. Earning a “B” (3.0) or better in HON 101 and HON 111 (Students still need two courses from Effective Communication component.).

Below are the approved list of courses that may be applied toward the Written English Competency University Requirement as outlined above:

Approved Courses

Students may satisfy this requirement in one of three ways:

  1. Earning a “C” (2.0) in MA 100 or higher level math course (excluding middle digit 5 courses); or
  2. Earning a “C” (2.0) in quantitatively-oriented courses as approved by the Mathematics and Computer Science Department; or
  3. Successfully completing one of the following:
    1. CLEP Calculus or Precalculus score of 50 or greater;
    2. CLEP College Algebra or Mathematics score of 63 or greater;
    3. AP Calculus (AB or BC) score of 3 or greater;
    4. IB Mathematics Studies or Mathematics (SL or HL) score of 5 or greater;
    5. ACT mathematics score of 25 or greater;
    6. SAT Mathematics score of 600 or greater;
    7. SAT subject test in Mathematics (Level 1 or 2) score of 650 or greater;
    8. Proctored Math Placement Exam placement into MA 111, MA 115, MA 161, or MA 163; or
    9. Successful completion of the math portion of the Professional Readiness Exam taken by education majors.

Below are the approved list of courses that may be applied toward the Mathematics Competency University Requirement as outlined above:

Approved Courses

Notes:

Transfer courses designated as MA 1001 will also count toward the Mathematics Competency University Requirement.

Each baccalaureate student must take at least one course of three credits or more designated to meet the world cultures requirement. These courses may include such topics as literary, artistic and other cultural achievements; religious and ethical values; social, economic and political systems; or intellectual and historical trends. 

 

Below are the approved list of courses that may be applied toward the World Cultures University Requirement as outlined above:

Approved Courses

For a detailed breakdown of the different requirements please refer to the catalog page.

 

Students who were admitted to NMU and began taking classes prior to the Fall of 2017, should follow the requirements in the Liberal Studies section of their respective catalog.