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General Education

Ithaca College

Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY)

www.ithaca.edu

Ithaca College, founded in 1892, is a private, coeducational college offering undergraduate and graduate programs in business, communications, health sciences and human performance, humanities and sciences, music, and interdisciplinary studies.

Undergraduate enrollment: 6098.  94 undergraduate programs, 20 graduate, 2 certificate.

Defining Statements:
Ithaca College strives to become the standard of excellence for residential comprehensive colleges, fostering intellect, creativity, and character in an active, student-centered learning community.

Organizational Principles, School of Humanities and Sciences:

The general education program in the School of Humanities and Sciences provides students with the resources necessary for a lifetime of inquiry, discovery, and responsible citizenship.  The program fosters literacy in the liberal arts, including an understanding of concepts, perspectives, and methodologies across the humanities and sciences curriculum and the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and appreciate diverse cultures and perspectives.

Goals: Students should

  1. explore how we, as individuals, come to act and believe as we do, how we relate to one another in small or large groups, and how we govern ourselves within our communities.
  2. understand the physical basis of the natural sciences and associated technology, as well as the methods that scientists use to study physical and natural phenomena.
  3. learn to perform basic computations and understand how mathematical literacy and/or formal, logical reasoning are necessary to solving a variety of society's problems, such as those found in business,  finance, health, politics, law, and economics.
  4. learn to analyze and understand the uses of verbal language in forms of expression such as plays, stories, essays, speeches, and everyday conversation.
  5. learn to analyze and understand artistic performances and visual works of art as ways to expressing a range of meaning, from the emotions and ideas of individual creators to the ideas of entire socities.
  6. explore how the past shapes the present and the reasons behind the changes.
  7. examine self, society, sciences, mathematics, formal reasoning, language, and/or the visual and performing arts from the position of a human community outside the United States.

To meet these goals, students in H&S must complete foundation, focused curricular choice, and global and historical perspective requirements in addition to the requirements of their specific majors.

Curricular Requirements:

General Education
Requirements


Foundation Courses



Writing
Effectiveness
Test out, or demonstrate
proficiency in a level one
course

Mathematics
Test out or one course
Focused Curricular
Choice (Up to two AP
credit accepted.)



Self and Society
 12 credits

Science
 6 credits

Math and Formal
Reasoning
 3 credits

Language
 6 credits

Visual and
performing arts
 6 credits
Global and
Historical
Perspectives

12 credits

Global
 6 credits

Historical
 6 credits (course can
satisfy both global and
historical requirement)
First-Year Seminar

Recommended

Graduation Requirements
Total credits
General Education
Gen Ed, percentage of total
120
45
37.5%

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