Current Students | Faculty and Staff | Alumni | Parents

General Education

Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University  (Flagstaff, Arizona)

www.nau.edu


Defining Statements:

The learning environment at NAU is unmatched for natural beauty and for student-centered programs and services. We promote individual development through small classes, close interaction with faculty, and sophisticated learning technologies more commonly found at the nation's leading private institutions. . . .  We also embrace our mission to serve rural Arizona and Native American people, and we seek a partnership in providing economic, cultural, and social opportunities for all citizens of the region.

NAU's Liberal Studies requirements are designed to provide you with a coherent program through which you develop the essential skills necessary for citizenship.  

Organizational Principles:

When you graduate from NAU, you need both skills and a broad understanding of key issues that allow you to participate fully in public debates about the pressing issues of your time. To prepare you to take your place as a responsible citizen in our society, we include nine essential skills in the liberal studies curriculum:  


In addition to these thematic approaches to becoming a citizen, all liberal studies courses encompass at least one of three thematic areas:  


As a result, this plan requires that you gain a broad educational base by taking courses from each of various groups, or blocks, including:  

Assessment for the Liberal Studies Program is conducted by means of a Portfolio.


Requirements for Graduation
Core Requirements

  • University Colloquium
  • Liberal Studies Program
    Distribution Requirements
    - You must take courses in each of the following distribution blocks and at least two courses in at least three of these blocks:

  • Aesthetic and Humanistic Inquiry
  • Cultural Understanding
  • Lab Science
  • Science and Applied Science
  • Social and Political Worlds
     Liberal Studies Elective Requirement
- You take one additionanl course from any of the liberal studies requiremnents.

     Diversity Requirement
- Two courses, one in each line; may be taken to meet other univerisity requirements
  • Ethnic Diversity
  • Global Awareness

     University Requirements in the Major
              Junior-Level Writing Requirement
              Senior Capstone

Total

Graduation

Minimum credits required for graduation
Total Core Requirements (Liberal Studies)
        Percent core requirements
Number of Units

3
35

25 [sic]






3-6
3-6
4
3-6
3-6

3










1
1


6-7
3-4
3

38






120

38

38%

    Return to Profiles of Other Colleges