IUPUI General Education Core
Beginning in Fall 2013, IUPUI implemented a set of General Education Core requirements for all degrees. These thirty (30) credit hours fall within the following competency areas:
- Core Communication
- Analytical Reasoning
- Cultural Understanding
- Life and Physical Sciences
- Arts/Humanities
- Social Sciences
The IUPUI General Education Core is also based on the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning, the essential ingredients of an undergraduate educational experience at IUPUI. These principles form a conceptual framework for all students' general education but necessarily permeate the curriculum in the major field of study as well. More specific expectations for IUPUI's graduates are determined by the faculty in a student's major field of study. Together, these expectations speak to what graduates of IUPUI will know and what they will be able to do upon completion of their degree.
IUPUI General Education Courses
The IUPUI General Education Core provides a strong foundation for a rich and intellectually challenging undergraduate experience. Over 200 courses have been rigorously reviewed and approved to the IUPUI General Education Core by faculty members from all academic units, providing IUPUI students with a diverse array of options for fulfilling their general education requirements. Course work is divided into the broad domains of Foundational Intellectual Skills (Core Communication, Analytical Reasoning, and Cultural Understanding) and course work that promotes Intellectual Breadth and Adaptiveness (Life and Physical Sciences; and Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences).
Foundational Intellectual Skills
Students must take 15 credit hours related to Foundational Intellectual Skills. This includes 6 credits related to Core Communication skills, 6 credits in Analytical Reasoning, and 3 credits related to Cultural Understanding.
- Core Communication (Principle of Undergraduate Learning 1): 6 credits
- Analytical Reasoning (Principles of Undergraduate Learning 1 and 2): 6 credits
- Cultural Understanding (Principle of Undergraduate Learning 6): 3 credits
Intellectual Breadth and Adaptiveness
Courses pertaining to Intellectual Breadth and Adaptiveness help to foster the "ways of knowing" that are characteristic of particular fields ranging from science and the social sciences through humanities and arts. This includes 6 credits in the Life and Physical Sciences, and 9 credits distributed across the Arts/Humanities and the Social Sciences.
- Life and Physical Sciences (Principle of Undergraduate Learning 4): 6 credits
- Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (Principle of Undergraduate Learning 4): 9 credits total, with at least 3 credits in each area
In addition to the above General Education Core requirements, students are strongly encouraged to learn to do word processing, use e-mail, and navigate the Internet before the beginning of the professional program. See program-specific sections for program requirements.
Updated: March 2018
