Pictured | Kimberley Barber | Radiography | South Bend, Indiana (hometown)

Campuswide General Education Requirements

All students matriculating in the fall of 2005 and subsequent semesters are subject to the campuswide general-education requirements. Individual schools and colleges may establish additional general-education requirements for undergraduate degrees.

The Purpose of General Education at IU South Bend

The purpose of general education at IU South Bend is to prepare students to succeed in their chosen professions and to become valued citizens and leaders within their communities, enriched by their studies and stimulated by the spirit of discovery. The general-education curriculum fosters a learning environment that serves the academic, civic, cultural, and career needs of an educated citizen within the global community.

The general-education curriculum at IU South Bend complements the depth and focus of our major programs and ensures that graduates have the breadth of experience that enables them to think critically, communicate clearly, act professionally and ethically, and appreciate wisdom and beauty. It provides students with knowledge of the basic tenets of a variety of academic disciplines and the skills to function effectively in positions of responsibility and leadership. It instills in students an appreciation of the interconnectedness of disciplines, an appreciation of the diversity of human cultures and experiences, self-awareness conducive to personal growth, and a love of learning.

The Goals of General-Education

Students who complete the general-education curriculum at IU South Bend will be able to:

• Retrieve, evaluate, and use information effectively
• Write clearly and correctly, and analyze written texts from a variety of disciplines
• Understand, construct, and analyze quantitative arguments

Such students will be able to:

• Understand, construct, and analyze arguments presented in verbal and visual form
• Understand and appreciate the variety of cultures and experiences that contribute to American society
• Gain familiarity with a non-Western culture
• Understand the power and purpose of a scientific view of the natural world
• Appreciate artistic achievement and the creative process
• Understand the importance of literary and intellectual traditions in the shaping of Western culture
• Understand factors that shape the behavior of human beings as individuals and as groups
• Appreciate the importance of ethical behavior and understand the ethical issues associated with a variety of academic disciplines
• Value personal growth and learning

The General-Education Curriculum

The Campuswide General Education Curriculum is composed of three elements and requires a total of between 33 and 39 credit hours of coursework.

Fundamental Literacies courses (13-19 cr.)
Common Core courses (12 cr.)
Contemporary Social Values courses (8 cr.)

First Year Seminars

All First Year students are encouraged to enroll in first-year seminars, specifically designed for incoming students.

Past seminars have focused on topics such as

• making sense of college life
• the psychology of parenting
• literary hauntings
• biology and society

In a small classroom setting, each student engages not only with the course’s material and instructor, but also with the entire campus and wider community. Each class has a peer mentor to help students with the transition to college life. Taught by award-winning, IU South Bend faculty, these classes attend to the specific academic needs of first-year students to ensure their success. 

Summary of General-Education Requirements

All courses certified as meeting the campuswide general-education requirements for the areas listed below are designated appropriately in the Schedule of Classes. The list of approved courses in each category is subject to change.

Visit gened.iusb.edu for updated general-education course lists. Consult degree requirements to determine whether completion of a specific course in any category is preferred or required by a department or program.