Concentration in General Studies

Students Admitted Prior to Autumn 2006
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Course List
Students Admitted Autumn 2006 and Later
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Overview

Concentration Coordinator: Joe Sharkey

The requirements for completing a General Studies concentration are flexible enough to allow students to chart their own courses through the program and focus on areas that are most pertinent to their needs and interests. Students are encouraged to develop their own areas of focus through the selection of coursework in collaboration with a faculty adviser. This concentration allows students to maximize the potential of interdisciplinary studies, gaining the skills they need to function successfully in a rapidly changing society and world.

Career Options

General Studies students pursue a wide range of careers including government, business, nonprofit management, journalism, education and law. Many students planning to earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in elementary education choose this concentration because its flexibility allows them to gain a broad base of knowledge useful for their future classroom curriculum. Depending on the focus students choose, they may pursue graduate studies in a range of disciplines.

Student Learning Outcomes

General Studies graduates will possess a broad-ranging knowledge and specific aspects of the human experience.

• They will know the major world geographical markings and those of the United States: mountain ranges, river systems, coastal lowlands, and plains.
• They will have learned the major groupings of indigenous world peoples and the diversity of indigenous culture.
• Students will be familiar with the major contours of World Civilization, and Western Civilization from the Enlightenment through the Cold War to Globalism.
• They will be able to contrast kingship and authoritarianism with liberalism; they will understand the relationships and differences among liberalism, liberty, equality, democracy, socialism, capitalism, republican institutions and the further enfranchisement and integration of women and ethnic minority groups into global economic, cultural, and political.
• They will understand the intersection of race, class, gender, environment, oppression, opportunity, and freedom in World Civilization.

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