General Education

Student raising their hand in a classroomThe General Education (GE) program at Southern Utah University (SUU) is meticulously crafted to shape well-rounded graduates. Rooted in SUU's mission to foster engaged, personalized, and rigorous learning, the GE curriculum offers broad subject-area knowledge and essential learning skills that serve as the foundation for students' academic pursuits and beyond.

At SUU, our general education curriculum is carefully designed to support students throughout their educational journey and prepare them for the challenges they'll encounter beyond the university setting. Each content area is structured to foster exploration, impart valuable knowledge, and nurture skills that are not only relevant during their time at SUU but also beneficial throughout their careers and lives. By embracing SUU's motto, "Learning Lives Forever," our GE courses empower students to continue their pursuit of knowledge long after they graduate.

Core Requirements & Learning Outcomes (12-15 Credits)

Core Requirement courses are designed to equip students with essential abilities: effective communication, basic mathematical proficiency, and an understanding of United States history, including its economic and political systems.

Students will demonstrate skill with the following:

  • Context and Purpose for Writing – includes consideration of audience, purpose, and the circumstances surrounding the writing task(s).
  • Content Development – uses appropriate, relevant, and compelling content to illustrate mastery of the subject, conveying the writer’s understanding, and shaping the whole work.
  • Genre and Disciplinary Conventions – demonstrates detailed attention to and successful execution of a wide range of conventions particular to a specific discipline and/or writing task(s), including organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices.
  • Sources and Evidence – demonstrates skillful use of high-quality, credible, relevant sources to develop ideas that are appropriate for the discipline and genre of the writing
  • Control of Syntax and Usage – uses language that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency.
  • Revision and Feedback – shapes texts through the process of revision and feedback.

Students will demonstrate skill with the following:

  • Interpretation – explain information presented in mathematical forms (e.g., equations, graphs, diagrams, and tables)
  • Representation – convert relevant information into various mathematical forms (e.g., equations, graphs, diagrams, and tables)
  • Calculation – demonstrate the ability to successfully complete basic calculations to solve problems
  • Application/Analysis – make judgments and draw appropriate conclusions based on quantitative analysis of data, recognizing the limits of this analysis
  • Assumption – make and evaluate important assumptions in estimation, modeling, and data analysis
  • Communication – express quantitative evidence in support of the argument or purpose of the work (in terms of what evidence is used and how it is formatted, presented, and contextualized)
  • Creation – demonstrate the ability to problem solve using quantitative literacy across multiple disciplines.

Students will demonstrate skill with the following:

  • Use of Primary Documents – analyze, contextualize, and use primary source documents to understand the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States
  • Interpretation – explain and use historically, politically, and economically relevant information
  • Communication – communicate effectively about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States
  • Diversity – engage a diversity of viewpoints in a constructive manner that contributes to a dialogue about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States
  • Integration – use historical, political, and economic methods to come to an understanding of the United States that integrates those viewpoints.

Breadth Area Requirements & Learning Outcomes (16-20 Credits)

Complete 16 to 20 credit hours with a minimum of 3 credit hours in each knowledge area (1 credit hour in Integrated Learning).

Students will be able to:

  1. Make connections among skills, ideas and experiences to synthesize and transfer their learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus
  2. Strategically and responsibly employ appropriate technologies to explore, create, collaborate, and organize in a digital context
  3. Identify, locate, evaluate, attribute and share information effectively and ethically.

Students will be able to:

  1. Discuss the scope and variety with the fine arts (i.e., art, music, theatre, or dance)
  2. Recognize the aesthetic standards used in making critical judgments in various artistic fields
  3. Analyze and articulate understanding of a range of artistic processes
  4. Participate as an active contributor to the performance, production, exhibition, or design process in the Fine Arts
  5. Demonstrate how the creative process is informed and limited by social and historical contexts.

Students will be able to:

  1. Derive evidence from primary sources regarding the complexities and changes in human experience through analytical reading and critical thought
  2. Describe how human experience is shaped by social, cultural, linguistic, and/or historical circumstances
  3. Demonstrate attentiveness to linguistic, visual, and/or audio texts when communicating meaning
  4. Use appropriate verbal, perceptual, or imaginative skills when organizing meanings, developing a sense of self, and balancing potentially disparate values.

Students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate understanding of science as a way of knowing about the natural world
  2. Demonstrate basic understanding of how organisms live, grow, respond to their environment, and reproduce
  3. Discuss the organization and flow of matter and energy through biological systems
  4. Explain from evidence patterns of inheritance, structural unity, adaptation, and diversity of life on Earth
  5. Describe how the Life Sciences have been shaped by historical, ethical, and social contexts.

Students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate understanding of science as a way of knowing about the physical world
  2. Demonstrate understanding of forces in the physical world
  3. Discuss the flow of matter and energy through systems (in large and small scales)
  4. Develop evidence-based arguments regarding the effect of human activity on the Earth
  5. Describe how the Physical Sciences have been shaped by historical, ethical, and social contexts.

Students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate understanding of relevant social and behavioral science methodologies and how they are used to understand or explain human relations or interactions
  2. Identify general principles of behavioral and social functioning
  3. Connect those questions and issues to the students’ own experiences
  4. Demonstrate a critically reasoned understanding of social patterns and individual variation congruent with and divergent from those patterns.

SUU offers options for students to complete two General Education Knowledge Areas in one team-taught 6-credit course. This dedicated time allows for deep investigation of relevant, timely topics that integrate the learning outcomes of two Knowledge Areas. Topics vary by semester, so please contact your Student Success Advisor for information on current course offerings.

  • SUU 2220 - Integrated LS & FA: Variable Topics - 6 Credit(s)
  • SUU 2240 - Integrated HU & SBS: Variable Topics - 6 Credit(s)
  • SUU 2250 - Integrated HU & LS: Variable Topics - 6 Credit(s)

Note:

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits in their General Education program. If students do not meet this minimum number of credits from the required Core and Knowledge Areas listed above, they must complete additional General Education Core and/or Knowledge Area courses to earn the minimum 30 credits of General Education necessary. Course(s) used to reach the minimum 30 General Education credits must be earned with the minimum grade of their corresponding Core or Knowledge Area category.

Optimizing GE: Advisor Tips for Success

General education is a foundation to your experience at SUU. We as advisors would love for you to have the best experience possible with your Gen Eds. Please utilize the following pro tips to maximize your engagement and your time with Gen Eds:

  1. "I want to knock out my generals, then move onto my major." Although this may sound like the best possible option, in multiple cases it may hinder you. While working with your advisor, you can learn how to maximize the benefits of your general education. We can help you look for courses that not only peak an interest for you, but may also unexpectedly tie together with your intended major.
  2. Some majors have more required courses and less flexibility. In these cases it can be beneficial to have a course that acts as a buffer to your other courses. Generals can offer an exciting way to explore new hobbies or interests while diversifying your schedule.
  3. Oftentimes Gen Eds overlap with major requirements. Rather than taking a Gen Ed to simply “get it out of the way”, work with your advisor to find an avenue where you can use Gen Eds to your advantage.
  4. Gen Eds consist of both core and knowledge area requirements (as you can learn about above). English, Math, and American Institutions comprise the core. These courses are fundamental to your success. Due to this, we strongly encourage completion of the core before 60 credits.

Advisors want students to understand their path at SUU. Please feel free to schedule an appointment with us so that you understand how Gen Eds are utilized in your education!