Academic Requirements For Transfer Applicants

About General Education

All students seeking a bachelor’s degree from SU are required to complete a series of courses that span several disciplines; this program is called General Education. General Education promotes intellectual development and provides students with a common ground of understanding and competence for meeting the challenges of today’s world as educated individuals.

General Education Requirements

While every SU student must complete requirements in each of the Group I-IV categories, how the requirements are fulfilled varies from major to major. The following provides you an overview of what courses are required for General Education.

Group I – English Composition and Literature (2 courses)
- ENGL 103 – Research and Composition
- 1 literature course. For example, but not limited to, Understanding Poetry, Studies in English Literature, African-American Literature
Group II – History (2 courses)
- HIST 101 World Civilization I OR HIST 102 World Civilization II
- Any of the above courses not already taken or any history course above HIST 103. Elementary and Early Childhood Education Majors Please Note: Group IIA must be HIST 101 or HIST 102; Group IIB must be any history course above HIST 103.
Group III – Humanities & Social Sciences (3 courses)
- Select one course from one of the following areas:
  - ART
  - CMAT – Communication Arts
  - DANC or THEA – Dance or Theater (not both)
  - MDFL – Modern Foreign Languages For example, but not limited to, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, sign language.
  - MUSC – Music
  - PHIL – Philosophy
- Select one course from one of the following areas:
  - ANTH – Anthropology
  - CADR – Conflict Analysis Dispute Resolution
  - ECON – Economics
  - GEOG – Human Geography
  - POSC – Political Science
  - PSYC – Psychology
  - SOCI – Sociology
- Select one course from either Group III A or III B (course must be from a different area then previously selected). For example, Elementary Spanish I (SPAN 101) will satisfy Group IIIA (humanities) and General Psychology (PSYC 101) will satisfy Group IIIB (social science); to satisfy Group IIIC select one more course from EITHER IIIA or IIIB, except SPAN or PSYC courses.
Group IV – Natural Science, Math and Computer Science (4 courses)
- Select courses with laboratories from at least two of the following four areas (at least six credit hours total):
  - BIOL – Biology
  - CHEM – Chemistry
  - GEOL OR Physical GEOG – Geology or Physical Geography PHYS – Physics For example, a biology course with a lab and a physics course with a lab will satisfy this requirement. However, two chemistry courses with labs will not satisfy Group IVA because they represent the same discipline.
- Select one additional course (need not be a lab) from:
  - Group IVA
  - COSC – Computer Science
  - MATH – Mathematics Any lab or non-lab science disciplines listed in Group IVA or a computer science or math course may be used to satisfy this requirement.
- Select one MATH course
  - Group V – Health Fitness (1 course) All students must complete PHEC 106 Personalized Health/Fitness

Check the Catalog

Frequently, some General Education requirements are met by your major requirements; they will be indicated under “General Education Requirements Fulfilled by Major” in the program page of your intended major in the University catalog. To view the view the program requirements for your intended major and to see how General Education fits into your program of study, go to the University catalog.

What About Courses?

If you aren’t sure if a course meets General Education requirements, refer to the Courses section of the University catalog where the course descriptions indicate if the course meets General Education requirements and if so, which group.