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General Education Requirements

Undergraduates Only:

The university currently is reviewing its general education requirements in order to ensure that graduates of Governors State University have a broad foundation in the liberal arts and sciences.

All undergraduate degree-seeking students are required to meet the university general education requirements before graduation.

Students may fulfill these requirements in any one of four ways:

  • Transfer to Governors State University having earned an A.A. or A.S. degree from a regionally accredited Illinois community college.
  • Complete the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) and have it noted on their transcript.
  • Complete an approved undergraduate teacher education program at Governors State University.
  • Complete the following distribution requirements, with a grade of “C” or better in each course, either by presenting acceptable transfer courses or completing specific courses at Governors State University.
  • Communication: 3 courses (9 semester credits*), including two courses in writing (6 semester credits) and one course (3 semester credits) in oral communication
  • Mathematics: 1 to 2 courses (3 to 6 semester credits)
  • Physical and Life Sciences: 2 courses (7 to 8 semester credits) with one course selected from the life sciences and one course from the physical sciences, including at least one laboratory course
  • Humanities and Fine Arts: 3 courses (9 semester credits) with at least one course selected from humanities and at least one course from the fine arts
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 courses (9 semester credits) with courses selected from at least two disciplines

TOTAL: 12 to 13 courses (37 to 41 semester credits)

The Illinois Transferable General Education Core Curriculum (IAI GECC) requires a total of 12 to 13 courses (37 to 41 semester credits) or a total of 12 to 14 courses (56 to 61 quarter credits).
A quarter hour is equal to 2/3 of a semester hour. For example, 5 quarter hours course is equal to 3.33 semester hours.

Download a list of GSU courses that satisfy general education requirements.

Education majors have different requirements for general education. For a list of the general education requirements for Teacher Certification.