General Education Program
Overview
General education, or what at George Fox we refer to as the liberal arts core, is that part of the undergraduate college curriculum required of all graduates which gives them a common experience and helps implement the distinctive university mission. Rather than being just a collection of “extra” courses, the liberal arts core is a coherent, sequential program designed by faculty to help students cultivate knowledge, develop skills, and foster dispositions that will help them become integrative, Christ-centered lifelong learners.
At George Fox, five themes are woven throughout the coursework in the liberal arts core: Communication, Collaboration, Critique, Care and Christ. These themes are introduced, reinforced and practiced through the following coursework.
General Education Requirements
Liberal Arts and the Christian Life
Complete the following:
Choose one of the following:
Essential Skills
- Students enrolled in LIBA 100 have a chance to fulfill both of these requirements through enrollment in Writing Lab instruction during their first semester.
- Students unable to complete the writing portfolio requirement during their enrollment in LIBA 100 must take and pass WRIT 111 (3) to satisfy their portfolio requirement. They must also separately pass the timed writing assessment (administered by the Writing Lab) to complete the writing competency milestone.
- Students unable to pass the timed writing assessment during their enrollment in LIBA 100 will be required to strengthen their writing through a writing improvement plan designed by the Writing Lab until they can pass the timed writing assessment.
- For transfer students who have LIBA 100 waived, a college-level writing course (equivalent to WRIT 110 College Writing) completed at a previous institution will satisfy the writing portfolio requirement. If they have not taken a writing course, they must enroll in and pass WRIT 111 to satisfy the writing portfolio requirement. Transfer students must also pass the timed writing assessment through the Writing Lab in order to satisfy the college writing competency milestone.
- Students transferring to George Fox with an approved transfer degree have their college writing competency satisfied through their transfer degree. For a list of approved transfer degrees please visit our Transfer Credit page.
The math requirement is waived for students entering with a SAT math score of 600 or above (if test was taken prior to March 2016) or a SAT math score of 620 or above (test taken March 2016 or later) or an ACT score of 28 or above.
Other students meet the requirement by successfully completing one of the following classes:
Broad, Integrative Learning
Complete the following:
OR
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Complete the following:
OR
requirements through participation in music ensembles. Please note that due to NASM
accreditation rules, Music majors are not eligible for this general education substitution.
To meet the requirement, a student must earn at least 3 credits total in approved
ensembles, and must be enrolled in one or more ensembles each semester for four
semesters (participation in more than one ensemble in any given semester still only
counts as one semester for fulfillment of this requirement). A student may participate
in different ensembles in different semesters. Following completion of the four required
semesters, the student must successfully complete a GE fine arts assessment with the
Music Department. Responsibility lies with the student to request this assessment. The
requirement is not complete until this successful assessment has been recorded on the
student’s record.
Eligible ensembles are: Men's or Women's Chorale, Concert Choir, Symphonic Band,
and George Fox University Symphony Orchestra.
OR
Art
Theatre
Music
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Note: An SSCI 205 Social Scientific Perspectives course may be counted for either the HIST/PSCI/INTL (HPI) requirement or the ECON/PSYC/SOCI (EPS) requirement, with the disciplines being integrated in the course determining which requirement may be met by the course.
a. If an SSCI 205 course integrates two disciplines from HIST, PSCI, and INTL, then the course will only satisfy the HPI requirement.
b. If the course integrates two disciplines from ECON, PSYC, and SOCI, then the EPS requirement will be met.
c. If an SSCI 205 course integrates disciplines across the two lists (e.g. HIST and ECON), the class may be applied to either (but only one) requirement.
d. A student may take two SSCI 205 courses to complete the History and Social Sciences requirement as long as one course contains an HPI discipline and the other contains an EPS discipline.
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
- LITR 241 and LITR 242 may be taken for Humanities credit or Intercultural credit, but one course cannot be counted for both requirements.
- Students who take GEED 365 Cross-Cultural Experience - International (2) must also complete the second part of the course GEED 465 (1), offered the May term after GEED 365.
Alternative option:
Students may choose to design their own intercultural experience. For example, a student may participate in a short-term cultural immersion trip or a longer-term interaction in a local, but culturally-different community. If the intercultural experience does not have academic credit attached to it, it must be approved in advance by the Center for Study Abroad no later than the first week of the student’s senior year, and must be completed by the time of graduation. Past experiences are not eligible options to meet this requirement. Please contact the Center for Study Abroad for specific requirements to be eligible for this option, as well as requirements to meet approved intercultural experiences.