GE Program Goals

Cal Poly's GE Program seeks to promote connections between the various areas so students and faculty will perceive GE courses as interrelated rather than isolated fragments. By placing basic knowledge in a larger context, each course in the program should provide a vision of how its subject matter is an important component of GE. Students should understand the value of a discipline being studied as well as its relationship to other disciplines. Students are encouraged to complete foundational courses as early as possible.
 

Lower-division coursework has been designed to give students the knowledge and skills to move to more complex materials. The three-courses in Area 1: English Communication and Critical Thinking, for example, provide instruction and practice in the kinds of skills in writing, speaking, and critical thinking that students will need in later courses. Consequently, students are expected to complete this sequence during their freshman year, and by no later than the end of their sophomore year. By the end of the sophomore year, students should also complete lower-division courses in Area 2: Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning; Area 3: Arts and Humanities, Area 4: Social Sciences; Area 5: Physical and Life Sciences; and Area 6: Ethnic Studies.