General Education Requirements

General education is the foundation of a college education, providing students with the core literacies, critical thinking, and competencies that will enable their success in subsequent coursework and prepare them for lifelong learning. At an access institution like UWM, general education is critical to helping students prepare for their major coursework and for college education more generally.  

Effective general education programs are designed to achieve specific, measurable outcomes that ensure that students have college-level baseline skills in communication, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and cultural understanding that will make them successful in subsequent coursework and as well-rounded citizens. Universities of Wisconsin institutions share a commitment to liberal education, as defined by the American Associations of Colleges and Universities: “Liberal education is a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement.” To that end, the Universities of Wisconsin and UWM specify key learning outcomes that students should be able to demonstrate at graduation:

• Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Natural World including breadth of knowledge and the ability to think beyond one’s discipline, major, or area of concentration. This knowledge can be gained through the study of the arts, humanities, languages, sciences, and social sciences. 
• Critical and Creative Thinking Skills including inquiry, problem solving, and higher order qualitative and quantitative reasoning. 
• Effective Communication Skills including listening, speaking, reading, writing, and information literacy. 
• Intercultural Knowledge and Competence including the ability to interact and work with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures; to lead or contribute support to those who lead; and to empathize with and understand those who are different. 
• Individual, Social, and Environmental Responsibility including civic knowledge and engagement (both local and global), ethical reasoning, and action. 

General education provides a broad body of knowledge as context for specialization, and the general education emphasis on conceptual inquiry leads students to more comprehensive views of their specialties. In this way, students learn to relate particular tasks to general areas and thus acquire sufficient agility of mind and mobility of skills to move from problem to problem as knowledge develops.

General Education Requirements

The General Education Requirements (GER) for UWM include 30 credits (10 courses) in six categories that are designed to assure basic student competencies and provide a broad body of knowledge as a context for specialization.

1. Criteria for General Education Courses – Courses eligible to be designated for inclusion in the general education array must:
   1. Meet the criteria described in detail in Appendix A. These criteria include requirements that courses must be aimed at a general audience, help students transition to higher level classes, be supported by co-curricular structures, and be enhanced with high-impact practice quality elements; and 
   2. Not have specific course or class standing prerequisites, except for 1) Math and Quantitative Reasoning (MQR) courses that have the Standard MQR Prerequisite; 2) non-MQR courses that may require the completion of the Standard MQR Prerequisite (this may also include a lower Math placement, such as Math Placement Level 10 or 20); 3) courses that require English 102; 4) courses that have as prerequisites other GER courses in the same category; 5) Honors College GER courses that have as prerequisites other GER courses, which may be in different distribution areas. 
2. General Education Courses Required by Programs – Programs may not compel students to take specific general education courses in addition to courses required by the major; students should be able to complete the degree within the minimum number of required credits regardless of which general education courses they choose. However, general education courses can be required within a major and can simultaneously fulfill both general education and major requirements.
3. General Education Categories
   1. Civics and Perspectives (a minimum of six credits in at least two courses) – Courses in this area explore how identities, perspectives, and civic contexts shape people’s experiences and participation in society. Students will develop the ability to analyze diverse worldviews and lived experiences, and to understand how historical, cultural, or governmental forces influence community life, public decision-making, and engagement in democratic societies. 
   2. Communication and Literacy (a minimum of six credits in at least two courses) – The Communication and Literacy requirement ensures that students will be creative, flexible, and effective communicators, whether speaking or writing. This requirement may be satisfied by either: 
      1. Earning a passing grade in English 102 (or equivalent) and three additional credits in Communication and Literacy courses; or 
      2. Placing out of taking English 102 by earning a suitable score on a test as determined by the English Department, and six credits in Communication and Literacy courses. 
   3. Humanities and Arts (a minimum of six credits in at least two courses) – Courses in this area focus on: 
      1. The history, philosophy, theory, or practice of the creative, expressive, and interpretive arts, and provide students with insight into the skills and disciplines involved in the creative arts and communications. Students will gain an understanding of the creative process and the ways that creative thinking associated with the arts can be more broadly applicable; or 
      2. The study of human thought, history, language, and artistic expression, fostering a deeper understanding of our shared human experience. Students will enhance their abilities to engage with multifaceted ideas and develop effective communication skills to articulate complex concepts. 
   4. Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (a minimum of three credits in at least one course) – Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (MQR) involve the recognition, construction, and use of valid mathematical models to analyze and manipulate quantitative information to reach reasonable conclusions, predictions, or inferences. Courses in this area ensure that students will have the ability to evaluate, construct, and communicate arguments using quantitative methods and formal reasoning.
      
      Courses satisfying the MQR requirement must make significant use of quantitative tools in the context of other course material and formally assess for proficiency in applying these quantitative tools. MQR courses may be offered in a variety of disciplines, but each MQR course will have a Standard MQR Prerequisite of a minimum math placement level, a 100-level Math course, or other equivalent coursework. 
   5. Natural Science and Wellness (a minimum of six credits in at least two courses, one of which must be a course with a laboratory component)
      Courses in this area must: 
      1. Explore the natural world and its processes, as well as how scientific endeavors affect our interaction with the natural world. Students will learn how scientists advance our understanding of the world through investigation, experimentation, and/or innovation. They will gain an understanding of how scientific inquiry impacts their lives, now and in the future; or 
      2. Investigate physical and mental health and wellbeing among individuals or populations, including social and environmental determinants of health. Students will explore scientific, practical, or experiential aspects of health and wellbeing across levels of influence including individual, interpersonal, environmental, cultural, or societal. Courses will use real-world applications to develop health and wellbeing literacy and foster skills in critical thinking and problem solving. 
   6. Social and Behavioral Science (a minimum of three credits in at least one course) – Courses in this area investigate human behavior, society, culture, and values of the past and present. Students will develop the ability to assess diverse and substantial artifacts of human knowledge, and to think critically about cultural traditions, social organizations, and institutions. 

Procedural Matters

The following recommendations relate to the implementation and administration of general education requirements. 

1. Governance and Administration
   1. The Academic Program and Curriculum Committee (APCC) shall establish policy in general education. This responsibility includes approving all courses to be included in or removed from the array; establishing policies pertaining to student appeals; monitoring the academic impact of the requirements; and determining other necessary curricular matters not specified in this policy, such as transfer equivalencies. 
   2. The faculty of an individual school or college may request exemption from portions of the general education requirements for one or more of its programs. Such requests should be addressed to the Academic Program and Curriculum Committee and may be based on such grounds as excessive credit burden on majors, conflict with accreditation standards in the profession, or other academic grounds. Decisions of the Academic Program and Curriculum Committee may be appealed to the Faculty Senate. 
   3. Individual student compliance will be monitored in the same manner as compliance with other curricular requirements, e.g. by college advisory staff and by the Office of the Registrar. 
   4. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall manage the regular operations of the General Education Requirements, with the assistance of the Office of the Registrar and the separate schools or colleges, in accordance with present procedures. The responsibility of Academic Affairs includes ensuring the regular assessment of general education courses; advising schools and colleges and the APCC on student demand and appropriate capacity; monitoring the overall general education array for efficiency and student success; and advising schools and colleges and the APCC accordingly. 
   5. In order to maintain consistency and efficiency across the general education curriculum, the member appointed to the APCC by the Office of Academic Affairs, as specified in the APCC charter, will advise the committee on matters related to general education, recommend courses to be added or removed from the general education requirements, and inform the committee as needed about overall GER efficiency and student success. 
2. Admission Requirements – The APCC shall work with the Admissions and Records Policy Committee to review admissions standards in relation to general education requirements. 
3. Registration, Records, and Class Standing – The Faculty Senate shall establish a single set of rules for advancement of class standing in all undergraduate schools and colleges. (See Faculty Document No. 3394). 
4. Effective Date – These revised requirements will apply to all new students entering the institution beginning fall 2026. 

• Appendix A - Criteria for General Education Courses

December 11, 2025

No. 2836R4

May 9, 2024

No. 2836R3

May 9, 2023

No. 2836R2

May 10, 2018

No. 2836R1

May 17, 1984

Revised

October 18, 1984

Amended

November 29, 1984

Approved

June 1, 2002

Changes made to reflect Faculty Senate Actions 1986 to June 1, 2002

April 12, 2011

Revised

February 16, 2012

Faculty Document 1382 as revised in FD 2836 Approved