A NEW APPROACH
There’s nothing generic about the University of Arizona’s redefined GenEd program. Guided by decades of research and input, the customizable curriculum better prepares today’s students for the challenges of tomorrow.
WHAT IS IT?
32* Credits. Hundreds of Paths
The GenEd program is divided into five segments.
GenEd In Practice
The combination of classes that students create is up to them, based on their desired career. The goal: To take standardized education requirements to the next level.
Example: A student would like to work for a nonprofit organization that works with underprivileged communities in the Southwest. They may be encouraged to take an anthropology class focused on the history of people in the Southwest.
Engaging Environments
The classes aren’t the only things that set the University of Arizona’s GenEd program apart. Dynamic, interactive education spaces disrupt the stereotypical setting. Students aren’t just talked to, they’re getting hands-on and putting lessons into practice immediately.
Real-World Surroundings
Low student-to-faculty ratio
Active faculty involvement
In-class student engagement
Participatory labs, studios, and makerspaces
HOW IT WORKS
Completely designed by students for their future career goals and interests, the refreshed GenEd program is a customizable combo of 30+ credits that changes perspectives and sets Wildcats apart.
⬤ UNIV 101 - 1 credit
⬤ UNIV 301 - 1 credit
⬤ Foundations - 9 credits
⬤ Exploring Perspectives - 12 credits
⬤ Building Connections - 9 credits
⬤ Degree Programs - 88 credits
HISTORY & IMPLEMENTATION
Why Change?
As students’ academic needs evolve and the world grows more complex, it is clear that the opportunity to update and improve general education at the University of Arizona is of utmost importance. With support from the university strategic plan, a committee of professors, students, and staff have worked diligently to build a curriculum that anticipates the needs of tomorrow’s students, and allows flexibility for individualized career paths.
Implementation
In most cases, the new program serves students who started taking classes at the University of Arizona in Spring 2022 or after. For the Tiers Program, which serves students who started taking classes before Spring 2022, please refer to our Gen Ed program, the Tiers Program.
Our featured Black Artists this month are the sculptor Augusta Savage (1892-1962) and the photographer Adrian Octavius Walker. You can learn more about Augusta Savage through the Smithsonian and the New York Times (access through the UA Libraries). Learn more about Adrian Octavius Walker on his website.
Our featured Black Humanists this month are the historian Arturo Schomburg (1874-1938) and the human rights lawyer Marian Wright Edelman. You can learn more about Arturo Shomburg in this New York Library blog post. Learn more about Marian Wright Edelman from the Children's Defense Fund website.
Our featured Black Natural Scientistis this month are the chemist Alice Augusta Ball (1892-1916) and the aerospace psychophysiologist Patricia Cowings. You can learn more about how Alice Augusta Ball discovered a new way to treat leprosy in the early twentieth century on this website. Learn more about Patricia Cowings from Sci Journal.
Our featured Black Social Scientists this month are the journalist and anthropologist Ida B Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) and the psychologist Dr. Claude Steele. You can learn more about Ida B. Wells-Barnett on this website. Learn more about Claude Steele on his Stanford webpage.