General Education — A Shared Experience

A university brings together many separate areas of learning, yet it is more than just a collection of specialized disciplines. The SJSU General Education (GE) Program incorporates the development of skills, the acquisition of knowledge, and the integration of knowledge through the study of facts, issues, and ideas. Regardless of major, all who earn undergraduate degrees should share common educational experiences, as they become university scholars. In combination with major, minor, and elective courses, the General Education curriculum should help students attain those attributes found in an educated person.

GE Workshops

Please join us to learn about pending changes to GE Program requirements, new GE curricular initiatives, and GE PLO assessment processes.

Register for a GE Workshop

GE Course Guidelines

Fall 2022 General Education Guidelines [pdf] were passed by the Academic Senate in May 2022 and are effective through Summer 2025. Beginning Fall 2025, the General Education Guidelines passed by the Senate in fall 2024 [pdf] go into effect. Departments are asked to update their GE syllabi according to the new Guidelines after spring 2024.

Read more about GE syllabus revisions and review. 

Area F: Ethnic Studies

Watch a 10-minute presentation by Dr. Joanne Rondilla, Assistant Professor from the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, about the definition of Ethnic Studies, including the background and learning goals/outcomes of the Area F requirement.  

Review the FAQs