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| General Education Program |
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| The General Education Program focuses on the skills, knowledge, values and ethics that Aquinas College believes each of its graduates needs to be prepared for career and life in a rapidly changing world. The program is rooted in the mission of the College, the Dominican tradition and the liberal arts. It is structured to include both requirements and choice, a core and distribution component; it supports and is integrated into the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years of a student’s education at Aquinas. |
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| Aquinas College’s Philosophy of General Education |
| The General Education Program combines a breadth of knowledge with the sequential development of a wide range of skills, expanding the students’ knowledge and vision for their growth as human beings for their personal and professional futures. It is intended to foster the development of a desire for knowledge and truth, a spirit of intellectual dialogue and inquiry. It should provide curricular and/or co-curricular opportunities for a knowledge of the Catholic intellectual tradition; for discovering and deepening the spiritual dimension of their lives; for recognizing the dignity and value of the individual with an appreciation of individual differences and the unique gifts each brings to the community; and for developing personally as productive, creative, competent, and compassionate individuals. All this should be done within an educational atmosphere in which all students, regardless of gender or race, have equal opportunity to contribute and learn. |
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| The structure of the General Education Program includes some required core courses, whose content crosses other academic disciplines, as well as some areas of choice within a modified distribution system. Furthermore, the program provides an integrated and coherent learning experience complementing the work of the major, which provides the opportunity for an in-depth study of a student’s area of interest. |
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| The Aquinas faculty has recognized the advantage of a General Education Program, which is structured as a framework over the first three years. It is an integrated series of courses, and represents areas of skill level, knowledge and values that are integrated throughout an Aquinas education. For an effective program, teaching which acknowledges the various ways in which students learn is important.The program involves coordination of cocurricular activities with curricular content and the philosophy, goals, and objectives of general education. |
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| Goals of the General Education Program |
- To help students develop a wide range of skills necessary for their personal and professional futures.
- In accordance with the nature of the institution as a Catholic College, to help students develop through serious faith reflection into caring, compassionate persons engaged in building community through knowledge of their faith, the exercise of societal responsibility and a service ethic.
- To provide students with the tools and experiences to become lifelong learners with a desire to continue their religious, cultural, aesthetic and intellectual development.
- To provide students with opportunities to develop a global/ international perspective and an understanding and appreciation of other peoples and cultures.
- To provide students with an awareness of the importance of sound, ethical decisions and with concepts, models, approaches and tools used to make those decisions for themselves.
- To provide students with an exposure to a curriculum which reflects and fosters an understanding of pluralism in the United States.
- To create a learning environment conducive to the awareness of the religious dimension of human existence.
- To help students achieve an understanding of systems and organizations which structure and affect their lives.
- To provide students with learning experiences in bodies of knowledge and methodologies within the liberal arts tradition.
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| General Education Courses |
| First Year |
| GE101 Inquiry and Expression (3) |
An integrated collegiate skills course that emphasizes writing, reading research,
oral communication, and critical thinking. These skills are developed by
examining contemporary American Pluralism issues, including race, class, popular
culture and gender. Library and electronic research skills are directly applied
as students conclude the course with a research paper and oral presentation.
Students must successfully complete this course with a minimum of a C– or
better in order to take GE201. |
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| GE103 Introduction to Information Literacy (1) |
| This introductory course is the first step in giving students the skills they need
to become life long learners. GE103 is a required 1-credit course for first year
students at Aquinas College.The purpose of the course is to introduce students
to the process of finding, organizing, and using information in print, electronic
and other formats. |
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| Second Year |
| GE201 Humanities (3) |
| A study of the development of cultures and civilizations from ancient Egypt
through the Middle Ages with selected works of literature, art, philosophy, and
history. Attention to ideas and values as they emerge throughout the Western
World. |
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| GE202 Humanities (3) |
| A study of the development of cultures and civilizations from the Renaissance
through the end of the 19th century with selected works of literature, art, music,
and history. Attention to ideas and values as they merge throughout the Western
World.
Prerequisite: GE201. |
