Rationale

The General Education Program at the University at Albany proposes a set of knowledge areas, perspectives, and competencies considered by the University to be central to the intellectual development of every undergraduate. Taken together, the coursework is intended to provide students with a foundation that both prepares them for continued work within their chosen major and minor fields and gives them the intellectual habits that will enable them to become lifelong learners. Courses within the program are designed not only to enhance students’ knowledge, but to provide them as well with new ways of thinking and with the ability to engage in critical analysis and creative activity.

Courses in the area of Disciplinary Perspectives emphasize multiple perspectives, enabling students to understand that subjects may be approached in a variety of ways and that different disciplines approach subjects in different ways. Courses in the area of Cultural and Historical Perspectives are designed to help students develop an understanding of their own identity and of their relation to various communities, and to increase their ability to interact effectively with persons from different cultural and regional backgrounds. The Foreign Language requirement is also designed to enhance students’ global awareness and to expand their knowledge of different cultures. Finally, courses in the area of Communication and Reasoning Competencies are designed to provide students with an enhanced ability to communicate with others, both through the written and spoken word, to enable them to take advantage of computing technology as a medium of communication. Courses in this area are also designed to develop students’ ability to reason in a variety of symbolic systems and contexts included in the Mathematics and Statistics requirement.

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