General Education

Vision Statement
The BRIDGE General Education Program at Georgian Court University offers students a coherent and integrated learning experience in the Catholic intellectual tradition. This program aims to cultivate passion for intellectual growth and to foster informed, responsible, and creative citizenship for a complex 21st century world. Students who complete the BRIDGE will sharpen the intellectual and practical skills essential to their chosen field of study and necessary to their pursuit of personal, professional, civic and social goals. In addition, completion of the BRIDGE program enables students to discover pathways to life-long learning and to envision a future shaped by their engagement with the University’s mission and Mercy charism.

The BRIDGE program encourages students to develop self-knowledge within a broader understanding of others and the world. It emphasizes the importance of critical inquiry that leads to knowledge across fields of study and provides a means for students to think critically and creatively, connecting and building upon what they learn in their general education courses. Students examine conditions necessary for peace, justice, and sustainability, as well as the ways mercy and justice are integral for how we confront the present and vision the future.

GOAL 1: Foundational Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

Learning Outcome:

1. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply foundational knowledge in the arts, humanities, languages, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences.

GOAL 2: Intellectual and Practical Skills

Learning Outcomes: Students will demonstrate competence in

1. Critical and creative thinking, grounded in inquiry, analysis, and synthesis of information
2. Written and oral communication
3. Quantitative Literacy
4. Information Literacy
5. Teamwork and Problem Solving

GOAL 3: Personal and Social Responsibility

Learning Outcomes: Students will demonstrate

1. Ethical reasoning
2. Global awareness and respect for diverse cultural perspectives
3. Knowledge of the University’s mission and Mercy charism
4. Civic knowledge–local/global

GOAL 4: Integrative Learning

Learning Outcome:

1. Students will demonstrate the ability to make connections among courses in multiple disciplines, as well as between their experiences inside and outside the classroom.

The BRIDGE General Education Program (48-49 credits):

1. First Year Seminar: “Pathway to the Bridge” (GEN101*, 2 credits)
2. Academic Writing (3 credits) –EN111, its equivalent, or another approved course
3. Quantitative Analysis (3–4 credits)
4. Cornerstone Course: “Discovering the Self in the Big Universe” (GEN199**, 3 credits)
5. Eleven Courses in the following Content Knowledge Areas (34 credits):
   • History (3 credits)
   • Literature (3 credits)
   • Philosophy (3 credits)
   • Social Sciences (6 credits): 2 courses from different Social Science disciplines
   • Modern Language; Culture; Global Studies (3 credits)
   • Natural Sciences (4 credits)
   • Visual and Performing Arts (3 credits)
   • Religious Studies (3 credits)
   • Women’s and Gender Studies (3 credits)
   • Ethics (3 credits)
6. Capstone Course: “Visioning the Future: Justice, Compassion, and Service” (GEN400—3 credits)
7. Experiential Learning: 1) GEN400, which Includes a service learning project, and 2) a service learning project completed in a course other than GEN101 or GEN400, an internship/ practicum/ field placement, or an approved education abroad experience.

*Students transferring to GCU with 12 or more credits will be waived from GEN101.
**Students entering GCU with 45 or more credits will be waived from GEN199.

Students will complete one College Composition course and earn a grade of C or better, PLUS complete a minimum of four Writing Intensive (WI) courses.

College Composition courses are offered by the English Department and focus in depth on writing process, research, academic writing conventions, rhetorical skills, audience awareness, and other core elements of writing. College Composition courses include EN111 or EN221 (honors placement only), or their equivalents.

Some students may not be placed directly in EN111 and will be required to take EN105 and/or EN106. While these are credit-bearing courses, they do not count toward the Georgian Court University Writing Requirement.

All sections of both GEN199 and GEN400 are WI courses. Other WI courses may fulfill general education, major, or minor requirements, or may be taken as general electives. Either EN 111 or EN 221 must be taken as a pre- or co-requisite for all WI courses.

Course sections designated as WI will appear on the schedule for registration with the letter “WI.”

All Georgian Court University students must earn a minimum of 42 credits in general education and complete the writing and experiential learning requirements. All students must either transfer in or take courses in the following general education categories as part of the Common Intellectual Experience:

1. Religious Studies
2. Women’s and Gender Studies
3. Ethics
4. Capstone (GEN400)

Students who have not earned a total of 42 credits in the general education area after completing the four Common Intellectual Experience courses must earn the remaining general education credits by choosing courses that satisfy general education categories for which the students did not transfer equivalent courses.

Transfer students should consult the Undergraduate Catalog for more detailed information about the Writing Requirement and the General Education program.

View the following General Education resources in the Undergraduate Catalog to learn more about these requirements.

• The Bridge General Education Program: Categories and Courses (Section III)
• Advanced Placement Credits & GCU Equivalents (Table II-A)
• Courses Accepted in Transfer for Incoming Transfer Students (Table II-B)
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General Education Information (Table II-C)
• DSST (Formerly DANTES) Credits (Table II-D)