GENERAL EDUCATION

Customize your journey at SOU.
Choose from six skills or capacities that students need and employers seek!

General Education Should Not Be One-Size-Fits-All

Fewer credits, greater purpose, personalized choices.

We know that your education is a tremendous commitment of time, money, and personal effort, and SOU wants all learners to make the most of their valuable resources. This is why our General Education (GE) program has fewer credits, is focused on developing and strengthening real-life capacities, and offers choices based on your interests.

The total general education requirements each student must complete will range from 39 to 44 credit hours, down from the 64 that have typically been needed in the past. A total of 180 credit hours – including elective courses and the specific requirements of various majors – will still be required to earn a bachelor’s degree, but students will have more flexibility to choose electives that interest them, support their majors or enable them to pursue minors or add-on academic certificates.

Under the new general education requirements, students will choose classes that offer them opportunities to practice skills such as critical inquiry and analysis, creativity and innovation or numerical literacy, rather than choosing, for instance, three science classes, one math course and two humanities courses. The classes would have to be on the approved list for those capacities, and provide students the opportunity to practice and apply a specific set of skills.

The new general education model requires 12 credit hours to satisfy lower-division requirements for the Purposeful Learning capacity, and three or four credits each for the Communication and Expression, Creativity and Innovation, Inquiry and Analysis, Numerical Literacy and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion capacities. It also requires a total of 12 credit hours of upper-division coursework to satisfy requirements in various capacities.

SOU’s compact General Education program is a part of your learning from day one to diploma, seamlessly integrating with your major and giving you more opportunities to earn complementary minors and certificates. As contemporary disciplines and fields of study continue to innovate, SOU knows that strengthening human capacities, no matter your major, will always remain relevant and valuable.

Take a moment.

Consider the building blocks of your university diploma.

General Education matters! All students build their undergraduate degrees by completing General Education and selecting a major. Depending on their interests and ambitions, many students also choose to complete a minor or certificate or even pursue a double major.

Here are FOUR good reasons why General Education matters.

No major field of study on its own offers enough courses to add up to 180 credits!

GE promotes knowledge diversity and exploration, which are the hallmarks of a quality diploma from an accredited university.

GE engages the core capacities, skills, perspectives, and experiences our community and employers know are critical to personal and professional success.

Finally, learners can be more confident about their career choices as GE is the opportunity to explore options, clarify goals, and refine visions for possible futures.

At SOU, General Education courses work across programs, majors, minors, and certificates to effectively guide undergraduates toward their first university degrees and build the capacities they need now and for the rest of their lives.

SOU University Studies - General Education at Southern Oregon University Learn More

GE Capacities

A deeper dive into the ongoing conversation about careers and higher education quickly points to the capacities that will empower learners to thrive in a contemporary world. 21st-century capacities are more than the ability to work with computers or pursue science, technology, and engineering studies.

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Seminar Courses

Seminar courses personalize learning, jumpstart academic skills, and unlock the many opportunities SOU offers. Seminars develop solid communication, thinking and research skills, encourage a dynamic relationship with learning generally, and support learners’ academic success at SOU.

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Special Programs

SOU offers special programs to fit different learners’ needs. The Bridge Program helps students make the transition to SOU. Two “Degree in 3” Programs accelerate the graduation timeline. The Honors College offers an active and challenging learning environment.

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Seminar Advisors

Personalized Advising Every Step of the Way

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What General Education Students are Saying

Purposeful Learning Seminar introduced me to ideas I was never exposed to growing up. My view on life opened up and changed. I learned to create an optimistic lens and not to dwell too much on the hard stuff. Lastly, I really found and accepted myself, and I found acceptance from others. I lost fears and gained the confidence to trust in who I am.

Gladdys Palma Southern Oregon University Student

Santiago PalmaBA in Health and Physical Education, Minor in Spanish – 2021

I walked into Purposeful Learning thinking it was going to be some non-important busywork GEN ED class. I quickly found with every assignment a deeper meaning that helped improve both my critical thinking and my social skills. My classmates became a family that supported each other throughout the entire course.

Raef WheatonBA in Theatre & ASL (Self-designed Major) – 2022

Purposeful Learning Seminar was the perfect course to prepare me for my academic journey here at SOU. Writing research papers doesn’t scare me anymore thanks to the useful tips and information presented in my seminar courses. Seminar not only helped me academically, it also helped me to feel better integrated into college life.