I. General Education Basic and Area Requirements

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The Basic and Area Requirements for General Education apply to all baccalaureate degrees at UH Hilo.

General Education provides a series of experiences designed to enable the student to become a broadly educated person, with skills for continuing, life-long education. General Education skills and knowledge are fostered throughout the undergraduate curriculum: in the lower-division courses designated as General Education Basic Requirements and General Education Area Requirements; in Writing Intensive courses; in courses that meet the Hawaiian/Asian/Pacific requirement; and in upper-division courses in all major programs. The University’s General Education program is designed, specifically, to provide the college student and graduate with the means to:

Think clearly and logically; communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; find, examine, and utilize information; and carry out fundamental numerical operations.
Gain knowledge of one’s body and mind; understand how human societies develop and operate; learn about the natural world—its forces, principles and occupants; and develop a familiarity with the cultural heritage and contributions of world cultures including their art, music, literature, and science.
Develop an understanding and awareness of the principles, methods, and thought processes utilized in academic/intellectual inquiries.
Recognize and understand the interdependence between mankind’s view of the biological and physical continuum and the development of culture, literature, and aesthetics.

Please Note: A new general education program is being developed and will be implemented in Fall 2010. The new requirements will apply only to students who enroll in Fall 2010 and after and to students whose enrollment has been interrupted for more than two consecutive semesters (excluding summer sessions) and continue regular enrollment in the Fall 2010 term or thereafter.

General Education Basic Requirements (All Majors)

1. English Composition Requirement (3 semester hours)

ENG 100 or 100T or ESL 100 or 100T

All entering Freshmen, continuing or transfer students without English 100, and all students for whom English is not a native language must take the UH Hilo Writing Placement Examination. It is strongly recommended that students complete the English composition requirement within their first 24 semester hours at UH Hilo.

2. Quantitative Reasoning (3 semester hours)

Select from any Math course at the 100 or 200 level (except 199 or 299).

3. World Cultures (6 semester hours)

Select two courses from the following:

Agriculture: AG 230
Anthropology: ANTH 100
English: ENG 201*, 202*, 253, 254, 275
Geography: GEOG 102
History: HIST 151, 152
Indigenous Studies: KIND 240
Political Science: POLS 251
Women’s Studies: WS 201*, 202*

*Note: ENG 201 and ENG 202 are the same courses as WS 201 and WS 202

General Education Area Requirements (All Majors)

1. Humanities Electives (9 semester hours)

Select from three different academic areas as listed below or from two different academic areas plus one Interdisciplinary course which is eligible for Humanities credit, such as Honors 200, 201, 202, 203.

Humanities Disciplines

Art
Linguistics
Communication
Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music)
English
Philosophy
Hawaiian Studies and Indigenous Studies
Religious Studies
Languages other than English

2. Social Sciences Electives (9 semester hours)

Select from three different academic areas as listed below or from two different academic areas plus one Interdisciplinary course which is eligible for Social Sciences credit, such as Honors 200, 201, 202, 203.

Social Sciences Disciplines

Anthropology
Business 100
Economics or Agricultural Economics 201
Geography
History
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
Women’s Studies

3. Natural Sciences Electives (10 semester hours, including 1 semester hour of laboratory in any discipline except the following: Agriculture, Computer Science, or Math)

Select from three different academic areas as listed below or from two different academic areas plus one Interdisciplinary course which is eligible for Natural Sciences credit.

Natural Sciences Disciplines

Agricultural Sciences (Aquaculture, Animal Science, Horticulture, Forestry, Plant Pathology, Soil)
Astronomy
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science

Environmental Science

Geology
Marine Science
Mathematics
Natural Science
Physics

Notes:

Only courses numbered below 299 may be counted for General Education credit. Also, no 199 course may be counted for General Education credit.
No course may be counted for more than one General Education requirement. Students are cautioned that, in a few instances, a single course has been approved as satisfying more than one of the General Education Basic or Area Requirements. However, students completing such a course may only receive credit toward a single such requirement. They will be offered their choice of which requirement is satisfied and will be expected to fulfill the other requirement(s) with other courses.
Courses which meet both major requirements and General Education requirements may be simultaneously counted for both. (Courses are not excluded from meeting the UH Hilo General Education requirements solely because they also may be required for a major.)
Courses which meet both General Education requirements and the Hawaiian/Asian/Pacific requirement may be simultaneously counted for both.
Courses which meet both General Education requirements and the Writing Intensive requirements may be simultaneously counted for both.

Transfer Students with an Associate of Arts Degree

Students transferring into UH Hilo with a transferable A.A. degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. regional accreditation agency will be exempted from the General Education requirements, unless specific course requirements are needed for a given major or specialty. The A.A. degree must have been completed prior to initial matriculation to UH Hilo.

This policy applies to students in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Economics, and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language admitted to UH Hilo beginning with the Fall 1999 semester; continuing students in these three colleges who enrolled at UH Hilo prior to Fall 1999 are not eligible for the waiver of General Education requirements. The policy also applies to transfer students in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management who were admitted to UH Hilo beginning with the Fall 2003 semester.

Transfer Students from within the University of Hawaiʻi System

Students who have six credits or fewer to complete their University of Hawaiʻi Community College A.A. degree may transfer to UH Hilo and be exempt from the UH Hilo General Education requirements providing the coursework for the community college A.A. degree is completed in the first semester at UH Hilo.

Other Transfer Students

All other transfer students must fulfill the General Education requirements appropriate to their major and degree, as stated in this Catalog.

Students Pursuing a Second Baccalaureate Degree

Students entering the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Economics, and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language at UH Hilo with a Bachelor of Arts degree (excluding other baccalaureate degrees) from a U.S. regionally accredited college or university will be deemed to have fulfilled the General Education requirements, unless specific prerequisites are needed in a given major. For a fuller discussion of requirements regarding second baccalaureate degrees, see the section of this Catalog entitled “Multiple Baccalaureate Degrees and Majors.”