John Muir College :: Celebrating the Independent Spirit

General Education Requirements

What is general education?

It is that part of a student's college education that is broadly based vs. a major which is focused more narrowly upon one area within a given department. Courses taken for general education offer students the opportunity to explore subjects outside their majors and provide a broad context - intellectual, social, cultural, technological and so on - within which the particular subject matter of the major may be understood. Many students who try something new as part of their general education requirements find it so intriguing that they end up changing their major, adding a minor, or taking electives in a field they never expected to pursue!

What will I study for my general education requirements?

By the time they graduate, Muir students must complete four year-long sequences from four different areas of learning and two analytical writing courses. An "area" is a broad area of study such as the Humanities or the Social Sciences.

Each sequence consists of three courses and the four sequences must be from the following areas:

One Social Science sequence click for listing...

One Mathematics (Calculus) or Natural Science sequence click for listing...

Two sequences selected from two of the following areas: Fine Arts, Humanities, or Foreign Languages click for listing...

Fine Arts

Choose a year-long sequence.
Courses marked # must be taken in sequential order.

# Music (MUS) 1A, 1B, 1C (Music Literacy)
Music (MUS) 4 plus any two from 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13AF, 13AM, 13AS, 14, or 15
Music (MUS) 5, 7, 14
Theatre Dance General Intro (TDGE) 1 plus two courses from Theatre Dance Acting (TDAC) 1, Theatre Dance Design (TDDE) 1, Theatre Dance General Film(TDGE) 10 or Theatre Dance Playwriting (TDPW 1)
Theater/History (TDHT) 10, 21, 22, 23 (choose three)
Visual Arts (VIS) 1, 2, or 3 (choose two) plus 111
Visual Arts (VIS) 20, 21A, 21B, 22, 111 (choose three)
Visual Arts (VIS) 22, 84, 154 (VIS 84 is a prerequisite to VIS 154)

Humanities

Choose a year-long sequence.

History (HILD) 2A, 2B, 2C
History (HILD) 7A, 7B, 7C
History (HILD) 10, 11, 12
Lit/English (LTEN) 21, 22, 23, 25, 26 (choose three)
Lit/English (LTEN) 27, 28, 29
Lit/World (LTWL) 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4F, 4M (choose three)
Lit/World (LTWL) 19A, 19B, 19C
Lit/Writing (LTWR) 8A, 8B, 8C (MCWP 40 + 50 are prerequisites)
Philosophy (PHIL) 13, 14, 15
Philosophy (PHIL) 31, 32, 33
Third World Studies (TWS) 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 (choose three)

Foreign Languages

Choose a year-long sequence.
Courses marked # must be taken in sequential order.
More advanced courses in any of the foreign language sequences may be applied toward this general-education sequence.

# Chinese Studies (CHIN) 10A*/B*/C* or 20A*/B*/C*
*please see CHIN dept. for D/M/N series placement
# Japanese Studies (JAPN) 10A, 10B, 10C or 20A, 20B, 20C
# Judaic Studies/Hebrew (JUDA) 1, 2, 3
# Linguistics Courses 1A/AX, 1B/BX, 1C/CX (Beginning Arabic (LIAB) or Portuguese (LIPO)) (effective Fall 2003)
# Linguistics Courses 1A/AX, 1B/BX, 1C/CX, 1D/DX (American Sign Language (LISL), French (LIFR), German (LIGM), Italian (LIIT), Spanish (LISP))
# Literature--Any three literature courses, numbered 2 or higher, in one of the following languages: French (LTFR), German (LTGM), Italian (LTIT), Russian (LTRU), Spanish (LTSP) (Combination of foreign language and literature in the same foreign language may be taken : i.e. LISP 1C/CX, LTSP 2A, LTSP 2B).)
# Literature/Greek (LTGK) 1, 2, 3
# Literature/Italian (LTIT) 1A, 1B, 1C
# Korean Literature (LTKO) 1A, 1B, 1C or 2A, 2B, 2C (effective Fall 2003)
# Literature/Latin (LTLA) 1, 2, 3
# Literature/Russian (LTRU) 1A, 1B, 1C or 1AB, 1BC, or 2A, 2B, 2C

Two analytical writing courses (MCWP 40 and MCWP 50) click for listing...

PLEASE NOTE OVERLAP RULE: A maximum of three courses may be used to satisfy both a general education requirement and major requirements. In certain majors, depending upon the major requirements, students may have to take an additional general education sequence in order to meet the three-course overlap limit. click for listing...

Depending upon the major requirements, students may have to take an additional general education sequence in order to meet the three-course overlap limit.

Why is Muir's general education program so popular with its students?

Muir's GE requirements offer students breadth, depth, flexibility and allow students to tailor general education selections to their personal academic interests and goals.

How does Muir's approach help me excel academically?

Muir's requirements accommodate a wide range of academic interests and a broad array of potential majors. Openness and flexibility of the curriculum make Muir College attractive both to students with well-defined academic interests and those who are still exploring various educational options.

General Education Requirements for Transfer Students

TAG or IGETC
- Writing: MCWP 50 or 125
UC Reciprocity
- Writing: MCWP 40 and 50 (Approved UC Courses may be used toward this requirement).
All Other Transfers
- Must complete Muir College General Education Requirements.
- Community College writing courses may not fulfill writing requirements.
All Transfer Students
- Must fulfill Muir College Graduation Requirements (Grad. check list)

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)

Earning a particular score in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level exams can earn you units toward graduation and in some cases also partially clear some general education and/or major requirements. Please note that you are not allowed to take an equivalent UC San Diego course for credit if you have received Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit. For a list of scores, units awarded, and courses each particular exam clears, consult the UC San Diego Catalog.