General Education Requirements

General education objective and learning outcomes for undergraduate students seeking baccalaureate degrees at the University of Alaska Fairbanks:

  1. Build knowledge of human institutions, sociocultural processes, and the physical and natural world through the study of the natural and social sciences, technologies, mathematics, humanities, histories, languages and the arts.
    • Competence will be demonstrated for the foundational information in each subject area, its context and significance, and the methods used in advancing each.
  2. Develop intellectual and practical skills across the curriculum, including inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, problem solving, written and oral communication, information literacy, technological competence, and collaborative learning.
    • Proficiency will be demonstrated across the curriculum through critical analysis of proffered information, well-reasoned solutions to problems or inferences drawn from evidence, effective written and oral communication, and satisfactory outcomes of group projects.
  3. Acquire tools for effective civic engagement in local through global contexts, including ethical reasoning, intercultural competence, and knowledge of Alaska and Alaska issues.
    • Facility will be demonstrated through analyses of issues including dimensions of ethics, human and cultural diversity, conflicts and interdependencies, globalization and sustainability.   
  4. Integrate and apply learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies, adapting them to new settings, questions and responsibilities, and forming a foundation for lifelong learning.
    • Preparation will be demonstrated through the production of a creative or scholarly product that requires broad knowledge, appropriate technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, presentation and reflection.  

If you completed your bachelor's degree, an associate of arts degree or associate of science degree from a regionally accredited institution, you will be considered to have completed the equivalent of the general education requirements when you have been officially accepted to an undergraduate degree program at UAF.

Courses that satisfy the GER have course numbers ending with X. For example, WRTG F111X and COJO F141X meet specific GER communication requirements. Courses used to satisfy general education requirements can also be used to satisfy minor requirements. Natural science and mathematics credits used to satisfy general education requirements can also be used to satisfy major requirements. If additional courses are added to GER in later catalog years, students may use them to fulfill a specific GER in this catalog year. Students must earn a C- grade or higher in each course used to meet a baccalaureate GER.

General Education Requirements at a Glance

Minimum Requirements for General Education Requirements: 35-40 credits

Refer to tables below for specific courses.

Communication9
Arts3
Humanities3-5
Social Sciences6
Additional Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences3-5
Mathematics3-4
Natural Sciences8