General Education

• their general education, in which they acquire the basic knowledge and develops the abilities that all Alverno students must master
• their major and minor(s), in which they add the specialized knowledge and abilities related to their interest, civic responsibilities, and career plans.

A student explores each of these areas fully at Alverno, taking a wide range of required and elective courses. In their first few semesters, they begin building the foundation for their learning by concentrating primarily on the general education curriculum.

The General Education Curriculum

In general education, a student acquires broad liberal arts learning and masters the eight abilities that form the core of Alverno’s ability-based education. To accomplish this goal, a student needs a broad range of knowledge, ability to use technology, and systematic practice and critique. The courses that are part of Alverno’s general education provide the means for all three.

Professions such as business, education, and health care, for example, count on basic insights about human motivation gained from a general knowledge of psychology, history, and philosophy. Decision makers in corporations or community groups rely on values formed in the study of the arts and humanities or analytic skills developed in mathematics and science. Such fields as biology and chemistry increasingly depend on other areas of knowledge to establish the context and significance of their discoveries. 

Although all undergraduate students take these general education classes, the specific requirements are tied to the student's major and/or minor. These requirements are built into the program and are available on the student's academic evaluation. Please visit the specific major or minor page you have in mind to find which set of general education requirements is associated with that program. This broad base of general knowledge also becomes the foundation upon which a student adds the specialized knowledge associated with their major and support area.

The distinctive, ingenious aspect of Alverno’s curriculum is that all courses have been structured so that as students acquire this essential general knowledge, they also practice and master the eight abilities. Knowledge and the abilities to apply it are learned simultaneously, one reinforcing the other.

While a student’s general education continues throughout college, it is concentrated in their first few semesters. Since the general education program is the foundation for all the knowledge a student acquires and the specialized abilities they develop, it is a vitally important time in their education.

General Education in the First Year

In their first year, a student becomes familiar with Alverno’s approach to learning knowledge and developing abilities hand-in-hand through disciplinary first-year courses. 

A student takes two introductory arts and humanities courses that explore the ideas and viewpoints that have shaped history, philosophy, English literature, religious studies, and the visual and performing arts or fine arts. In them, they also begin developing their communication, analytical, valuing, and aesthetic engagement abilities.

A student is also required to take 7 or 8 credits of mathematics and/or the natural sciences, including at least one laboratory science course. There are a variety of courses from which they may select. These courses advance a student’s understanding of the natural sciences and help them develop their communication, analytical, and problem-solving abilities. Introductory courses in psychology, social work, politics, sociology, or global studies are often taken in the first year to promote advancement of these abilities as well.

Many first-year students also take a course in mathematics and courses that integrate writing, speaking, and other communication abilities. These courses are vital, since they help students develop the skills and abilities that are needed for coursework throughout college and later as a lifelong learner. Occasionally, students qualify to be placed out of the initial mathematics and communication courses. Your admissions counselor, the Registrar's Office, and your advisor work together to identify students who are eligible for this. Also, it is possible for some students to take a Credit for Prior Learning Assessment to be placed out of the initial courses. Please contact your admissions counselor or advisor for more information on this process. 

In all their courses, students takes assessments to help gauge their progress. Assessments enable a student and their professors to judge whether they meet the criteria established for each level of the eight abilities. But assessments are also an integral part of the learning process. They serve as checkpoints that help the student understand what they know and what they need to know.

The Role of Advising in the First year

College is usually the first time that a student is responsible for choosing their own course of study. In choosing it, they also encounter more scheduling and course options than ever before.

Alverno’s Advising Office introduces a student to the Alverno curriculum and assists them to make choices. A student meets with their advisor at the beginning of their first semester. At first, they rely heavily on their advisor. However, their confidence in making course selections and scheduling grows rapidly in the first year as they become familiar with the system and their own learning goals.