General Education Program
Mission
D'Youville students will gain knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts as well as through integrative and applied learning including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general-education and specialized studies.
Course Requirements
Students take ten courses (30 credits) as an introduction to the University, a variety of academic disciplines, and the skills and approaches that will continue to be essential in their major programs and in their lives.
All First Time in College students will take four courses (12 credits) over their first year of study. These courses, FYE-100, ENG/HIS-112, PHI/RS-103, and TOP-189/L, introduce students to the D'Youville University Mission, academic disciples, and most of the General Education Learning Outcomes. Students complete six additional courses (18 credits) beyond the First Year Courses to add disciplinary depth and breadth, often completing the remaining General Education Learning Outcomes in the process. Two of the electives must be part of the Writing Intensive Program (WIP); courses designated as having a strong focus on developing college-level writing.
| Course | Total of 30 Credits | 11 General Education Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| FYE-100: Life Unpacked | 2 | Civic Engagement and Thinking Process |
| ENG-112 or HIS-112: Humanities Seminar | 3 | Cultural Competence in a Global Society |
| PHI-103 or RS-103: Ethics: Religious and Philosophical Perspectives | 3 | Ethical Reasoning and Action and Cultural Competence in a Global Society |
| TOP-189 and Lab: Topics in Critical Inquiry* | 4 | Thinking Process (lecture section) and Teamwork (lab section) |
| Six elective courses** | 18 | Creative Thinking, Oral Communication, Quantitative Literacy, Scientific Reasoning, Technological Competence, Written Communication (two WIP courses) |
* These courses are offered in wide variety of disciplines. Search the catalog using the course type "Topics" to find courses that will meet this requirement.
** At least four of the elective courses must at the 200 level or above and up to two may be liberal arts and sciences (LAS) courses required by a major program. Search the catalog using the course type "Foundational Gen Ed" to find courses that will meet this requirement.
Transfer Credit
The general education curriculum is designed to allow transfer students credit for their previous coursework while ensuring they also benefit from the expansive educational experience offered to all students at D'Youville. Students who have completed an undergraduate degree at another institution do not need to complete the D’Youville general education requirements. Please work with your academic advisor to determine how your prior coursework will meet D'Youville General Education course requirements.
General Education Learning Outcomes
These outcomes represent the skills and characteristics of each D'Youville graduate. Students will complete at least one course that focuses on each of these outcomes prior to graduation.
PRACTICAL SKILLS
Oral Communication
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will prepare and confidently deliver purposeful engaging informative or persuasive presentations designed to increase knowledge, foster understanding, or promote change in the listeners’ attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors. They will actively listen to others, acknowledge others’ ideas and perspectives, pose questions for clarification or more information, maintain professional composure, and pay attention to non-verbal cues in their own and others’ body language.
Teamwork
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will adapt and control their own behaviors in cooperative and collaborative team settings, such as the effort they put into team tasks, their manner of interacting with others on their team, and the quantity and quality of contributions they make to team discussions and products.
Technological Competence
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will present and analyze electronic data; realize the grand, wide-reaching capabilities of electronic communications; and apply their knowledge to learn technologies that are unknown, new, or unique to their chosen career path.
Written Communication
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will compose and express their ideas clearly and concisely in writing in a variety of genres and styles. They will develop content for specific contexts, audiences, and purposes—to inform, persuade, or entertain--while following the conventions of genres and disciplines; and they will provide evidence from quality reputable sources to define, shape, explain, and argue with their ideas.
INTELLECTUAL SKILLS
Creative Thinking
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will have the capacity to combine or synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways and be able to think, react, and work in imaginative ways characterized by a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk-taking.
Quantitative Literacy
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will demonstrate the habit of mind to competently, confidently, and comfortably reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. They will understand and be able to create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence and clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (for examples: using words, tables, graphs, and mathematical equations)
Scientific Reasoning
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will employ systematic processes for exploring issues, objects, or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments. They will be able to break complex topics or issues into parts to view them from multiple perspectives and gain more in-depth understanding of them.
Thinking Process
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will demonstrate a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of information, evidence, issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion, conclusion, or solution.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Civic Engagement
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will be prepared to participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community.
Cultural Competence in a Global Society
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will meaningfully engage with culturally different others; place social justice in historical and political context; and employ a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.
Ethical Reasoning and Action
Graduates of D’Youville’s General Education Program will assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas, and consider the ramifications of alternative actions.
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Sources: D’Youville’s general education student learning outcomes were adopted from the LEAP standards and were articulated using language from the VALUE rubrics, which are utilized to assess and improve the delivery of student learning in outcomes-aligned courses.