The General Education Program at Wayne State was established in 1987 for all undergraduate students pursuing bachelor's degrees regardless of their academic specialties. These requirements ensure that all students have the fundamental skills to succeed in college while simultaneously providing the intellectual breadth necessary to place specialized and professional curricula in proper perspective. By means of the General Education program, undergraduate students improve their skills and are introduced to methods of inquiry, modes of thought, bodies of knowledge, and representative ideas drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines.

The University implemented major revisions to the General Education curriculum in Fall 2018. Our program provides both structure and flexibility to help students develop core skills and information literacy, explore new pathways, cultivate habits of lifelong learning, and take advantage of Wayne State's extraordinary resources. Each of these efforts is aligned with the University's mission to create knowledge and prepare a diverse body of students to thrive in an increasingly complex and global society. The program requires a maximum of 35 credits in the categories of Competencies and Inquiries as described below. Please contact your advisor if you have questions about General Education requirements specific to your academic plan of work.

General Education Competencies

Competency requirements ensure that students develop and demonstrate early in their academic careers fundamental skills that underlie and make possible the acquisition of knowledge. Competencies include:

• Written Communication (Basic Composition (BC), and Intermediate Composition (IC));
• Oral Communications (OC); and
• Quantitative Experience (QE), satisfied through an appropriate course in mathematics, statistics, or quantitative reasoning.

General Education Inquiries

Inquiry requirements have a two-fold purpose:

1. To enable students to acquire knowledge and demonstrate understanding in a broad range of academic disciplines; and
2. To enable students to develop and demonstrate the ability to apply methodological skills that encourage continued exploration on an independent level throughout their lives.

Inquiry requirements are organized into the following categories:

• Civic Literacy (CIV)
• Cultural Inquiry (CI)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Inquiry (DEI)
• Global Learning Inquiry (GL)
• Natural Scientific Inquiry (NSI)
• Social Inquiry (SI)

General Education Exemptions for Second Degree and Transfer Students

Students who hold a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and who seek a second Bachelor's degree are exempt from the University’s General Education requirements, but still must satisfy all School/College, Department, and Program requirements.  

Equivalent courses taken at another institution may satisfy General Education requirements. Transfer students who have satisfied all requirements of the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) are exempted from the University’s General Education requirements, but still must satisfy all School/College, Department, and Program requirements.