The General Education Program, or GenEd, is American University’s liberal arts requirement. (What some institutions call a core or distribution requirement.) Schools with a core liberal arts program believe that there is a certain body of knowledge that all educated adults should possess. Those with distribution requirements think students should learn about subjects outside their main course of study. We agree with both of those philosophies.

At AU we do things a bit differently. We reject the idea that there is any single body of knowledge that constitutes “what all educated people should know.” What we care about are learning outcomes—that is, how your education helps you become who you are. We believe that our graduates should be equipped with certain intellectual skills and resources if they are to understand the complex dynamics of an increasingly connected global environment.

HOW IT WORKS

• Take two courses in each of the five Foundational Areas
• At least one course in Area Five must include a lab science component 
• No more than two courses can have the same course prefix (BIO, LIT, etc.). The only exception is GNED, the interdisciplinary prefix used for Wildcards and Sophomore Seminars.

Read the Undergraduate Academic Regulations and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more details.