General Studies Requirements

The following general education requirements apply to students matriculated (admitted and registered) during or after Fall 2007.  Students matriculated before Fall 2007 should refer to the archived catalog of record for the academic year in which they were admitted.

General Studies Requirements (GSR)

General Studies Overview

The general studies program requires students to take 36-40 credits in general studies courses. All courses in the curriculum emphasize skill development in critical thinking, language, and communication. These abilities are the heart of every course students take.

The new General Studies curriculum includes three components:

• Freshman Foundation courses (4 courses, total 12 credits): GSR 101, 102, 103, and 104
• Integrated courses (5 courses, total 20-24 credits): after GSR 150, four GSR 200-level courses that must, at a minimum, include one service learning course.
• Capstone Experience (1 course, total 4 credits): GSR 300

Freshman Foundation

The Freshman Foundation is the first General Studies component. Under this component, you take four Freshman Foundation courses and a non-credit Career Development Workshop (GSR 110):

• First Year Seminar (GSR 101)
• Critical Reading and Writing (GSR 102)
• American Sign Language and Deaf Studies (GSR 103)
• Quantitative Reasoning (GSR 104)
• Career Development Workshop (GSR 110)

The four foundation courses will give you the fundamental tools to progress toward the five student learning outcomes. You will improve your communication and problem-solving skills and start thinking about your own identity and college life. The four courses will have linked content.

Integrated Courses - Part One

Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary courses have become common practice with many colleges and universities across the nation. Courses are traditionally taught alone as a discipline, separate from the other, for instance, as a history course, an English course, or a mathematics course. However, with integrated courses being multi- or interdisciplinary, the focus is on a central topic with two or three faculty from, say the History, English, or Sociology Departments, teaming up to teach the course. Faculty members can voluntarily design and offer integrated courses as long as they meet the appropriate five competencies. With a multi- or interdisciplinary approach and because a specific topic is explored in detail and from the perspectives of different disciplines such as business, communication studies, and psychology, it hones critical thinking skills. Each integrated course will be 4 or 5 credits and will address some or all of the five competencies.

Introductory course

• GSR 150: Introduction to Integrated Learning

Integrated courses

• GSR 210/211: Comparing Multicultural Perspectives
• GSR 220/221 Methods of Multiple Disciplines
• GSR 230/231: Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning in Context
• GSR 240/241: Ethical Decisions and Actions

One of the integrated courses you must take from among the four topical categories is a service learning course. Students are encouraged to take more than one service learning course. Service learning courses are required at numerous institutions of higher learning across the nation. Service learning courses emphasize applying learned content and skills to solve real-life, real world dilemmas. For example, students could volunteer to help restore the Chesapeake Bay by understanding the delicate estuary and its ecological significance for the metropolitan DC area including Maryland and Virginia. They could volunteer by planting trees or transplanting oyster shells into the Bay.

General Studies Capstone Experience

The third and final component of the General Studies curriculum is the Capstone Experience. The Capstone Experience is a "wrap-up" course. You take the General Studies Capstone course when you complete all other General Studies Requirements. The course includes all five competencies plus service learning and will challenge you to apply your knowledge and skills to solve real world problems through a project, artifact, or substantial work experience. Gallaudet will invite community groups, both on-campus and off-campus, to present problems and needs. You will be on project teams to research, plan, and implement innovative solutions.