General Education Requirements are courses required for most majors at all two- and four-year institutions  The goal of the General Education program is to provide to all students, in both career and transfer curricula, a common, broad-based, well-rounded educational experience. The General Education program directs students to courses in English composition, mathematics, speech, health, arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences. Such courses continue the process, begun earlier in students' lives, of exposing them to the human, cultural, and natural world that surrounds us all.

The General Education program, in addition to specific course content, seeks to develop critical literacy; respect for others; creative expression; effective communication, both written and oral; and respect for the intellectual community tempered with skepticism about unchallenged "truths."   In short, the goal of the General Education program is to be a part of the process of improving skills and broadening awareness of the world in which we live.

General Education courses at Montgomery College include Foundation Courses and Distribution Courses.
Printable list of Montgomery College General Education Courses, 2007-2008 (includes advising notes for students considering transferring to private and out-of-state schools).

• For Maryland public colleges and universities:  Montgomery College students may follow Montgomery College's General Education Requirements Program (32 credits) OR the specific General Education requirements of individual Maryland public colleges and universities. Some additional general education courses may be required after transfer.
  
  To find the General Education Requirements programs of individual Maryland colleges & universities, click on the red AREA lines on ARTSYS Recommended Transfer Programs pages for a list of MC courses that fulfill requirements.
  
  Students may also wish to examine the general education course requirements at specific Maryland schools to find out whether any additional requirements exist.  For example:
  
  • UM College Park requires that students choose one Literature and one History course as part of their CORE general education requirements program
  • Morgan State University asks all students to take one Logic course (MC's PL 190).
  • Towson University requires that students take two laboratory science courses in their general education program; if one lab and one non-lab science course (7 credits) are taken at MC, then students will have to take another science course after transfer to Towson.
  • UMBC has a foreign language requirement within their general education program.  All students in all majors must show foreign language proficiency at the intermediate level - click here for details.
  • Salisbury University has a 2-course history requirement (Western Civilization) which may be satisfied by taking either HS 116 & 117 or HS 151 & 161; students must also take a 3-credit health fitness course (HE 109 at MC).  See Gen Ed requirements spelled out on SU Majors Checklists.
  • See all general education program descriptions at Maryland colleges and universities.
    
• The MC General Education Program does NOT satisfy the general education requirements of private schools or out-of-state public institutions. For private or out-of-state institutions not included in the ARTSYS database, look for a "General Education Requirements" or "Core Curriculum" section in each school's catalog.  With an MC adviser, discuss which MC courses sound like reasonable equivalents.

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