Academic Programs / General Education

General Education

Temple University plans to introduce a new program called the General Education (Gen Ed) program, which will feature innovative courses taught by dedicated, experienced faculty.  This program will gradually replace the University Core Curriculum requirements.  In the Fall 2008, all first-year students will be required to take Gen Ed courses instead of University Core courses.  During the transition phase, Gen Ed courses will be offered as pilot courses that are available for students to take for Core credit.

Gen Ed courses are exciting because they make connections between what students are studying and what really matters -- to students and to their future.  Students will be more active in a Gen Ed course, as they develop their own opinions and discuss and debate controversial issues. Some Gen Ed classes will connect to current controversies: Philosophy in the light of illegal digital downloading; Evolutionary theory in the light of creationism; Biology in the light of the genetic patents.  Some classes make connections between areas of study: Shakespeare through literature, dance and music; American culture through political science, history and the arts; Sustainability through geology, landscape architecture and ethics.  Some Gen Ed courses make connections by giving students real experiences off-campus: Enriching the study of education policy by going into city schools and community centers; Enriching the study of criminal justice by taking mixed classes with inmates in local prisons; Enriching the study of community arts by working on a mosaic in a neighborhood part.  Gen Ed is designed to prepare students to deal with a world where complicated issues call for the ability to see a problem from many different perspectives.

Philadelphia provides the context for much of the new program.  Whether it is an arts course that takes students to museums, operas and alleyways, or a history course that brings students into contact with non-profit organizations, or a quantitative literacy course that has students grappling with data from Philadelphia Inquirer archives, we will mine the richness of our urban setting, and leverage that into a deeper understanding of global problems and connections.

Experience Temple education at its cutting edge - Try a Gen Ed course during academic year 2007-2008.

Find out more about General Education at www.temple.edu/gened.