What is General Education?
General education, or gen ed, is the common set of multidisciplinary coursework that all students take, regardless of their major. It sets the intellectual and academic foundation of a four-year degree through a core curriculum of diverse subjects designed to provide students with essential skills such as critical thinking, communication, and cultural understanding.
Its emphasis on breadth, reflection, and synthesis is what distinguishes a bachelor’s degree from other forms of training and workforce development credentials.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While your major courses give you knowledge and specific expertise, the skills you learn from your general education courses make that knowledge and expertise usable and transferable. General education courses are designed to expose you to critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to recognize patterns, analyze, and craft arguments. These skills are then refined and applied within your major courses. It’s easy to ask whether a general class “applies” to your major, but the real takeaway is often the skills you’re building. You use these skills in a broad range of contexts, which ultimately supports your more specific knowledge base.
Depending on the advice from your advisor, required prerequisites, and the curriculum plan for your major, you may not have to take all your general education courses in the first two years. However, it is strongly encouraged to prioritize Skills and Ways of Knowing courses early in your time at ODU.
Be strategic. If you are undecided, consider how your general education courses can help you explore different fields of study. If you are in a specific major, think about how you can pair or complement your general education and major courses, such as taking a philosophy course alongside, or before, a Business Ethics course, for example. When planned intentionally, your general education courses build a foundation, bolster, or maximize the skills and knowledge you will build during your time at ODU.
That depends. While the broad general education requirements are the same for all undergraduates, some majors recommend or even require specific general education courses. Find out more information about the requirements of your major.. It’s a great idea to talk to your advisor to ensure that you fully understand the courses you need to take.
Visit the Find Your Advisor page.
All general education courses have letters attached to them, which align with the different general education requirement categories. For example, a Human Creativity course has an A (ARTS 122A, DANC 185A, etc.) and an Impact of Technology course has a T (COMM 280T, GEOG 102T, etc.).
In some cases, students may meet general education requirements in their major without taking a lettered gen ed course. Be sure to review your Degree Works and meet with your advisor to ensure you understand your specific general education requirements.
General education category letters:
A - Human Creativity
C - Written Communication
E - Ethics
F - Language and Culture
G - Information Literacy and Research
H - Interpreting the Past
L - Literature
M - Mathematics
N - The Nature of Science
P - Philosophy
R - Oral Communication
S - Human Behavior
T - Impact of Technology
W - Writing Intensive course in Major
If you are coming to ODU with credit from other institutions, be sure to check out these Resources for Transfer Students. Depending on what you have taken, you may find that some of your gen ed requirements have been met. The Transfer Center FAQ has a lot of great information as well.
Some general education requirements can be met by AP or IB work done in high school. Learn more about those equivalencies.
Some general education requirements can be met through test scores. Learn more about the test scores ODU accepts.
The proposed changes to general education, if approved, would begin in fall 2028, but those changes will not affect students enrolled at ODU prior to that semester. Current students will not see any changes to their general education requirements.
The reform team does want to hear from current students as we design the new program, so keep an eye out for information about forums and other events if you would like to learn more or share your feedback with the committee.
Academic Advising
All degree-seeking undergraduate students should meet with their academic advisor at least once per semester to stay on track with their academic plan.
