General Education and Integrative Requirements for the Baccalaureate Degree
This is content from the Catalog 2020–2021 back issue. Please visit the current catalog for current information.
In Fall 2018, a new set of General Education Core requirements and Integrative requirements went into effect. In brief, they are:
General Education Requirements
- Core:
- Foundation Requirements:
- Written Communication (FW) (3 cr)
- Quantitative Reasoning (FQ) (3 cr)
- Global and Multicultural Perspectives (FG) (6 cr)
- Diversification Requirements:
- Arts/Humanities/Literature (DA, DH, DL) (6 cr in two different categories)
- Natural Sciences (DB, DP, DY) (7 cr, including one DB, one DP and one DY science laboratory)
- Social Sciences (DS) (6 cr in two different disciplines)
- Structural Requirements:
- Language Arts (GLA) (3 cr)
- Quantitative Reasoning B (GQR) (3 cr)
- Foundation Requirements:
- Integrative Requirements:
- Writing Intensive (3 courses, at least one at the upper-division level)
- Hawaiʻi Pan-Pacific (3 cr)
- Global and Community Citizenship (3 cr)
Courses currently certified for these categories are listed on the General Education website.
Students may satisfy the General Education requirements in force in the year they entered UH Hilo or any of the UH campuses, as long as they have maintained continuous enrollment. The Catalog Choice and Retroactivity policy (PDF) and the Catalog Declaration form (PDF) for students to fill out are located online. Please see your advisor if you wish to know more about this option.
To earn the baccalaureate degree, students must also complete the requirements for their major; these are found in the Undergraduate Education section of the catalog
In addition, students may take a number of elective courses, which are not used to fulfill any particular requirement but make up the 120+ semester credits needed to graduate. These electives may be chosen from any undergraduate course offered at UH Hilo. When choosing electives, student may wish to consult their advisors to select courses that enhance learning in their major or expand options for careers or graduate study.
All degree requirements must be met within the special limitations imposed upon directed reading/directed studies, "credit/no credit," and the credit by examination policy. Students should consult the appropriate sections of this Catalog and speak with their faculty advisors or college deans for more details on these limitations.
With the approval of his or her academic advisor, a student may petition the University for a waiver or modification of academic requirements. If the request involves a requirement for a major or minor, the petition goes to the chair of the department. If it involves a General Education or graduation requirement, the petition goes to the dean of the college. The petition should include clear and convincing justification for the action requested as well as appropriate documentation, such as syllabi or catalog course descriptions of the courses in question.
It is extremely important that each student meet with an academic advisor regularly to ensure timely progress toward a degree. Students who have not declared a major should consult with the
General Education Learning Goals and Objectives
The General Education Requirements are designed to meet six goals and their respective learning outcomes.
Criteria for certification for GE Courses by requirement can be found on the General Education criteria page.