The Certificate in General Education Studies is a 2 year, non-degree program for students with intellectual disabilities. The program offers an inclusive and supportive pathway for students with intellectual disabilities to access college learning who would be unlikely to enroll in a degree-seeking program. The curriculum includes undergraduate courses in the liberal arts and sciences, followed by study in a self-selected area of concentration. The program also includes a supported work experience and instructional coursework to enable students' development of skills for self advocacy, intellectual pursuit, employment, and independent living.
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Program Requirements Overview
Completion of a minimum of 36 credits is required. In case a student chooses to take 10 credits in General Education Electives and 3 credits in World Languages and Cultures, and/or higher credit concentration courses, the total required number of credits will add up to more than 36 credits.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Requirements | 8-11 | |
| World Language or World Cultures Requirement | 0-3 | |
| Major Requirements | 24-27 | |
| Free Electives | 4-0 | |
| Total Credits | 36-41 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core/Required Courses | ||
| CGST 150 | College Orientation Seminar | 3 |
| Complete 2 times for a total of 6 credits: | 6 | |
| Continuing Student Seminar | ||
| CGST 275 | Supervised Work Experience | 6 |
| Concentration Requirements | ||
| Complete 3 courses or at least 9 credits from one University College Discovery Track, selected with an advisor. These courses may not be fulfilled by courses already taken as General Education Electives. See tracks below. | 9-12 | |
| Total Credits | 24-27 | |
Concentrations
Education, Service, and Society
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 100 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Disability Studies, Rights, and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 110 | Anthropology of Multicultural America | 3 |
| ANTH 120 | Native North Americans | 3 |
| ANTH 140 | Non-Western Contributions to the Western World | 3 |
| ANTH 160 | The Anthropology of Race | 3 |
| BIOL 100 | Biological Sciences | 4 |
| BIOL 110 | The Biology of Human Life | 4 |
| CHAD 210 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| CMST 101 | Fundamentals of Speech: Communication Requirement | 3 |
| EAES 100 | Principles of Geography | 3 |
| EAES 101 | Planet Earth | 4 |
| EAES 105 | Physical Geology | 4 |
| EAES 107 | Earth and the Environment | 4 |
| EAES 150 | General Oceanography | 3 |
| EAES 160 | The Human Environment | 3 |
| EAES 170 | World Geography | 3 |
| EAES 201 | Understanding Weather and Climate | 4 |
| EAES 260 | Energy, Environment and Society | 3 |
| ECEL 200 | Perspectives on Early Childhood and Elementary Education in a Democracy | 3 |
| ECON 100 | Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| EDFD 200 | Psychological Foundations of Education | 3 |
| EDFD 221 | Historical Foundations of American Education | 3 |
| EDFD 264 | Gender Issues in Education | 3 |
| EDFD 290 | Education and the Social Development of Urban Youth | 4 |
| ENGL 116 | World Literature: The Coming of Age Theme | 3 |
| GRIN 226 | Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney | 3 |
| or GERM 226 | Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney | |
| GLQS 100 | Introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (GLBTQ) Studies | 3 |
| GSWS 102 | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies | 3 |
| HEIN 201 | Israeli-Hebrew Culture | 3 |
| HIST 117 | Foundations of America | 3 |
| HIST 118 | Emergence of the Modern United States | 3 |
| HLTH 290 | Human Sexuality | 3 |
| HSET 208 | Leisure and Recreation in Society | 3 |
| HUMN 201 | General Humanities I (to 1400) | 3 |
| ITAL 262 | Italian Americans in Film | 3 |
| JURI 210 | Perspectives on Law | 3 |
| JUST 101 | Criminology | 3 |
| JUST 103 | Introduction to International Justice | 3 |
| LALS 201 | Perspectives on Latin America | 3 |
| LALS 205 | Image and Identity: Representation of Latin American Women in Film and Fiction | 3 |
| LAWS 200 | Introduction to Law | 3 |
| LAWS 220 | Conflict and Its Resolution | 3 |
| MATH 104 | Fractals and Infinity | 3 |
| MATH 106 | Creative Thinking through Mathematics | 3 |
| MEDH 101 | Introduction to the Medical Humanities | 3 |
| MUGN 120 | Rap and Rock as Cultural Phenomena | 3 |
| MUGN 160 | Introduction to Music in World Cultures | 3 |
| PHYS 180 | Astronomy for Everyone | 4 |
| POLS 100 | Introduction to Politics | 3 |
| POLS 101 | American Government and Politics | 3 |
| POLS 104 | International Security and Diplomacy | 3 |
| POLS 201 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLS 202 | International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 206 | Government and Politics of China and Japan | 3 |
| PSYC 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| RELG 100 | Religions of the World | 3 |
| RELG 101 | Understanding Religion | 3 |
| RELG 102 | Religious Ethics | 3 |
| RELG 185 | The Arab World and Religion | 3 |
| RELG 221 | Religion and Culture | 3 |
| RELG 232 | Body and Soul | 3 |
| RELG 240 | Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELG 246 | Islamic Religious Traditions | 3 |
| RELG 250 | African Religions | 3 |
| RELG 252 | Africana Religions in the Americas | 3 |
| RELG 254 | Native American Religion | 3 |
| RELG 256 | Religion in Latin America | 3 |
| RUIN 193 | Russian Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| SASE 210 | Public Purposes of Education: Democracy and Schooling | 3 |
| SOCI 100 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 102 | Racial and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| SOCI 104 | Sociology of the Family | 3 |
| SOCI 106 | Individual and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 113 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 220 | Sociology of Rich and Poor Nations | 3 |
| STAT 103 | The Development of Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 109 | Statistics | 3 |
| THTR 265 | The Contemporary Theatre of Cultural Diversity | 3 |
| VIST 106 | Modern Visions 1400-1945 | 3 |
| WRIT 105 | College Writing I | 3-4 |
| WRIT 106 | College Writing II | 3-4 |
Arts, Culture, and Design
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 100 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 101 | Physical Anthropology | 4 |
| ANTH 103 | Introduction to Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Disability Studies, Rights, and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 110 | Anthropology of Multicultural America | 3 |
| ANTH 115 | Cultures of the Middle East | 3 |
| ANTH 120 | Native North Americans | 3 |
| ANTH 130 | Cultures of South Asia | 3 |
| ANTH 135 | Anthropology of Conflict and Violence | 3 |
| ANTH 140 | Non-Western Contributions to the Western World | 3 |
| ANTH 150 | Cultures of Latin America | 3 |
| ANTH 160 | The Anthropology of Race | 3 |
| ANTH 165 | Human Culture in Biodiversity Conservation | 3 |
| ANTH 180 | Health and Healing in Cross Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| ARAB/ARIN 185 | The Arab World and Religion | 3 |
| ARAB/ARIN 193 | Introduction to Arab Culture | 3 |
| ARAN 190 | Introduction to the Visual Arts | 3 |
| ARFD 100 | Perceptual Drawing | 3 |
| ARPH 201 | Digital Photo and Imaging I | 3 |
| ARST 201 | Objects in Clay | 3 |
| ARST 202 | 3D and Extended Media | 3 |
| ARST 204 | Painting | 3 |
| ARST 205 | Photography | 3 |
| ARST 206 | Printmaking | 3 |
| ARST 207 | Sculpture | 3 |
| ARTX 201 | Culture and Appearance | 3 |
| CMST 101 | Fundamentals of Speech: Communication Requirement | 3 |
| DNCE 100 | Introduction to Ballet (Non-Major) | 3 |
| DNCE 105 | Dance Appreciation | 3 |
| DNCE 110 | Introduction to Modern Dance (Non-Major) | 3 |
| DNCE 145 | Worlds of Dance | 3 |
| ENFL 208 | Introduction to the Film | 3 |
| ENGL 110 | Introduction to Literature: The Analytic Essay | 3 |
| ENGL 111 | Introduction to Literature: The Short Story | 3 |
| ENGL 113 | Introduction to Literature: Bestsellers and Popular Fiction | 3 |
| ENGL 114 | Introduction to Literature: Utopian and Dystopian Fiction | 3 |
| ENGL 116 | World Literature: The Coming of Age Theme | 3 |
| ENGL 117 | World Literature: Voices of Tradition and Challenge | 3 |
| FREN/FRIN 283 | Introduction to Women Authors of French-Speaking Africa | 3 |
| GERM/GRIN 226 | Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney | 3 |
| GLQS 100 | Introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (GLBTQ) Studies | 3 |
| GSWS 102 | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies | 3 |
| HEIN 201 | Israeli-Hebrew Culture | 3 |
| HIST 103 | Gods, Empires, Crusades Plague | 3 |
| HIST 105 | Emergence of European Civilization, 1500-1914 | 3 |
| HIST 106 | Contemporary Europe | 3 |
| HIST 108 | African History | 3 |
| HIST 110 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| HIST 112 | Introduction to the Modern Middle East | 3 |
| HIST 114 | Early Latin American History | 3 |
| HIST 116 | Modern Latin America | 3 |
| HIST 117 | Foundations of America | 3 |
| HIST 118 | Emergence of the Modern United States | 3 |
| HIST 132 | Introduction to Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| HIST 138 | Introduction to Modern South Asia | 3 |
| HUMN/RUIN 193 | Russian Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| HUMN 194 | The Great Russian Novel | 3 |
| ITAL 262 | Italian Americans in Film | 3 |
| LALS 201 | Perspectives on Latin America | 3 |
| LALS 205 | Image and Identity: Representation of Latin American Women in Film and Fiction | 3 |
| MUGN 100 | Introduction to Music | 3 |
| MUGN 109 | Introduction to Jazz | 3 |
| MUGN 120 | Rap and Rock as Cultural Phenomena | 3 |
| MUGN 136 | The History of Broadway | 3 |
| MUGN 152 | Music in Film | 3 |
| MUGN 160 | Introduction to Music in World Cultures | 3 |
| RELG 240 | Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELG 246 | Islamic Religious Traditions | 3 |
| RELG 250 | African Religions | 3 |
| RELG 252 | Africana Religions in the Americas | 3 |
| RELG 254 | Native American Religion | 3 |
| RELG 256 | Religion in Latin America | 3 |
| RUIN 193 | Russian Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| RUIN 194 | The Great Russian Novel | 3 |
| THTR 100 | Introduction to the Theatrical Medium | 3 |
| THTR 105 | Acting I | 3 |
| THTR 265 | The Contemporary Theatre of Cultural Diversity | 3 |
| VIST 105 | Global Foundations in Art and Visual Culture | 3 |
| VIST 106 | Modern Visions 1400-1945 | 3 |
| VIST 109 | Special Topics in Global Art Cultures | 3 |
| WRIT 105 | College Writing I | 3-4 |
| WRIT 106 | College Writing II | 3-4 |
Health, Wellness, and Medicine
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Disability Studies, Rights, and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 110 | Anthropology of Multicultural America | 3 |
| ANTH 140 | Non-Western Contributions to the Western World | 3 |
| ANTH 180 | Health and Healing in Cross Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| BIOL 100 | Biological Sciences | 4 |
| BIOL 110 | The Biology of Human Life | 4 |
| BIOL 112 | Principles of Biology: Introduction to the Cell | 4 |
| CHAD 210 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| CHEM 100 | Introductory Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 113 | Fundamentals of Chemistry | 4 |
| CMST 101 | Fundamentals of Speech: Communication Requirement | 3 |
| CSAM 101 | Science Matters | 4 |
| EAES 100 | Principles of Geography | 3 |
| EAES 101 | Planet Earth | 4 |
| EAES 104 | Natural Disasters | 3 |
| EAES 105 | Physical Geology | 4 |
| EAES 107 | Earth and the Environment | 4 |
| EAES 150 | General Oceanography | 3 |
| EAES 160 | The Human Environment | 3 |
| EAES 161 | Human Geography | 3 |
| EAES 170 | World Geography | 3 |
| EAES 201 | Understanding Weather and Climate | 4 |
| EAES 250 | Introduction to Marine Sciences | 4 |
| EAES 260 | Energy, Environment and Society | 3 |
| ENGL 116 | World Literature: The Coming of Age Theme | 3 |
| GLQS 100 | Introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (GLBTQ) Studies | 3 |
| GSWS 102 | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies | 3 |
| HLTH 290 | Human Sexuality | 3 |
| MEDH 101 | Introduction to the Medical Humanities | 3 |
| NUFD 150 | Food Composition and Scientific Preparation | 3 |
| NUFD 153 | Dynamics of Food and Society | 3 |
| NUFD 182 | Nutrition: A Socioecological Perspective | 3 |
| NUFD 192 | Nutrition with Laboratory | 4 |
| PEGN 200 | Beginning Swimming | 1 |
| PEGN 230 | Personalized Fitness | 3 |
| PEGN 242 | Racquetball | 1 |
| PEGN 251 | Fitness for Life | 1 |
| PEGN 257 | Weight Training and Conditioning | 1 |
| PEGN 258 | Beginning Tennis | 1 |
| PEGN 262 | Volleyball | 1 |
| PEGN 264 | Soccer | 1 |
| PEGN 265 | Figure Skating | 1 |
| PEGN 266 | Skiing | 1 |
| PEGN 271 | Social Dance | 1 |
| PEGN 272 | Bowling | 1 |
| PEGN 275 | Beginning Karate | 1 |
| PEGN 278 | Yoga | 1 |
| PEMJ 131 | Fitness Activities | 3 |
| PHIL 100 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 102 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 106 | Logic | 3 |
| PHYS 180 | Astronomy for Everyone | 4 |
| PSYC 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| RELG 100 | Religions of the World | 3 |
| RELG 102 | Religious Ethics | 3 |
| RELG 221 | Religion and Culture | 3 |
| RELG 232 | Body and Soul | 3 |
| SOCI 100 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 102 | Racial and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| SOCI 104 | Sociology of the Family | 3 |
| SOCI 106 | Individual and Society | 3 |
| SOCI 113 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 220 | Sociology of Rich and Poor Nations | 3 |
| STAT 103 | The Development of Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 109 | Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 110 | Statistics for the Biological Sciences | 4 |
| WRIT 105 | College Writing I | 3-4 |
| WRIT 106 | College Writing II | 3-4 |
Management and Industry
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Disability Studies, Rights, and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 110 | Anthropology of Multicultural America | 3 |
| ANTH 140 | Non-Western Contributions to the Western World | 3 |
| CMST 101 | Fundamentals of Speech: Communication Requirement | 3 |
| CSIT 100 | Introduction to Computer Concepts | 3 |
| CSIT 104 | Python Programming I | 3 |
| ECON 100 | Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| ECON 101 | Applied Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 102 | Applied Microeconomics | 3 |
| HSET 208 | Leisure and Recreation in Society | 3 |
| INFO 173 | Spreadsheet Modeling for Business Decisions | 3 |
| MATH 104 | Fractals and Infinity | 3 |
| MATH 106 | Creative Thinking through Mathematics | 3 |
| PHIL 100 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 102 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 106 | Logic | 3 |
| RELG 100 | Religions of the World | 3 |
| RELG 102 | Religious Ethics | 3 |
| RELG 221 | Religion and Culture | 3 |
| SOCI 102 | Racial and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| SOCI 113 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCI 220 | Sociology of Rich and Poor Nations | 3 |
| STAT 103 | The Development of Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 109 | Statistics | 3 |
| WRIT 105 | College Writing I | 3-4 |
| WRIT 106 | College Writing II | 3-4 |
General Education Requirements
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill General Education categories.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A. New Student Seminar | ||
| Complete a 1 credit New Student Seminar course. | 1 | |
| Complete 3 courses from 3 different categories: 1 | 7-10 | |
| C. Communication | ||
| C1. Writing | ||
| C2. Literature | ||
| C3. Communication | ||
| D. Fine and Performing Arts | ||
| F. Humanities | ||
| F1. Great Works and Their Influences | ||
| F2. Philosophical and Religious Perspectives | ||
| G. Computer Science | ||
| H. Mathematics | ||
| I. Natural Science Laboratory | ||
| J. Physical Education | ||
| K. Social Science | ||
| K1. American and European History | ||
| K2. Global Cultural Perspectives | ||
| K3. Social Science Perspectives | ||
| L. Interdisciplinary Studies | ||
| Total Credits | 8-11 | |
- 1
Credits are variable because courses may vary from 1-4 credits.
World Languages and Cultures Requirements
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill World Languages and Cultures categories.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| World Language or World Cultures course 2 | 0-3 | |
| Total Credits | 0-3 | |
- 2
This requirement may be fulfilled by a course that is taken in another program category.
Recommended Roadmap to Program Completion
This two-year plan is provided as an outline for students to follow in order to complete their program requirements within two years. This plan is a recommendation and students should only use it in consultation with their academic advisor. Students must be registered for more than half-time (more than 6 credits) each semester.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| New Student Seminar | 1 | CGST 175 | 3 |
| CGST 150 | 3 | General Education Choice 2 | 1-4 |
| General Education Choice 1 | 3 | World Language/Culture or General Education Choice 3 | 3 |
| 7 | 7-10 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CGST 175 | 3 | Concentration Course | 1-4 |
| Concentration Course | 1-4 | General Education Choice 3 or Free Elective | 1-4 |
| Concentration Course | 1-4 | CGST 275 | 6 |
| Concentration Course (if more concentration credits are needed) | 1-0 | Concentration Course (if more concentration credits are needed) | 1 |
| Concentration Course (if more concentration credits are needed) | 1-0 | Concentration Course (if more concentration credits are needed) | 1 |
| 7-11 | 10-16 | ||
| Total Credits 31-44 | |||
Completion of a minimum of 36 credits is required. In case a student chooses to take 10 credits in General Education electives and 3 credits in World Languages and Cultures, and/or higher credit concentration courses the total required number of credits may add up to more than 36 credits.