General Education Program
"After taking some of these general education courses, I have found new and unexpected interests. I found that I love to learn not only how the world works, but also how belief systems direct people's perceptions of the world, as I explored in my religious studies classes; or how the knowledge people gain impacts their choices, as I discussed with my Pacific Seminar I class; or how the arts confound and beautify a mechanistic and scientific perception of the world, as I learned in my art history and music appreciation class. The topics I explored in each of my classes helped me cultivate a larger depth and scope of knowledge."
--Cassie Karambela, Biological Sciences major
All accredited universities require that students complete not only a major but a program of general education. The goal of Pacific's general education program is to expose students to areas of study beyond their major and to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to their other courses at Pacific as well to their personal and public lives. The general education program is thus the liberal arts foundation of a Pacific education.
At Pacific, the GE program consists of the following components: three nationally acclaimed Pacific Seminar series, the breadth program requirements, and the fundamental skill requirements.
The Pacific Seminars have gained national attention by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), which is the leading national organization devoted to undergraduate liberal arts education.
* AAC&U awarded Pacific a $25,000 grant to be part of a group of schools that are promoting personal and social responsibility as essential learning outcomes in higher education.
* AAC&U commissioned a video that highlights the Pacific Seminars as one of eleven innovative educational programs in the United States.
* AAC&U has identified Pacific as an exemplary LEAP (Liberal Learning and America's Promise) institution
Each year, the GE program awards several students $3,000 scholarships for demonstrated excellence in the general education program. For application information, click on Thomas J. Long Foundation General Education Scholarship.
For more information, contact the Director of General Education.
