About the General Education Program

Drawing on the rich traditions of a liberal arts education, which encourages students to engage, view, and address challenges in a variety of ways, Ramapo College’s general education program is designed to encourage you to see the intellectual, social, economic, cultural, aesthetic, and empirical connections we all share in our increasingly linked, increasingly global world. Since news, ideas, and wealth can circle the globe at the click of a mouse or the tap of a screen today, this world needs citizens who honor where they came from and understand that no individual and no community stands alone, and this is precisely what is developed in students through our balanced general education program. Ramapo students who successfully navigate all of the varied and intertwined educational experiences presented to them including the general education program will be able to respond quickly to political, technological, and cultural change, be ready to shift careers, and even lead the way in evolving fields. A lifetime of learning is the passport to a productive, fulfilling future, and the student who takes that path is ready to meet and shape tomorrow.

Transfer students may transfer in or be waived from some or all General Education requirements, as specified in Policy and Procedure 300-FF: Transfer Credit and Policy and Procedure 300-F1: Waiver of General Education Requirements.

General Education Program Requirements (10 Courses)

Keystone Categories

Eight categories of courses, delivered at the 100 and 200 levels, are designed to provide a broad-based education. Keystone courses and courses chosen from the various keystone categories will collectively provide foundational knowledge, skills, and context that will serve as a basis for courses and experiences required by the academic majors.

• First Year Seminar

• Critical Reading and Writing

• Studies in Arts and Humanities

• Social Science Inquiry

• Quantitative Reasoning

• Scientific Reasoning

• Historical Perspectives

• Global Awareness

Distribution Categories

Courses chosen from the distribution categories reinforce learning objectives introduced in the “Keystones” and challenge students to apply what they have learned in new situations.

Students take two courses in the the following categories.  At least one course must be outside of the student’s school.

• Culture and Creativity

• Values and Ethics

• Social Systems and Society