General Education
Continue to main contentRECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF A WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION: YOU’LL DO THAT HERE.
Southeast’s General Education program provides broad, foundational knowledge and essential, transferable skills. These courses prepare students for informed civic engagement in a globalized world, personal and professional success, and interdisciplinary expertise.
Southeast’s General Education program prepares students to:
- demonstrate the moral & ethical values of a diverse society;
- locate, organize, evaluate, & synthesize information from various sources;
- communicate effectively through various channels & systems; and
- demonstrate critical & creative thinking, quantitative literacy, & problem-solving.
General Education Program Requirements:
- Civics Requirement (3 credit hours and civics exam)
- Humanities and Fine Arts (9 credit hours from at least two disciplines)
- Mathematics (3 credit hours)
- Natural Sciences (7 credit hours from two disciplines)
- Oral Communication (3 credit hours)
- Social/Behavioral Sciences (6 credit hours)
- Written Communication – (6 credit hours)
- Additional Requirements (5 credit hours from any category
- Freshman Seminar “Connecting with Southeast” course—UI100 (required for most students, counts as additional requirement hours)
- AH110 Art History Survey I (MOTR)
- AH210 Art History Survey II (MOTR)
- AR100 Drawing I (Performance-Based)** (MOTR)
- AR111 Ceramics: A Metaphor (MOTR)
- AR112 Perspectives in Art (MOTR)
- AR284 Photography Fundamentals (MOTR)
- CF233 Creative Thought and Expression in Children
- CN100 Chinese Language and Culture I (MOTR)
- DS104 Exploring Interior Design
- EL274 Diversity in America's Schools
- EH101 Early European Civilization (MOTR)
- EH103 Modern European Civilization (MOTR)
- FR100 French Language and Culture I (MOTR)
- FR120 French Language and Culture II (MOTR)
- GN100 German Language and Culture I (MOTR)
- GN120 German Language and Culture II (MOTR)
- LI205 The Art of Film
- LI211 World Literature I (MOTR)
- LI212 World Literature II (MOTR)
- LI243 Children’s Literature
- LI256 Variety of Literature (MOTR)
- LI260 English Literature I (MOTR)
- LI261 English Literature II (MOTR)
- LI270 American Literature I (MOTR)
- LI271 American Literature II (MOTR)
- MC253 Film History
- MH252 Evolution of Musical Style Since 1820 (MOTR)
- MM100 Music Fundamentals (MOTR)
- MU182 Music: Artistic Expression (MOTR)
- MU184 “Who Are You?” … A History of Rock 'n' Roll (MOTR)
- MU190 Jazz Appreciation (MOTR)
- MU311-98 Ensembles (Performance-Based)** (MOTR)
- PL110 Readings in Philosophy (MOTR)
- PL120 Symbolic Logic I (MOTR)
- PL204 Ethical Theory (MOTR)
- RS101 World Religions (MOTR)
- RS201 New Testament Literature
- RS202 Old Testament Literature
- SN100 Spanish Language and Culture I (MOTR)
- SN120 Spanish Language and Culture II (MOTR)
- TH100 Theatre Appreciation (MOTR)
- UI343 Transcultural Experience
- WH100 African Civilization
- WH110 Chinese Civilization
- WH125 Islamic Civilization
- WH130 Latin American Civilization
**Students cannot take more than 3 credit hours of performance-based courses. The following course codes are considered the same discipline: 1) CN, FR, GN, and SN; 2) EH and WH; 3) MH, MM, and MU, 4) AH and AR
Choose 7 credit hours from two disciplines. Below, course credit hours are indicated. One course must have a lab. Courses with labs are marked with * The Following course codes are considered the same discipline: 1) AO and AY; 2) BI and BS.
Lab Options: Must Take Course + Lab in the Same Semester.
- AO120/125 (4) Plant Science* (MOTR)
- AN183/083 (4) Biological Anthropology*
- BI163/063 (4) Evolution and Ecology* (MOTR)
- BS113/013 (4) Anatomy and Physiology I* (MOTR)
- CH181/081/001 (5) Basic Principles of Chemistry* (MOTR)
- EV105/106 Environmental Biology/Lab*
- GO110/010 (3) Physical Geology* (MOTR)
- GO150/050 (4) Earth Science* (MOTR)
- PH120/020 (5) Introductory Physics I* (MOTR)
- PH230/030 (5) General Physics I* (MOTR)
- PH230/030 General Physics I* (MOTR) 5
- Lab Options: Take course + Lab in the Different Semesters.
- BS109 (1) Science Reasoning in Biology*
- BS118 (1) Introduction to Process Science Lab*
- BS218/118 (3) Biological Science: A Process Approach* (MOTR)
- CH185 (3) General Chemistry I (MOTR)
- CH184 (1) General Chemistry I Lab* (MOTR)
- PH106 (3) Physical Concepts (MOTR)
- PH107 (1) Physical Concepts Lab*
- PH128 (3) Introduction to Astronomy
- PH129 (1) Introduction to Astronomy Lab*
- Non-Lab Options: Do NOT count as lab credit.
- BS103 (3) Human Biology (MOTR)
- BS108 (3) Biology for Living (MOTR)
- GG140 (3) Physical Geography (MOTR)
- FN235 (3) Nutrition for Health (MOTR)
Choose 3 credit hours. Below, course credit hours are indicated.
- MA115 Precalculus A with Integrated Review (MOTR) 5 hours
- MA116 Precalculus A (MOTR) 3 hours
- MA123 Mathematical Reasoning (MOTR) 3 Hours
- MA128 Numbers and Operations for Educators 4 hours
- MA155 Statistical Reasoning (MOTR) 3 hours
Choose 6 credit hours. All courses in this category are 3 credit hours.
- AG201 World Food and Society
- AN100 Foundations of Human Behavior
- AN181 Cultural Anthropology (MOTR)
- AN182 Introduction to Archaeology
- CD110 Language and Culture of the Deaf
- CF102 Foundations of Child Development
- CJ120 The Child: Development, Conception to Adolescence
- EC101 Economic Problems and Policies (MOTR)
- EC215 Principles of Microeconomics (MOTR)
- EC225 Principles of Macroeconomics (MOTR)
- FE200 Family Resource Management
- FA104 Beyond Project Runway
- FE200 Family Resource Management
- GG150 People and Places of the World
- GG180 Cultural Geography (MOTR)
- HL120 Health Perspectives (MOTR)
- MC101 Media and Society
- MN220 Engineering Economic Analysis
- OS120 Introduction to Urban Studies
- OS200 Survey of Social Science
- PE201 Sport and Society
- PS104 Comparative Political Systems (MOTR)
- PY101 Introduction to Psychology (MOTR)
- PY120/CF120 The Child: Development, Conception to Adolescence
- PY220 Development Across the Lifespan (MOTR)
- PY222 Development of the Adolescent
- SO101 Introduction to Sociology (MOTR)
- SW207 Understanding Diversity (MOTR)
- WH150 Ancient World Civilizations
- WH160 Modern World Civilizations
Choose 3 credit hours. All courses in this category are 3 credit hours. The Civics Exam has no credit but is required to graduate
- PS103 US Political Systems (MOTR)
- US105 American History I (MOTR)
- US107 American History II (MOTR)
- US150 African-American History I
- US160 African-American History II
- Civics Exam (Required for Graduation)
Choose 3 credit hours. All courses in this category are 3 credit hours.
- SC105 Speech Communication (MOTR)
- SC107 Online Oral Presentations
- SC155 Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication
Choose 6 credit hours. All courses in this category are 3 credit hours.
- EN100 English Composition (MOTR)
- EN140 Rhetoric and Critical Thinking (MOTR)
- PL115 Philosophical Writing (MOTR)
Additional Requirements: 5+Hours
Transfer Students Non-Transfer Students
- Any MOTR course (3 Hours)
- Any Gen-Ed course (2-3 Hours)
Are you transferring in credit? Do you plan to transfer? Courses with the MOTR designation will be recognized as general education credit at any public institution of higher learning in Missouri.
Notes: First Year Seminar (UI100 or BI103) is required unless a student transfers 24 credit hours, excluding dual enrollment, dual credit, or early college credit. PX200 is required for the Professional Studies major but not General Education. If taken, it counts as a General Education elective.
Non-Transfer Students
- Any Gen Ed courses totaling a minimum of 4 hours
- UI100 Seminar (1 Hour)
Welcome from the President
Welcome to Southeast Missouri State University and our nationally-recognized General Education program!
We are pleased you chose Southeast and its outstanding faculty for your college education, an education that will undoubtedly prepare you to be as competitive and successful in life as are thousands of our graduates in such fields as business, politics, medicine, science, education, music, criminal justice, and the performing arts, to name just a few.
Our graduates are successful because they received a broad and extensive general education in our General Education program. Southeast's first-year experience program is among the best in the country and was rated by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges."
Southeast students participating in our General Education and first-year experience programs are living in an era described by some as the "information age." Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in 2010, "Every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003."
That doubling of information creates new technology, as well as new products and services. It is known that graduates entering the job market today can expect to have several different careers during their lifetimes. This makes it more urgent that you look upon your university experience as an opportunity to prepare yourself to cope with an ever-changing environment.
College is not just about preparing you to perform a specific job, although Southeast offers many opportunities for "real-world experiences" to help launch your extraordinary career. Rather, your college experience is about creating an educated person, one who is able to function responsibly and successfully in whatever environment is encountered. Included in General Education Handbook are the nine "objectives" of General Education. Those objectives spell out the myriad of skills you will need for success during your lifetime of career changes. I hope you will consider your General Education courses to be the key to becoming a broadly educated human being, thus making your life and career a success.
Again, welcome to Southeast! We can't wait to see what you will do.
Sincerely,
Carlos Vargas
President
Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701