Pretty much all colleges and universities require students to complete a mix of courses as part of awarding Bachelor's degrees. These courses are generally grouped into 3 areas

1. Major or Program of Study requirements
2. General or Free Electives
3. General Education requirements.

"Major or Program of Study requirements" are exactly those--classes that are specifically required within your major.

"General or Free Electives" are classes where students have a little "wiggle room" to try out a class for their own enjoyment, or fit in courses from another school that don't relate to major or general requirements. Free electives are usually kept to a small number.

"General Education requirements" are the classes that everyone at that college or university has to complete, outside of their major, as part of the Bachelor degree.

Courses that make up general education requirements usually fall in these areas

• English/Writing requirement: 6 credits
• Math or quantitative reasoning: 3 - 6 credits
• Humanities: 9 credits
• Behavioral/Social Sciences: 9 credits
• Lab Sciences: 7 - 8 credits

       Total of 34- 37 credits

Here is a sample of general education requirements for some nearby schools. Click on the links to view details.