General Education Requirements (GER) - Fall 2009
Overview | Courses by Area | GER Planner | FAQs
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- 1. When do the revised GERs go into effect?
- 2. Who qualifies for the Fall 2009 GERs?
- 3. What is a GER tag?
- 4. How do I know which courses satisfy particular areas of the Fall 2009 GERs?
- 5. When will my O.P.U.S. degree audit and degree planner begin to track the Fall 2009 GERs?
- 6. Do the Fall 2009 GERs have an advanced seminar requirement?
- 7. The Fall 2009 GERs require fewer total credit hours to complete. What should I do with the extra slots in my schedule?
- 8. How does the Fall 2009 GER Continuing Writing Requirement differ from the Fall 2005 GER Post-Freshman Writing Requirement?
- 9. What courses "double-dip" in the Fall 2009 GERs?
- 10. For the "Humanities Art Performance" (HAP) area, how do I know which courses are foreign language courses?
- 11. In the Fall 2005 GERs Area II.B. (Natural Science) required courses from two different departments. Does the Science, Nature, Technology (SNT) area of the Fall 2009 GERs require courses from different departments?
- 12. In the Fall 2005 GERs Area III. (Social Sciences) required courses from two different departments. Does the History, Society, Cultures (HSC) area of the Fall 2009 GERs require courses from different departments?
- 13. What is the minimum grade required for the Fall 2009 GERs?
- 14. Can courses with fewer than four credit hours satisfy GERs?
- 15. What is a course with a variable GER tag?
- 16. I am an Oxford continuee student. How do I know which tags particular Oxford College courses carried?
1. When do the revised GERs go into effect?
The revised GERs go into effect in Fall 2009. However, students who anticipate changing to these general education requirements can begin planning for these changes now. Information about the courses that will satisfy those requirements allows students to plan their schedules to meet the Fall 2009 requirements.
2. Who qualifies for the Fall 2009 GERs?
Any continuing student who is enrolled in Fall 2009 or later can choose to change to the Fall 2009 GERs. All students who begin in Fall 2009 or later must fulfill the Fall 2009 GERs. Students who are graduating in or prior to August of 2009 must satisfy the Fall 2005 GERs.
GER tags designate which GER category a course fulfills:
FSEM: First-Year Seminar
FWRT: First-Year Writing Requirement
WRT: Continuing Writing Requirement
MQR: Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning
MQRW: Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning with Continuing Writing Requirement
SNT: Science, Nature, Technology
SNTW: Science, Nature, Technology with Continuing Writing Requirement
HSC: History, Society, Cultures
HSCW: History, Society, Cultures with Continuing Writing Requirement
HAP: Humanities, Arts, Performance
HAPW: Humanities, Arts, Performance with Continuing Writing Requirement
HAL: Humanities, Arts, Language [Foreign Language Courses]
HALW: Humanities, Arts, Language [Foreign Language Courses] with Continuing Writing Requirement
HTH: Personal Health
PED: Physical Education & Dance
PPF: Physical Education & Dance Principles of Physical Fitness (PPF) Course
Beginning with Fall 2009 courses, this designation will appear on O.P.U.S. in the description of each course. During the 2008-2009 academic year these tags will appear on the Courses By Area section of this website.
4. How do I know which courses satisfy particular areas of the Fall 2009 GERs?
Go here to review the lists of courses that satisfy each area of the Fall 2009 GERs.
5. When will my O.P.U.S. degree audit and degree planner begin to track the Fall 2009 GERs?
The O.P.U.S. degree audit and degree planner for the Fall 2009 GERs became available on Monday, March 16, 2009, for all students who entered Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Fall 2006 or later. Students who matriculated in Fall 2006 or later--but before Fall 2009--and who want to satisfy the Fall 2005 General Education Requirements for graduation should send an e-mail request (complete with their full names and ID numbers) to fall2009degreeaudit@learnlink.emory.edu.
6. Do the Fall 2009 GERs have an advanced seminar requirement?
No. Some departments may continue to require an advanced seminar to complete major or minor requirements, but the Fall 2009 GERs do not require an advanced seminar.
7. The Fall 2009 GERs require fewer total credit hours to complete. What should I do with the extra slots in my schedule?
Students should take the opportunity to go into more depth in their major fields by taking additional courses in their majors. Students may find courses related to their majors in other departments; these courses might enrich their understanding of their areas of concentration. Students may also choose to develop more fluency in the language they chose to study by taking additional courses in that language. Students also may take courses outside of their majors, but which otherwise interest them and may not previously have fit into their schedules. Conversations with faculty advisors can be very helpful in determining how to utilize these elective slots.
8. How does the Fall 2009 GER Continuing Writing Requirement differ from the Fall 2005 GER Post-Freshman Writing Requirement?
Both writing requirements require that you complete three WR courses at Emory. However, the Fall 2009 GERs have removed some of the restrictions that exist in the Fall 2005 Post-Freshman Writing Requirements. First, you can take these three courses at any time during your enrollment at Emory; you no longer have to complete the courses after you reach certain earned hour thresholds. Second, you now can take more than one continuing writing requirement course in journalism, creative writing/screenwriting, or intensive writing in a foreign language.
9. What courses "double dip" in the Fall 2009 GERs?
Most courses--including first-year seminars--fulfill only ONE requirement under the Fall 2009 GERs. The only exception is the continuing writing requirement courses, which can fulfill both the continuing writing requirement AND an additional area of the GERs. Freshman seminars that satisifed more than one GER under the Fall 2005 GERs will satisfy ONLY the first-year seminar requirement under the Fall 2009 GERs.
10. For the "Humanities Arts Performance" (HAP) area, how do I know which courses are foreign language courses?
Courses listed under the "Humanities Arts Performance" (HAP) section and in which the language of instruction is not English are foreign language courses. These courses carry "HAL" (Humanities, Arts, Language) tags instead of "HAP" tags.
11. In the Fall 2005 GERs Area II.B. (Natural Science) required courses from two different departments. Does the Science, Nature, Technology (SNT) area of the Fall 2009 GERs require that courses from different departments?
No, both SNT courses may come from the same department.
12. In the Fall 2005 GERs Area III. (Social Sciences) required courses from two different departments. Does the History, Society, Cultures (HSC) area of the Fall 2009 GERs require that courses from different departments?
No, both HSC courses may come from the same department.
13. What is the minimum grade required for the Fall 2009 GERs?
The minimum grade required in order to satisfy a Continuing Writing Requirement is a C. The minimum grade required to satisfy all other areas of the Fall 2009 GERs is a passing letter grade (D or higher). All GERs--except for Area IX (Physical Education & Dance)--must be taken for a letter grade.
14. Can Emory courses with fewer than four credit hours satisfy GERs?
No, courses must carry four or more credit hours to satisfy GERs, except for courses in Area VIII (Personal Health) and IX (Physical Education and Dance). Transfer or transient credit for three-hour courses at other universities can also satisfy the GERs, as long as the courses appear on the transcript as equivalent to Emory courses that satisfy the Fall 2009 GERs.
15. What is a course with a variable GER tag?
Some--though not many--GER courses carry variable tags. A course usually will carry the primary GER tag, as shown on "Courses by Area" webpages. A variable tag indicates that, depending on the instructor or other factors, a particular section of a course may carry a different GER tag than the primary GER tag. Students should always check O.P.U.S. to determine the GER tag that a variably tagged GER course will carry for a particular semester.
All students enrolled in a single section will receive the same GER credit--as shown in O.P.U.S.--for that course.
For example, REL 999 may carry a primary tag of HAP and a variable tag of HSC. In a particular semester, Sections 000 & 002 of REL 999 may carry the usual primary tag of HAP, but Section 001 may carry the variable tag of HSC. All students in Sections 000 & 002 will earn HAP credit, and all students in Section 001 will earn HSC credit. Students must check O.P.U.S. to determine which sections are carrying particular GER tags. In certain semesters all sections may carry one or the other tag.
All courses taken prior to Fall 2009 carry only credit for the primary GER tag. The variable GER tag system begins with Fall 2009 courses.
16. I am an Oxford continuee student. How do I know which GER tags particular Oxford College courses carried?
Check your degree audit in O.P.U.S. Oxford College has provided Emory College of Arts and Sciences with a list of GER tags for its courses, and we have entered that information into the degree audit.
Contact Us
E-mail fall2009gers@learnlink.emory.edu with any questions you may have.