General Education - 43 hour

The General Education Requirements

East Central College offers a 43 hour general education block of coursework that satisfies the Missouri Department of Higher Education general education model. In meeting this standard, students graduating from ECC with an AA degree and transferring to a public baccalaureate institution in Missouri will enter the transfer institution at the junior level and will have satisfied the lower division general education requirement. Students completing their AA degree and transferring to public baccalaureate institutions are assured full acceptance of the general education coursework.

The Associate of Arts general education requirement is detailed below:

1. The General Education Core
   Eleven credit hours:
   • 6 credit hours written communication skills (typically English Composition I and II)
   • 3 credit hours oral communication skills (typically either Oral Communication or Public Speaking)
   • 1 credit hour physical education/health and wellness (PE)
   • 1 credit hour Foundation Seminar
2. The Skill Areas
   • Communicating: Students must choose as part of the Skill Area distribution a minimum of two courses designated as writing (WRT ) .
   • Higher Order Thinking: Students must choose as part of the Skill Area distribution a minimum of three courses designated as higher order thinking (HOT).
   • Managing Information: Students must choose as part of the Skill Area distribution a minimum of three courses designated as managing information (MIA  ) or a course from the appropriate list.
   • Valuing: Students must choose as part of the Skill Area distribution a minimum of three courses designated as valuing (VAL ).
   • Global: Students must choose as part of the Skill Area distribution a minimum of three courses designated as global (GLB ).
3. Knowledge Areas
   • Social and Behavioral Science: Student must choose three courses from at least two different academic areas* in the social and behavioral sciences. One course must meet the state’s constitution requirement. (SBS )
   • Humanities and Fine Arts: Students must choose three courses from at least two different academic areas in the humanities and fine arts. (HFA )
   • Mathematics: Students must choose one course at or above the College Algebra level. (MTH )
   • Life and Physical Sciences: Students must choose one course from the list of life sciences and one from the list of physical sciences. At least one of the science courses selected must have a laboratory course associated. (LPS )

*Unique academic areas are identified by course prefix and academic area affiliation.

Students can obtain additional information on general education requirements and course options from the College website or an academic advisor.