General Education Requirements
Saint Mary’s recognizes that its bachelor’s completion students arrive with educational, work, and life experiences that have already informed their perspectives. As adult learners, students build upon their prior experiences by engaging in coursework that fosters individual development, humanizes practices in the field, and meets the responsibilities and challenges of 21st century citizenship. Coursework in the five general education thematic areas complements professional program expertise and encompasses critical thinking, ethical deliberation, and communicative sensitivity, reflecting Saint Mary’s mission to “awaken, nurture, and empower learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.”
To earn the B.S. degree, a minimum of 30 semester credits for general education must be distributed among the themes as follows:
Creativity and Human Expression (12 cr.): To explore and reflect upon the human spirit and condition by imaginative and expressive means through
- humanities and fine arts (6 cr.), and
- oral and written communications (6 cr.).
Global Human Perspectives (3 cr.): To learn from and with diverse others through
- human diversity, cultural competence, or global viewpoints (3 cr.).
Ethics and Civic Responsibility (6 cr.): To develop a sense of civic responsibility that promotes ethical leadership directed toward social justice and sustainability through
- ethical and civic responsibility (3 cr.), and
- history, and social or behavioral science (3 cr.).
The Natural World (6 cr.): To apply quantitative reasoning and evidence-based inquiry to describe or explain the natural world through
- mathematics (3 cr.) and
- science (3 cr.).
Engaging the Future (3 cr.): To apply integrative problem-solving approaches through
- information literacy, creative problem solving, or interdisciplinary learning (3 cr.).
The general education requirements can be met by
- transferring credit for coursework and/or training (transfer students who have completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum with course grades of C- or higher are considered to have met Saint Mary’s University general education requirements);
- completing the prior learning assessment (PLA) process to recognize competence through life experiences;
- successfully completing standardized examinations such as CLEP or DSST; and/or
- completing a Saint Mary’s University course aligned with a general education theme.
Credit for Prior Learning & Experience (CPLE)
SMUMN recognizes that students possess a wide variety of experience and knowledge prior to enrollment in a degree program. Students may earn college credit for experience and knowledge gained outside a formal college setting by participating in the Credit for Prior Learning & Experience (CPLE) process.
Prior learning and experience may include, but not limited to: professional certification and licensure, work experience and training, military, professional development, and volunteerism.
Students seeking credit through CPLE must first obtain approval from the University’s CPLE Coordinator. The CPLE Coordinator will assist the student in navigating the process.
Credits earned through CPLE count toward a student’s elective credit requirement for degree completion. Students may be granted up to 35 credits. There is a fee structure associated with CPLE. Students cannot duplicate credits transferred as part of the CPLE process.
