American University of Beirut

​1. Why do I have to take General Education Courses that don't apply to my major?

Because:

You will gain a wide range of skills and knowledge beyond your field of specialization such as logical and quantitative reasoning, effective communication skills, and art appreciation.

You will have a better understanding of the sciences, cultural movements and societal values.

You will grow into a well-rounded and cultured individual.

All AUB students must take 33-36 credits of general education requirements distributed in the following fields:

See more details under GE Requirements.

Yes.

You can also see the attribute/property of GE courses on Banner. Lists of GE courses offered per semester and per area are also available on AUBSIS under “Search for General Education Courses”.  

Lists of GE courses offered per semester and per area are also available on AUBSIS under “Search for General Education Courses​”.

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Yes, many courses are listed in more than one GE area, but would count in only area. For example ARAB201B is listed under Arabic Communication Skills and Humanities. If you take this course, It would count for only one area in which this requirement is needed.

The GE credit requirements are the same for all majors and faculties. Some faculties put additional requirements on course selections. For example, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences require its students to take two CVSP courses from the humanities requirements; that is, one course from CVSP Sequence I followed by one course from CVSP Sequence II. FEA requires its students to take ENGL 206 instead of ENGL204 as the English Communication Skills requirement.

General education courses contribute to your ability to succeed in your chosen field of study. It is therefore recommended that you take the GE courses early in your academic study. You are advised to complete the majority of the general education courses in the sophomore and junior years, while also taking courses in your major.

If a course in your major is a General Education course, it double-counts toward your major requirements and the GE requirements.  However, no more than half of the courses from a certain GE area (except Quantitative Thought) can be taken from your major.

Provide a detailed syllabus of the course and use this form to get approval of the AUB department related to the course area. You must next petition the Academic/Curriculum Committee of the faculty. See more details under transfer students.

Provide a detailed syllabus of the course and use this fo​rm​ to get approval of the AUB department related to the course area. You must next petition the Academic/Curriculum Committee of the faculty. See more details under transfer students.

A GE area is described through one or more learning outcomes. A Program learning outcome is a statement that indicates what the students are expected to have learned after having fulfilled the program requirements. Courses in Humanities List I strongly correlate with all humanities learning outcomes.  Courses in Humanities List II partially correlate well with  humanities learning outcomes.

The answer is similar to the question about the difference between Humanities List I and Humanities List II.

Students who are exempted from Arabic are required to take a Humanities or a Language course instead, unless their Faculty requires otherwise. Check your faculty specific requirements.

The replacement is left to your school. For example, FEA requires students who are exempted from ENGL203 to take another English course. Check your faculty specific ​requirement​s​.

Students enrolled in double majors or dual degrees, must satisfy the General Education requirements of one major only.