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Undergraduate students who enter Ohio State having completed an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree from a regionally accredited institution or having completed the Ohio Transfer 36 (OT-36) before their first degree-seeking term will have certain requirements within their General Education marked as satisfied. It may take a semester for transfer credit, including these General Education equivalencies, to appear in a student's degree audit. Students are expected to have Ohio State-approved courses or their equivalents to meet major-level requirements and will still need to complete 5-8 credits within the Ohio State General Education:
- Bookends (1-2 credit hours): These courses introduce and act as capstone for student academic experience. Transfer students may take the 1-credit Connection bookend course, but students matriculating as new first year freshmen are expected to take standard Launch and Reflection courses (Gen Ed 1201, 4001, respectively).
- Theme coursework (4-6 credits total) in Citizenship for a Diverse & Just World. Courses taken elsewhere that articulate with approved Citizenship courses can count, but this requirement will not be satisfied by category matching OT-36 courses in e.g., Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences, or Social and Behavioral Sciences
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While the FAQs below are informative students are encouraged to connect with their academic advisor about the specifics of their situation.
What do the Bookends cover?
The Bookends are one-credit courses: GenEd 1201 (Launch), GenEd 2601 (Connections) and GenEd 4001 (Reflection). These courses are unique to Ohio State and help students maximize their learning and personal/professional growth at different points in their college experience. There are specific learning outcomes for each, but in general, these courses focus on supporting students in developing their academic identity, in using their experiences with courses that span the breadth of academic disciplines to enrich this identity, and in developing the tools to reflect upon and contextualize their academic identity.
Who takes which Bookend course(s)?
All new first-year students take the Launch seminar within their first three semesters. All students who complete Launch go on to take a Reflection seminar during their final year. For some students, Reflection is embedded in a major-specific capstone course.
Transfer students who have completed 45 credit hours or more coursework outside of Ohio State are eligible for Connections. Talk with your major advisor about what is required for you if you have questions.
What is the difference between Survey and Launch?
Survey is focused on the expectations and goals of particular majors, whereas Launch focuses on the expectations and goals of the General Education program. Launch supports students in reflecting on their individual academic identity, which is how they see themselves as learners. This identity includes one's beliefs, values and attitudes about education, and how to choose courses and learning experiences that support your individual goals. There are areas of overlap, but the emphasis and depth of focus is different between Launch and Survey.
Can AP/IB credit fulfill Foundations requirements?
In many cases, yes. Vist the Prior Learning Assessment for Examination Credit site to learn which Ohio State course requirements are met by various Advancement Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses.
What if a student has completed most of the Foundations-related coursework during high school?
Courses that are part of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate or Ohio Transfer Credit-36 (OT-36) pathways may meet Foundations requirements. Transferology and the University Registrar are available resources that show ways in which many of these courses translate into the Ohio State curriculum. Students should talk with their advisor if they've completed courses outside of Ohio State that might align with the Foundations but are not listed in these resources.
Which overlaps are allowed?
Although many courses meet the requirements of multiple categories within the General Education program, each specific course can be applied to only one category. For example, Sociology 1102 is approved as both a "Foundations: Social Sciences" course and as a "Foundations: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity" course, but the completed course can only be used to fulfill one of the category requirements.
Some majors have prerequisite or supporting courses that are approved to fulfill a Foundations category, and students may use those courses to meet both the major prerequisite and Foundations requirements. There is no limit to how many program requirements or prerequisites are met by Foundations courses.
For each major, a student can overlap one class in each of the two Themes areas with major requirements or major-appropriate electives. Students who are completing two majors can overlap four classes (max of 8 credits) within a Theme in either or both majors.
No more than six GEN credits (Foundations or Themes, combined) can overlap with a minor. Double majors and minors must still meet all rules about unique credit hours.
What are the Themes?
The Themes are clusters of classes that collectively address big questions and showcase diverse disciplines. The intention of Themes is for students to learn about an issue or problem that interests them from multiple perspectives. These courses offer an opportunity for focused exploration of ideas, perspectives and approaches that complements and deepens one's primary coursework.
How does a student meet the requirements for Themes?
The General Education program requires coursework in two Themes: Citizenship for a Just a Diverse World and one other, chosen by the student (list of Themes available). For all Themes, students complete either two 3-credit hour courses or one one 4-credit course that incorporate specific teaching and learning practices promoting high impact learning and interdisciplinary thinking. When students fulfill a Theme through two courses, the two courses should be from different departments.
Can Themes coursework overlap with a student's major?
Yes, but a maximum of two Themes courses can count towards a major (i.e. - one class from each of the two Theme areas). When a student fulfills a Theme through two 3-credit courses, the courses must come from different departments.
Can coursework from another program count towards the Ohio State GE requirements?
Yes! If a student has earned an Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), Bachelor (or higher) degree from a regionally accredited institution or has completed the Ohio Transfer Credit-36 (OT-36)* prior to starting at Ohio State, they will be marked as having met all of the Foundations and the "choice" Theme needing to only complete the "Citizenship for a Just and Diverse World" Theme course and "Connection" course.
If a student is transferring with individual course credits, rather than having completed an AA, AS or the OT-36*, the specific courses being transferred will be evaluated for their fit to the categories within the General Education (GEN).
*applied Associate degrees and any Associate degree other than an AA or AS are not eligible for block completion of GEN requirements. Students with these degrees can use all courses that come in as direct equivalents to an Ohio State-approved course to fulfill GEN requirements. International institutions do not participate in regional accreditation.
What are the transfer rules for General Education courses?
Courses taken outside of Ohio State that have a specified, direct equivalent to an Ohio State course apply to the General Education (GEN) the same as their Ohio State equivalents. There is no possibility of applying these courses to other categories, and courses with a direct Ohio State equivalent that are NOT an approved option within the GEN cannot be petitioned to meet GEN requirements. Students can request through their major advisor that courses without a direct Ohio State equivalent (marked as special credit in the transcript) be reviewed for their application to the GEN.
if a student is returning to Ohio State after a leave of absence and had begun their degree on a previous General Education program, which program do they follow now?
As of 2024, all Ohio State students are expected to follow the current General Education program (GEN) and the version of their major program that goes along with it. Many courses that were part of previous General Education progarms (GE) remain a part of the GEN. Thus, most of the courses taken for a student's prior general education will map into the GEN. However, because the GEN requires fewer credits than most prior GE programs, courses required by previous GE programs may be applied as hours towards a degree rather than towards a specific degree requirement.
Like transfer students, students returning from a leave of absence may use credentials completed prior to their return to satisfy blocks of the GEN program if they have earned an AA, AS or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution or completed the Ohio Transfer Credit-36* in the intervening time frame. Additional details are in the above FAQ.
*applied Associate degrees and any Associate degree other than an AA or AS are not eligible for block completion of GEN requirements. Students with these degrees can use all courses that come in as direct equivalents to an Ohio State-approved course to fulfill GEN requirements. International institutions do not participate in regional accreditation.