UM GERs
To earn your Associate of Arts (AA) degree, you must complete 60 course credits with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. This includes completing lower-division General Education Requirements (GERs). If you are a transfer student, 30 of your 60 credits must be earned through the University of Montana (either Missoula College or the main UM—Missoula campus).
Students must earn a C- or better in all general education courses. Classes taken as credit/no credit will count towards the earned UM credits required for the degree, but will not apply toward GERs. Special topics courses cannot be used as a GER until they are approved as a GER.
Learn more about each category, as well as double-dipper courses, below.
Writing Skills
There are two lower-division components to the Writing Skills category:
- WRIT 101: All students must complete WRIT 101 College Composition I, WRIT 201 College Composition II, or transfer in an equivalent. Those students who do not transfer in an equivalent must have the appropriate test scores to enroll in WRIT 101. Please refer to the Placement Test webpage for further information.
- Intermediate Writing Course (lower-division): Unless the student transfers in more than 27 credits at initial UM registration, s/he must complete an intermediate writing course after successfully completing WRIT 101. Students who completed the equivalent of a UM Intermediate Writing Course from an MUS institution may consider this category as satisfied. There are numerous writing courses offered across a variety of different subjects; your advisor will work with you to identify the course most appropriate for you, and/or if you may count a transfer course equivalent towards this category.
Mathematics
To satisfy the Mathematics GER category, students must complete one of the following: M 104, 105, 115, 118, 121, 122, 132, 151, or a mathematics course of 3 or more credits for which one of these is a prerequisite.
Students who transfer in a direct equivalent or other college-level math course determined to be at the same competency level are generally considered as having satisfied this GER category. A minimum score of 50 on the CLEP College Algebra Test, the CLEP College Precalculus Test, or the CLEP College Mathematics Test counts as having satisfied the mathematics requirement.
Students who do not transfer in a mathematics course or other equivalents may be required take the Maplesoft math placement test before enrolling in a math course. Please refer to the Placement Test webpage for further information.
*Foreign Language
*FOR AA DEGREES EARNED FALL 2017 ONWARDS, THIS IS NO LONGER A GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE.*
However, students who start at Missoula College but then matriculate on the mountain campus to pursue a baccalaureate degree WITHOUT earning the AA degree are still subject to completing this general education requirement category pursuant to the requirements of their specific baccalaureate degree major. Please visit with an AA advisor for more information regarding your specific situation.
Groups
The last main category for the GERs is the perspective Group categories. Three credits are required for each perspective group EXCEPT six required for Natural Science. At least one of the courses taken for the Natural Science group must have a laboratory component. Double-dipper courses (see below) are permitted for all groups, as well as all other categories that are applicable.
Each perspective group is assigned a corresponding letter. This letter, with some exceptions, is added to the end of the course number to help identify that it counts for a specific category.
- Expressive Arts (A), 3 credits
- Literary & Artistic Studies (L), 3 credits
- Historical & Cultural Studies (H), 3 credits
- Social Sciences (S), 3 credits
- Ethics & Human Values (E), 3 credits
- Democracy & Citizenship (Y), 3 credits
- Cultural & International Diversity (X), 3 credits
- Natural Science (N), 6 credits (including one course with a laboratory component)
Double-Dipper Courses
A number of courses at UM are double-dippers, which means that they count for more than one GER category. Below is a list of recommended lower-division courses at UM that are double-dippers. (Please refer to the "Courses that satisfy more than one Group" section of the UM Catalog's General Education Requirements section for a full list that includes upper-division courses.) Those available through Missoula College are highlighted yellow. Note that some of these courses may have prerequisite requirements or specific enrollment restrictions.
| Course | GER Categories |
|---|---|
| AAST/HSTA 141H Black: Africa to Hip-Hop and Beyond, An Introduction |
Historical and Cultural Studies (H) |
| ANTY 101H Anthropology and the Human Experience | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ANTY 102H Introduction to South and Southeast Asia |
Historical and Cultural Studies (H) |
| ANTY 122S Race and Minorities | Social Sciences (S) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| ANTY 141H The Silk Road | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ANTY 220S Culture and Society | Social Sciences (S) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ANTY 241H Central Asian Cultures and Civ.: Peoples and Environ. | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ANTY 251H Foundation of Civilization | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ANTY 254H Archaeological Wonders of the World | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ARTH 200H Art of World Civilization: Ancient to Medieval Art | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| ARTH 201H Art of World Civilizations II: Renaissance to Modern | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| ARTH 250L Introduction to Art Criticism | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| CLAS 180H Environment and Nature in the Classical World | Intermediate College Writing Cultural Studies (H) |
| CLAS 251L The Epic | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| CLAS 252L Greek Drama: Politics on Stage | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| CSCI 215E Ethics and Information Technology | Intermediate College Writing Ethics and Human Values (E) |
| CSCI 216E Technology, Ethics and Society | Intermediate College Writing Ethics and Human Values (E) |
| COMX 140L Introduction to Visual Rhetoric | Democracy and Citizenship (Y) Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| ENST 231H Nature and Society | Intermediate College Writing Historical and Cultural Studies (H) |
| GH 151L Introduction to Western Humanities Antiquity | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| GH 152L Introduction to the Humanities Medieval to Modern | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| GPHY 121S Introduction to Human Geography | Social Sciences (S) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| GPHY 141S Geography of World Regions | Social Sciences (S) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| HC 121L Ways of Knowing | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| HC 122E Ways of Knowing II | Ethics and Human Values (E) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTA 101H/103H American History I | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTA 102H/104H American History II | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTR 101H/103H Western Civilization I | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTR 102H/104H Western Civilization II | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTR 150H The Veteran's Experience |
Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| HSTR 230H Colonial Latin America | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| HSTR 231H Modern Latin America | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| HSTR 240H East Asian Civilizations | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| HSTR 241H Central Asian Cult & Civ | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| JRNL 100H Media History and Literacy | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| JPNS 150H Japanese Culture and Civilization | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| LIT 110L Introduction to Literature | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| LIT 120L Poetry | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| LIT 202L The Environmental Imagination | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| LIT 236L Literary Histories | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| LIT 243L Genres, Themes, Approaches | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) |
| MCLG 100H/ANTY 103H Introduction to Latin American Studies |
Historical and Cultural Studies (H) |
| MUSI 207H World Music | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| NASX 105H Introduction to Native American Studies | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| NASX 235X Oral and Written Traditions of Native America | Intermediate College Writing Literary and Artistic Studies (L) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| NASX 239X Native North American History and Art | Literary and Artistic Studies (L) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| PHL 210E Moral Philosophy | Intermediate College Writing Ethics and Human Values (E) |
| PHL 241N History and Philosophy of Science | Natural Science without a lab (N) Historical and Cultural Studies (H) |
| PSCI 210S Introduction to American Government | Social Sciences (S) American and European Perspectives (Y) |
| RLST/SSEA 232H Buddhism | Historical & Cultural Studies (H) Cultural & International Diversity (X) |
| RUSS 105H Introduction to Russian Culture | Historical and Cultural Studies (H) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |
| THTR 101L Introduction to Theatre | Literary & Artistic Studies (L) Democracy & Citizenship (Y) |