Effective Fall 2012, all courses taken to meet the University General Education Requirements must be taken on a graded basis. These grades are included in students' GPA calculations according to school/college GPA rules.

Any undergraduate student whose first college matriculation date is after May 20, 1996 must complete these requirements.

If you completed the UW-Madison General Education requirements as part of your first undergraduate degree, you need not complete them again.  But if your first undergraduate degree is from another institution and your matriculation date is after May 20, 1996, your previous course work will be examined to determine what requirements have been fulfilled by comparable courses taken elsewhere.

If you need to take these tests at a time other than SOAR or the spring regional testing, contact Testing and Evaluation Services, 262-5863 to obtain information or schedule a testing appointment.  The Center for Placement Testing coordinates the UW Placement Testing Program; brief explanations of the placement tests are posted on its website.

If you need more information about these tests, contact the Office of Testing and Evaluation, 262-5863 or visit the Center for Placement testing website, where you will find brief explanations of the placement tests and a sample of the English Placement Test.

It may be possible to study abroad and also fulfill General Education requirements on a program offered through the Division of International Studies. We recommend that you first go to the International Academic Programs (IAP) Resource Room in 250 Bascom to look at the many study abroad opportunities available to you. At that time you will be able to look at the list of courses which have been offered at the study abroad site(s) you are interested in. This includes the UW-Madison course equivalents so you can determine whether it will be possible to fulfill specific General Education requirements while abroad at the site you choose. 

Also, you are encouraged to speak with an academic advisor in IAP to determine if your particular study abroad program will be able to meet all of your academic needs. You can schedule an appointment by calling (608) 265-6329; check their website (http://www.studyabroad.wisc.edu/resourcecenter/index.html) for available hours.

Each spring the Office of Admissions and Recruitment makes Course Equivalency Forms available for students who will be taking courses at another university for the summer. Students submit the completed form with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The Office of Admissions and Recruitment reviews the course and then informs the students how the course will transfer back to Madison. Students should check with an advisor for more information on this topic, such as the need to complete a certain number of credits in residence at UW-Madison.

All transfer course evaluations start with the Office of Admissions and Recruitment - forms and information about getting courses evaluated are available through their website.  Students should be prepared to provide sufficient information about the course taken for an appropriate decision about General Education equivalency to be made.

Many courses that fulfill the general education requirements are offered during the summer.  Refer to the Schedule of Classes to find courses that fulfill specific requirements.

Information on courses that currently meet the General Education Requirements can be found in the Course Guide.  Course Guide "Official Course Information" includes general education and breadth requirements satisfied by each course.  But remember, even if the Course Guide lists a course, you need to check the Schedule of Classes to be sure it will be offered when you need it.

In 1999, the students in the Pathways To Excellence Student Organization  produced Choose Your Own Adventure:  A Guide to the University of Wisconsin-Madison For Students, By Students.  From the beginning, these students ask "Why Are We Here?" and, in framing the answer, discuss the need to meet general requirements.  As they say, "...after fulfilling these two 'main' requirements [Communication and Quantitative Reasoning], you will know how to communicate and understand the world using both words and mathematical expressions-and that's actually pretty cool!"

(For more information about initiatives like Pathways, please visit the Pathways to Excellence Project homepage.)

Both Comm A and Comm B courses address the four modes of literacy: writing, speaking, reading, and listening and they also include instruction in information literacy. Comm A is an introduction to writing and speaking students will encounter in their subsequent college courses, and to the kind of critical writing that will serve them well beyond the university. Comm B courses are designed to give students more in-depth practice with college writing, particularly as found in a particular discipline.

Any student whose first college matriculation date is May 20, 1996 or later must complete the UW-Madison General Education requirements. 

Many students in any entering freshman class are exempt from the Communication A requirement based on placement test scores. Many students also receive AP credits or transfer credits that fulfill the requirement. Transfer students who have not yet completed courses that satisfy this requirement are required to do so. Although Comm A courses are freshman level courses, sophomores, juniors, and seniors who need to complete the requirement are allowed to register for a Comm A course.

There is no exemption from the Comm B requirement. Students must complete a Comm B course on this campus or receive transfer credits that fulfill the requirement.

Please contact Morris Young at (608) 263-3367 from the English Department to discuss if your composition and public speaking courses will satisfy the Comm A requirement. You will likely need to provide course syllabi.

Effective Fall 2006-2007, students may receive degree credit for only one Communication A course taken at UW-Madison.  The prerequisite section of the Timetable listings for Comm A courses contains the phrase "students may receive degree credit for only one Comm A course taken in residence."  If a student has taken a transfer course or has AP credit that would otherwise satisfy Comm A and wishes or needs to pursue additional instruction in written and oral communication and information literacy, she or he can take and receive degree credit for one UW-Madison Comm A course.

Some Comm A courses focus more on the oral component than on the written component.  Other differences arise because some courses emphasize "disciplinary specificity" early on, so the course requires students to write in a particular style. 

What does this mean for you?  Students have some some flexibility to choose courses that work well with their prior experience.  For example, if you need to take Comm A, and if you believe you already have a lot of experience with written communication, you might consider taking a course that emphasizes oral communication (e.g., Com Arts 100).  Or, if you already have experience with oral communication, consider taking a course that emphasizes written communication (e.g., English 100, Life Science Communication 100). 

The Communication A and B courses emphasize written and oral communication, however, they also contain an important library instruction component to help students find and use research tools they need.  This affects students who might "miss" Comm A because they've transferred to UW-Madison, because they're admitted with AP credits that satisfy Comm A, or because their English Placement test scores exempt them from Comm A.  (While transfer students usually have considerable experience using a college or university library, they may not know as much about the large and complex UW-Madison General Library System, which has over forty libraries.)  

All of these students can get a useful introduction to the campus library system by doing CLUE (Computerized Library User Education), an interactive, multimedia tutorial, located at http://clue.library.wisc.edu/.   Students should also feel free to ask reference librarians in any campus library for help.  

For more information, see the CLUE Website's informational handout for students who are exempted from Comm A.  It's posted online at http://www.library.wisc.edu/inst-services/AdvisorsCLUE07c.pdf. 

Writing Intensive courses are not required as part of the General Education requirements. Particular schools or colleges, majors, or other programs may require that students take one or more courses that are designated as writing intensive as part of the program in that area. Since Writing Intensive courses are often upper level courses and provide students with on-going opportunities to practice writing skills, students are encouraged to take as many of these courses as possible.

Demonstrating English competence in the major is required for majors in the College of Letters and Science only for students who are not subject to the General Education requirements. Students who matriculated prior to the adoption of the General Education requirements should contact the advisor in the major about completing the English competency requirement. Students who must satisfy the General Education Communication Requirements will be certified as competent upon the successful completion of the Communication A and Communication B requirements.

No.  Every student who needs to complete the University General Education Requirements must satisfy all of the requirements.  Furthermore, because these courses are different, successful completion of a Comm B course does not presume that a student has also mastered what would have been learned in Comm A.  If you have not satisfied Comm A by achieving a sufficient UW Placement Test score, receiving AP Test credits for the appropriate Comm A equivalent, or by transferring credit for a course taken at another institution, you must take a Comm A course.  If you believe you have taken a course that meets the criteria for Comm A courses, you may petition to have an exception granted. Please see the FAQ above: How can I petition for a course that is not designated for General Education to count for one of the General Education Requirements?" Please note that these requests are rarely granted.

No.  Comm A and Comm B courses are different, so completion of Comm B does not presume that a student has also mastered what would have been learned in Comm A.  If you have not satisfied Comm A by achieving a sufficient UW Placement Test score, receiving AP Test credits for the appropriate Comm A equivalent, or by transferring credit for a course taken at another institution, you must still take a Comm A course.  If you believe you have taken a course that meets all of the criteria for Comm A courses, you may petition to have an exception granted (see the FAQ earlier on this page: "How can I petition for a course that is not designated for General Education to count for one of the General Education Requirements?") However, you should know that exceptions like this are rarely granted.

As an international student, I took ESL 118 as my Comm A requirement. It’s been almost three years since I took the course, and now I’m a senior undergraduate who is graduating this summer with a degree in Journalism. I’ve taken Comm B and plenty of other writing-intensive courses during my college years. However, no course was more difficult for me than the Comm A course that I took in my sophomore year.

This is because I’d never written a formal research paper before taking Comm A. ESL 118 taught me how to write academic articles. I learned how to make a concrete argument through reasoning and proof. I learned how to summarize scholarly articles that I read, and learned how to pull essential information out of them. I was introduced to the APA citation style for the first time, and learned how to avoid accidental plagiarism in writing. In short, I learned the fundamentals of writing in Comm A.

Successfully completing Comm A meant a lot to me. As a student seeking a degree in journalism, it gave me much confidence in writing. Not only that, it provided me the actual skill set to become a journalism major. By taking Comm A, I perfected the use of academic sources and the APA style when writing research papers. This led me to succeed in other writing-intensive courses I’ve taken (including Comm B), and I was often recognized by professors for making strong, precise arguments in research papers.

Visit the Math Tutorial Center website.

No, students may also take Philosophy 210, Reason in Communication, to satisfy the QR A requirement. Students may also be exempted from QR A based on their Math placement score.

No, many courses fulfill the QR B requirement. Students may also be exempted from the QR B requirement based on their Math placement score. Students can find courses that meet the QR B requirement through a search in the Course Guide.

Yes; QR-B builds on skills learned in QR-A, and helps students apply those skills in the context of a discipline.

Yes.  The general policy is summarized below: 

1. A student may be given transfer credit (or AP credit, or credit based on a departmental exam) for a course that equates to a QR-A course to satisfy QR-A.  In the case of Math 141, this would mean a non-remedial QR course at another institution.  This does NOT mean that transfer credit for a QR-B course implies that a student has satisfied QR-A, except as described in (b) below.
2. A student who is given transfer credit (or AP credit or credit based on a departmental exam) for a MATH course that equates to a UW-Madison QR B Math course is presumed to have also satisfied the QR-A requirement. Completing or receiving transfer credit for any other QR-B course does NOT mean that the student has completed or been exempted from the QR-A requirement.
3. If a student transfers from within the UW System, then she or he has (presumably) taken the UWS placement exam.  This can be used to determine QR-A exemption by evaluating whether the scores are high enough to place into MATH 114 or beyond.
4. If neither (a), (b) nor (c) holds, transfer students should take the placement exam and their QR-placement will be determined on the basis of their placement scores (or they can forgo the placement exam and take the QR-A course).  We recommend that transfer students who have not already taken the UWS placement exam and who have not transferred a Math course that exempts them from QR-A take the placement exam.

Not necessarily. A student who is given transfer credit (or AP credit or credit based on a departmental exam) for a MATH course that equates to a UW-Madison QR B Math course, that student is presumed to have also satisfied the QR A requirement. Completing or receiving transfer credit for any other QR B course does NOT mean that the student has completed or been exempted from the QR-A requirement.

The ethnic studies requirement is intended to increase understanding of the cultures and contributions of persistently marginalized racial or ethnic groups in the United States, and to equip students to respond constructively to issues connected with our pluralistic society and global community. This is increasingly viewed as a skill students need to acquire. As the Faculty Senate legislation states:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is committed to fostering an understanding and appreciation of diversity, in the belief that doing so will:

• Better prepare students for life and careers in an increasingly multicultural U.S. environment,
• Add breadth and depth to the University curriculum, and
• Improve the campus climate.

One of the University's overarching goals is to infuse the curriculum in all disciplines with diversity, including those where traditionally it has been absent. The Ethnic Studies Requirement (ESR) is one of several key elements in reaching this goal. This is a requirement that all students take a 3-credit course that considers ethnic/racial minorities that have been marginalized or discriminated against in the U.S. Because issues of ethnic diversity and religion are often intertwined and cannot easily be separated, courses that focus only on religion may, where appropriate, fulfill the ESR.

All courses that the implementation committee approves as satisfying the requirement must provide evidence that the course material illuminates the circumstances, conditions, and experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.

(excerpted from Fac Doc 1736, approved by the Faculty Senate on 9/23/03)

Perspectives on the requirement include such statements as these:

• One advisor notes: "This requirement gives every student the opportunity to learn more about groups who are generally not discussed in much detail or depth in many of our mainstream courses in traditional disciplines. As a result, this requirement can help all of us better understand our neighbors (within the US) who may be different from ourselves; this can bring us all closer to being a real, united community instead of a community divided."
• A member of the faculty describes the requirement as one means of equipping students with the necessary skills to understand and respect others; such skills are fundamental to their ability to communicate with and relate to people who come from different cultures. Simply put, this requirement enables our students to function in a global society.

If the course you took was designated as an ethnic studies course at the time you took it, you will receive credit for it.

The Ethnic Studies Requirement was recently revised, and the changes go into effect in Fall 2005.

• Students who matriculated (entered) the university before Fall 2005 need 3 credits of coursework in Ethnic Studies designated courses.
• Students who matriculate in Fall 2005 need to take one 3-credit course designated as Ethnic Studies.