Navigating the General Education Requirements

Be informed.

Check the list of courses that fulfill the basic General Education Communication and Quantitative Reasoning Requirements, which is offered on line. 
Remember:  some Schools and Colleges have additional requirements.

Learn how to search the Schedule of Classes to find courses that fulfill the General Education requirements.   

Audit your transcript to find out if you have outstanding requirements to fulfill.  If DARS is available in your School or College, you can audit your transcript yourself; you should also consult your program advisor.

Browse through the Frequently Asked Questions for students or faculty and staff.

Be proactive.

Schools and Colleges offer advising for students enrolled in or admitted to their schools.  Students who have declared majors or who have been admitted to programs should seek the advice of their department or program advisor.  Students who have declared majors should always check there, first.

Students who are undecided about their majors should contact the Cross College Advising Service (CCAS), located in Room 10 Ingraham Hall (phone 265-5460).  CCAS is a campus-wide advising service for undergraduate students who are undecided about a major, are considering changing majors, or have been denied admission to one of the university's competitive and limited enrollment programs.  CCAS advisers are knowledgeable about the many majors, certificate programs, institutes, and other academic and pre-professional opportunities on the UW-Madison campus. This service supports and facilitates undergraduate decision-making processes through individual appointments and career and special-interest group advising programs throughout the year.  Services are available in the CCAS central Office, residence halls, student unions, and libraries (CCAS staffs a full-time office in Chadbourne Residential College). CCAS is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During peak registration time, it is open in the evenings as well.

Other Schools and Colleges at UW-Madison offer their own advising resources.  Many of these are listed with the additional requirements we note on this site.

General Education Requirement Links

General Information

• Undergraduate Catalog (courtesy of University Publications) -- all courses offered by every department, with codes indicating requirements they fulfill.  Note:   not all courses are offered every semester; check the Schedule of Classes for current listings.
• Schedule of Classes -- Here, students can fill in a variety of parameters to generate lists of currently offered courses that fulfill the general education requirements.
• Courses that fulfill General Education Requirements  
• Degree Audit Reports can be requested through the "My UW" portal, at http://my.wisc.edu/portal/index.jsp
• Frequently Asked Questions about UW-Madison's General Education Requirements for students and for faculty and staff.
• Advising Resources, including a list of advisors by school and college
• Cross College Advising Service (CCAS) (courtesy of L&S Student Academic Affairs MIS Office)
• Undergraduate Advising Toolkit

Communication Requirement Links

• The Writing Center (includes information on the Writing Across the Curriculum program) 

Ethnic Studies Links

• Frequently Asked Questions for students and for faculty and staff
• List of approved ethnic studies courses
• Descriptive Guidelines for ESR Courses
• Faculty Legislation for ESR Courses