The General Education Program (GEP) at Saint Joseph’s University involves a distinctive liberal arts education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition. General education is essential to the University’s mission, providing all students with the broad knowledge, essential skills, appreciation of diversity, and ethically informed perspective needed by those who would aspire to be “men and women for others.”
General education at SJU aims to achieve a number of important learning objectives. Students who complete the GEP should be able to:
- Demonstrate foundational knowledge of Western civilization and its dynamic interactions with other cultures
- Think critically, conduct inquiry, analyze problems qualitatively or quantitatively and formulate creative responses
- Communicate effectively
- Reflect critically on their own beliefs and values as well as those of others and discuss respectfully religious, social, and cultural difference
- Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship of faith and reason from different theoretical perspectives
- Understand and employ a theoretically informed ethical perspective, which provides the foundation for a transforming commitment to social justice, animated by belief in the dignity and freedom of the human person
- Analyze individual, institutional, and societal behavior
- Understand and employ important concepts and methods in mathematics
- Understand the scientific worldview and apply methods of scientific inquiry
- Appreciate beauty and creativity in their various forms
To learn more about GEP requirements and policies and procedures, and frequently asked questions, please visit the General Education Program (GEP) site.