Hope College - General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements

Hope College is a liberal arts college where each student is required to complete general education courses. The first requirement, First Year Seminar, is a two credit general education requirement that is open to first year students only. These seminars are taught on a wide range of topics; the professors of these seminars are also advisors to the students that are in their classes. Another general education requirement is Expository Writing, a four-credit course which can be replaced by English 113 and is a combination of discussion, writing and reading. Health Dynamics, also known as Kinesiology 140, is a two credit general education requirement that focuses on stress management, diet, and exercise. Instructors of this course work with their students to create a program specifically for each individual.

Students are required to take ten credit hours worth of mathematics and natural science courses. These include, but are not limited to: calculus, geometry, biology, chemistry, etc. Hope College requires students to take at least four credit hours of a foreign language and, because Hope is a Christian liberal arts college, at least six credits worth of religion. Students are also required to take two Social Sciences courses, where they can choose from economics, psychology, sociology, communications and political science.

Cultural Heritage is required in order to introduce three human disciplines: literature, history and philosophy from both the ancient and modern world. Hope students complete four credits of Cultural Diversity, designed to teach how to reflect upon cultural and global issues. Finally, students in their final year must complete a Senior Seminar.