Two University of Iowa students standing in front of a mountain range in Peru.

General Education Program

General Education at Iowa: The CLAS Core has been designed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to ensure that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in your major and successfully apply your UI degree to professional settings. The GE CLAS Core gives you the opportunity to explore new areas of study and discover new interests. Through the GE CLAS Core required courses, you will learn to gather and interpret information of all kinds, appreciate the history that has shaped us, and think in new ways about our 21st-century global society. Additionally, you learn how to communicate ideas through writing, speaking, and the arts and work with people from diverse backgrounds to generate ideas and solve problems.

If a course you take abroad matches the content, skills, and learning objectives of a GE CLAS Core area (such as Communication & Literacy or Culture, Society & the Arts), it may be approved to fulfill that GE CLAS Core requirement. Many students choose to complete one or more General Education requirement during their study abroad.

This Major Advising Page focuses mainly on the GE CLAS Core for the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students whose primary program of study is administered by another UI college, such as the Tippie College of Business or the College of Engineering, have different general education requirements. All students should be familiar with their college’s general education requirements before enrolling in courses abroad.

Students can fulfill their General Education requirements at any time during your four years at the UI, including during a study abroad program. Be sure to consult with either your academic advisor or your study abroad advisor early about which GE CLAS Core requirements may be your best choices to take while abroad.

All departments provide their students with 4-year graduation plans (e.g. Biology, B.A.) that can be helpful in determining when to take general education courses. Also keep in mind that your major requirements might dictate when you study abroad. Check out the Major Advising Page corresponding with your major for more information about when to plan your study abroad experience.

The GE CLAS Core is designed to provide you with critical thinking and communication skills while exposing you to various disciplines including mathematics, natural and social sciences, fine arts, and technology. All GE CLAS Core courses offered at the UI are designed with these criteria in mind, and courses taken abroad need to meet the same criteria before being approved in substitution for a UI GE CLAS Core course.

The following is an overview of the main GE CLAS Core areas and their components, and options for completing them during your study abroad. Remember, if you are not in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, consult with the College to determine which general education courses can be taken abroad.

Communication & Literacy

The Communication & Literacy requirement consists of four semester hours of Rhetoric, three semester hours of Interpretation of Literature, and World Languages (the number of semester hours needed for the World Language requirement will depend on your placement test). Many students opt to fulfill their World Languages requirement abroad. This is a great option because it gives you the opportunity to interact with native speakers of the language you are studying. The Programs section of this MAP lists study abroad programs designed to satisfy the World Languages requirement through accelerated language study. Rhetoric and Interpretation of Literature courses are extremely difficult to fulfill while abroad but not impossible.

Natural, Quantitative and Social Sciences

The requirements in this area are broken down into the Natural Sciences requirement of seven semester hours, the Quantitative or Formal Reasoning requirement of three semester hours, and the Social Sciences requirement of three semester hours. While Quantitative or Formal Reasoning requirements are very challenging to fulfill abroad, there are several options for the Natural Science and Social Sciences requirements.

Culture, Society and the Arts

Culture, Society and the Arts is separated into the following requirements: Diversity & Inclusion; Historical Perspectives; Literary, Visual & Performing Arts; International & Global Issues; and Values & Culture. You must complete three semester hours of each requirement. While the Diversity & Inclusion requirement must be completed on campus, there is an abundance of courses abroad that can fulfill the other Culture, Society and the Arts requirements.

You should consult with your academic advisor to determine your academic priorities when choosing a study abroad program, and whether fulfilling GE requirements is a good option for you based on your study plan. Note that not every course you take abroad needs to fulfill a specific academic requirement. You can earn elective credit while abroad as well.

It is recommended that you know which GE CLAS Core requirements you need to fulfill when meeting with your study abroad advisor. Your study abroad advisor can advise you on which requirements may be completed abroad and how to request study abroad courses to be approved for GE CLAS Core.

To get a study abroad course approved for a GE CLAS Core requirement it is best to review both the list of UI approved courses for that requirement and the area outcomes for that requirement. Next you will need to search your study abroad program website to find the course offerings for the semester you will be abroad. When looking at courses, be sure to look at the course description and not simply the name of the course. Many courses may be named similarly but they will have varying learning outcome. Finally, keep in mind that GE CLAS Core requirements are introductory courses to a discipline so there cannot be any prerequisite course for the course abroad that you would like approved for a GE CLAS Core requirement. Your study abroad advisor can walk you through the process of getting course abroad approved for GE CLAS Core requirements.

Recommended programs to fulfill GE CLAS Core requirements are divided into two sections below: The first section lists programs that offer the ability to complete the entire World Languages requirement in a single semester. The second section lists programs that have historically offered a variety of courses that can be used to fulfill other GE CLAS Core area requirements. Feel free to browse our program database for other possibilities. The specific programs recommended below may change, so check with your major advisor and Study Abroad for the latest updates.

All students who study abroad must be in good academic and disciplinary standing. Each program listed has coursework taught in English unless otherwise stated. In addition, each program has specific eligibility requirements that may include GPA, prerequisites, and/or class standing. For more information about the program, click on the button below the program description.

World Languages

The following programs are unique because students can complete the entire GE CLAS Core World Languages requirement in one semester. Study Abroad is a founding member of the University Study Abroad Consortium, or USAC, which offers intensive semester-long language programs that enable you to complete your World Language requirement. The following is a list of USAC’s intensive semester-long language programs.

German

USAC Lüneburg Program
Germany

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available focus on German and European studies.

Italian

USAC Viterbo Program
Italy

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available focus on Italian arts, history, culture, and society.

French

USAC Pau Program
France

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available include French and European studies.

Spanish

USAC Alicante Program
USAC San Sebastián Program
Spain

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available include European and Mediterranean studies, art, and psychology.

USAC Heredia Program
Costa Rica

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available include Latin American and ecological studies.

USAC Studies in Chile Program
Chile

Students take a sequence of courses based on their language proficiency. Other courses available include Latin American cultures, journalism, and international studies.