St. Bonaventure University

General Education Curriculum

St. Bonaventure University is a Catholic university dedicated to educational excellence in the Franciscan tradition. We enhance the lives of our students and help them prepare for their futures by providing experiences that build knowledge, skills, and character.

Gen Ed Curriculum Our university has its roots in the traditional liberal arts and sciences, and the general education curriculum values that tradition within the context of the Catholic and Franciscan intellectual heritage.  Its aim is to provide students with foundational knowledge for all majors that aligns with the university’s six student learning goals:

  1. Basic knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences, specialized knowledge in a particular area of study, and the ability to integrate knowledge from different academic disciplines.
  2. The ability to think constructively, critically, and creatively, including competencies in analytic inquiry, quantitative literacy, information literacy, evidential reasoning, and problem solving.
  3. Competence in multimodal communication with special emphasis on oral, written, and digital communication, including an understanding of key issues relating to their use.
  4. A disposition to understand societal issues, seek solutions, and become responsible citizens.
  5. An ability to engage with ultimate questions of a metaphysical, theological, and philosophical nature.
  6. A basic understanding of the Catholic tradition and an appreciation of the intellectual and moral virtues expressed in the Franciscan movement (e.g., humility, compassion, justice with peace, love of wisdom, and the inherent goodness of all creation).

Within the framework of these goals and the university’s mission, the general education curriculum offers students an educational experience that encourages them to examine critically their own cultural assumptions and to explore openly and fairly other perspectives and cultures. This deepening appreciation of their own heritage and sensitive openness to alternative frameworks should prepare students to take their place as thinking, moral individuals in a global community.


Requirements for the General Education Curriculum

The General Education Curriculum is a 37-hour program to help students appreciate a liberal arts education. Each required specific course and each distribution list has been developed based on a list of learning objectives and assessment procedures. (Transfer students receive credit for some of these courses. Please consult Transferring Credits to SBU.)

To see the descriptions for any of the courses listed below, please refer to the Online Undergraduate Catalog.

I. Required specific courses — 15 credits

  • BONA 101. Introduction to St. Bonaventure — 3 credits.
  • THFS 101. The Way of Francis and Clare (Honors students may take THFS 104) — 3 credits.
  • PHIL 104. Introduction to Ethics (Honors students may take PHIL 105) — 3 credits.
  • ENG 101. Writing I and ENG 102. Writing II (Honors students may take ENG 104) — 3 credits each. Please see Placement in ENG 101 & ENG 102.

NOTES: BONA 101 is taken on campus. THFS 101 could be transferred from another Franciscan institution, but the course must be approved. Credits for PHIL 104, ENG 101, and ENG 102 can be given through AP or dual enrollment, or transferred from another institution once the student is enrolled at SBU. Students are placed in ENG 101, 102, or 100.

II. One course from each distribution — 22 credits

  • Franciscan Studies/Theology (Click to see courses)
  • Historical Studies (Click to see courses)
  • Literature and the Visual and Performing Arts (Click to see courses)
  • Natural Science with a Lab (Click to see courses)
  • Philosophy (Click to see courses)
  • Quantitative Literacy (Click to see courses)
  • Social Sciences (Click to see courses)

NOTES: A course can count for only one distribution. (Example: A THFS course could be listed in the LVPA and Theology distributions, but the course can fulfill only one distribution. It is advised for the student to tell the Registrar in which distribution they want the course to be listed.) A course in a distribution could also fulfill a major/minor requirement at the same time.

Distribution courses can be transferred from other institutions or through AP credits. The University will need to evaluate transcripts. Once registered at the University, students need permission before taking any of these courses at another institution.

III. One course from each designation

  • Intensive Writing (W) (Click to see courses)
  • Diversity (D) (Click to see courses)

NOTES: These types of courses can be found anywhere in the curriculum of the University among the distribution lists above (see group II), in a major or minor, or any elective courses.

A course can be designated in both areas (D and W), thus fulfilling both requirements at the same time (unless a student wants the course to also count as a major/minor requirement and a distribution requirement – see below).

A double-designation course can fulfill a maximum of three requirements: (1) a major/minor requirement, one distribution, and only one designation requirement; or (2) a major/minor requirement and two designation requirements, but not a distribution requirement. Even if a course is listed in both Diversity and Intensive Writing, a student could not count the course for both D and W requirements if they want the course to count for a major/minor and a distribution.

Designation courses can be transferred from other institutions or through AP credits. The University will need to evaluate transcripts. Once registered at the University, students need permission before taking any of these courses at another institution.

REMINDER: The more courses are double- (or triple-) counted, the more important it is to check to make sure that a student has at least 120 credit hours to graduate. Double or triple counting does not give students more than 3 credits. Double (triple)-counting can mean that a student has all of their requirements completed but still needs additional credit hours to graduate.

Contact Us
Guy Imhoff

Dr. Guy Imhoff
Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences for General Education
Plassmann Hall 207
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