California State University, Los Angeles is a comprehensive institution
that offers educational opportunities to its students who are as
varied as the city’s population. Cal State LA. has a special mission
to provide an educational experience that recognizes and takes full
advantage of this diversity, while emphasizing the knowledge,
experiences, and ethical concerns common to all people.

The General Education program enriches the lives of students as they
acquire knowledge, learn to think critically, and use methodologies of
the various disciplines. Students also learn to prepare for
participation in a democracy, to appreciate a sense of shared cultural
heritage, and to understand the environment. Students experience
self-discovery and personal growth and recognize them as lifelong
processes.

General Education prepares students for advanced study in
their chosen academic disciplines and provides a broad
foundation for a lifetime of intellectual discovery and personal and
professional development. The mission of the General Education
program is:

• to prepare students with the intellectual skills and habits
  necessary for success;
• to provide students with a breadth of knowledge through focused
  study in a range of disciplines and disciplinary-specific ways of
  knowing;
• to encourage students to bridge disciplines and
  disciplinary-specific ways of knowing; to develop students who are
  informed citizens and reflective and ethical thinkers actively committed
  to improving their local and global communities; and
• to encourage students to become self-motivated and self-directed
  lifelong learners and leaders in their communities.

General Education Learning Outcomes

The General Education program at CSULA is defined by a set of learning outcomes that are aligned with the CSULA Institutional Learning outcomes and the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) outcomes promoted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and adopted by the California State University system.

Knowledge: Mastery of Content and Processes of Inquiry

Students who successfully complete GE will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the physical and natural world.
• Demonstrate understanding of contemporary events within political and historical contexts.
• Demonstrate understanding of the diversity of cultures and communities in the United States and abroad.
• Demonstrate understanding of constructions, institutions, and structures of power and privilege in societies as well as strategies used to challenge existing inequalities.
• Demonstrate understanding of a range of disciplinary ways of knowing.
• Demonstrate understanding of creative expression in the context of the relevant art form and intellectual history.
• Demonstrate understanding of race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic class.

Proficiency: Intellectual Skills

Students who successfully complete GE will be able to:

• Demonstrate civic literacy that would enable them to participate effectively in a democratic society.
• Use inquiry processes, including quantitative and qualitative reasoning and critical and creative thinking, to engage with contemporary and enduring questions.
• Find, use, evaluate and process information in order to engage in complex decision-making and problem solving.
• Read, speak and write effectively.
• Demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively.

Engagement: Local and Global Communities

Students who successfully complete GE will be able to:

• Demonstrate the capacity to engage meaningfully with diverse communities.
• Demonstrate understanding of how individuals affect society and the environment.
• Demonstrate the capacity to make well informed, ethical, and socially responsible decisions.
• Demonstrate understanding of the interconnectedness of local and global communities.
• Demonstrate literacy in the perspectives and needs of individuals and groups.

Transformation: Integrative Learning

Students who successfully complete GE will be able to:

• Integrate academic learning with life through project-based experiences.
• Integrate their knowledge, skills and experience to address complex, enduring, and emerging issues.

* A minimum C- grade in A1, A2, A3, and B4 classes is required. This does not apply to meeting prerequisite for courses that require these courses to be completed with a grade of C or better. 

GELO (General Education Learning Outcome) Abbreviations:

K = Knowledge: content and processes of inquiry; P = Proficiency: Intellectual Skills; E = Engagement: Local and Global Communities; T = Transformation: Integrative and Lifelong Learning

​