General Education at La Sierra
If you seek a degree from La Sierra University, you will complete General Education courses. In contrast with courses in your major, which provide in-depth specialized education in a narrow field, General Education courses provide a broad range of knowledge and experience.
Benefits of La Sierra’s General Education program include:
An emphasis on skills necessary for college success and professional advancement:
- written and spoken communication
- argumentation and persuasion
- logic and verbal reasoning
- quantitative reasoning
- critical reading
Grounding in the Liberal Arts tradition
- The Arts
- Humanities
- Mathematics
- Social sciences
- Physical sciences
An interdisciplinary focus
- Thinking “outside the box” of your major.
- Applying skills and thinking styles from one discipline to other disciplines.
- Ability to comprehend and theorize “wicked problems” facing contemporary society.
Personal development:
- Developing a personal value system to support ethical decision making.
- Understanding of spiritual dimensions of human experience.
- Increasing familiarity with academic disciplines and intercultural perspectives.
From Diversity, Community: The MOTTO Courses
Background and Context
The “Motto courses” requirement is rooted in the University’s identity and values, drawing from social sciences and humanities, honoring our Christian principles, and is aimed at promoting the success of all students.
The learning outcomes for the Motto courses requirement are structured around Community Awareness (learning), Engagement (theorizing commitment strategies), and Action (proactive problem-solving); this shifts the focus to communities, and resonates well with La Sierra University’s mission statement: to seek truth, enlarging human understanding through scholarship; to know God, ourselves, and the world through reflection, instruction, and mentoring; to serve others, contributing to the good of our local and global communities.
It also provides a bridge to the University’s service-learning program and to the notion that skills-based education must increasingly complement a traditional knowledge-based approach. Motto Courses Requirement (8 units) Students must take 8 units of “MOTTO” Courses.
Please refer to lasierra.edu/general-education/ to compare offered courses from both designations (Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities) outlined in this section to confirm whether or not they may also satisfy the MOTTO course requirement.
Contact Us
[email protected]
(951) 785-2210
La Sierra Hall 220
General Education Tracks
Four programs of General Education are offered at La Sierra:
Track 1 | The General Education courses completed by most students seeking a Bachelor’s degree | NOTE: For information about La Sierra's NEW General Education program, see the "NEW Gen Ed" link (this program will apply to all incoming students, both new and transfer, in Fall 2024 and after. Continuing students (those who have attended prior to Fall 2024) should see the "OLD Gen ED" link. |
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Track 2 | Specially designed General Education courses available exclusively for students admitted into the University’s Honors program | For more information: see the Honors Program “Curriculum Requirements” |
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Track 3 | General Education courses suitable for transfer students accepted into the Evening Adult Degree Program. | For more information: see the “Evening Adult Degree Program” section of the Undergraduate Bulletin |
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Track 4 | General Education program for students completing the Associate of Science degree in Health Science | Further information will be forthcoming |
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