General Education Requirements

General Education

The general education requirements at North Central provide a foundation for students in core areas of study. All students are required to take English composition courses in order to learn to write effectively; a communication course to enhance their verbal skills; and a mathematics course to learn skills in logic, conceptual operations and accurate calculation.

In addition to English, communication and mathematics, students gain a broad orientation to academic disciplines by taking a selection of courses in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.

The Humanities focus on the study of the human condition and help us to understand our lives and world, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or contemplative. Humanities disciplines include modern languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, human communication and the visual and performing arts.

The Sciences explore the scope and major concepts of a scientific discipline such as biology, chemistry, earth science or physics. In these courses, students learn the attitudes and practices of scientific investigators, including logic, precision, experimentation, tentativeness and objectivity. The laboratory component of these courses provides experience in the methods of scientific inquiry.

The Social Sciences are academic disciplines that focus on society and human behavior. Social and behavioral sciences use observational and experimental methods to understand the actions and reactions of humans and animals. Fields of study within the social sciences include anthropology, economics, geography, political science, sociology and psychology.

Credits from students who have attended previous institutions will be evaluated and recorded as meeting ‘MTA’ requirements or North Central Michigan College’s general education requirements, as long as their home institution considered those courses to satisfy general education requirements.

General Education Distribution Requirements for the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science Degrees are described from the following categories.  See individual degrees for requirements and selection of courses in each degree.