General Education Electives

The capacity of a person to recognize and evaluate artistic and creative achievements is useful in many aspects of their life. Since artistic expression is a fundamentally human activity, which both reflects and anticipates developments in the larger culture, its study will enhance the student’s cultural and self-awareness. Courses in this theme provide students with an understanding of the importance of visual and creative arts in human affairs, of the artist’s and writer’s perceptions of the world and the means by which those perceptions are translated into the language of literature and artistic expression.

In order for individuals to live responsibly and to reach their potential as individuals and as citizens of society, they need to understand the patterns of human relationships that underlie the orderly interactions of a society's various structural units. Informed people will have knowledge of the meaning of civic life in relation to diverse communities at the local, national, and global level, and an awareness of international issues and Canada’s place in the international community. Courses in this theme provide students with an understanding of the meaning of freedoms, rights, and participation in community and public life, in addition to a working knowledge of the structure and function of various levels of government in Canada and/or in an international context. They may also provide an historical understanding of major political issues affecting relations between the various levels of government in Canada and their constituents.

Knowledge of the patterns and precedents of the past provide the means for a person to gain an awareness of his or her place in contemporary culture and society. In addition to this awareness, students will acquire a sense of the main currents of their culture and that of other cultures over an extended period to link personal history to the broader study of culture. Courses in this theme deal broadly with major social and cultural themes. These courses may also stress the nature and validity of historical evidence and the variety of historical interpretation of events. Courses will provide the students with a view and understanding of the impact of cultural, social, ethnic, or linguistic characteristics.

Educated people are equipped for life-long understanding and development of themselves as integrated physiological and psychological entities. They are aware of the ideal need to be fully functioning persons: mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and vocationally. Courses in this theme focus on understanding the individual: his or her evolution; situation; relationship with others; place in the environment and universe; achievements and problems; and their meaning and purpose. They will also allow students the opportunity to study institutionalized human social behaviour in a systematic way. Courses fulfilling this requirement may be oriented to the study of the individual within a variety of contexts.

Matter and energy are universal concepts in science, forming a basis for understanding the interactions that occur in living and non-living systems in our universe. Study in this area provides an understanding of the behaviour of matter that provides a foundation for further scientific study and the creation of broader understanding about natural phenomena. Similarly, the various applications and developments in technology have an increasing impact on all aspects of human endeavour and have numerous social, economic, and philosophical implications. Courses in this area should stress scientific inquiry and deal with basic or fundamental questions of science rather than applied ones. They may be formulated from traditional basic courses in such areas of study as: biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology. As well, courses may be related to understanding the role and functions of technologies in a non-applied manner to provide students with an opportunity to explore the impact of these concepts and practices on their lives.

Most diploma programs at Mohawk College require students to complete two or three General Education Electives. To see how many are required for your program, check your MAP (My Academic Progress), which shows your full program of study—including completed, in-progress, and remaining courses. You can access MAP through MyMohawk → Academics → My Grades → My Academic Progress (MAP).

Most General Education Electives taken at Mohawk college, will automatically transfer if you change from one Mohawk College program to another (or register in another Mohawk program after you have completed one). This means that most students who have already completed General Education Electives at Mohawk College are not required to apply for exemptions.

If you have previously completed General Education Electives at Mohawk College, please check your MAP (My Academic Progress) report through MyMohawk to see if your Electives have been applied to the General Education spaces for your current program of study. If your previously completed Electives are under the “Other Course Activity” section of the MAP report, contact gened [at] mohawkcollege.ca (gened[at]mohawkcollege[dot]ca) to inquire about the eligibility of your prior Mohawk College credits for General Education credit.

If you previously completed courses at another post-secondary institution you might be eligible for exemption from one or more of your General Education Electives. There are several factors to consider when selecting a course to use for a General Education exemption request. To qualify for General Education credit, the transfer course must meet all the following requirements.

• The course must be awarded by an accredited post-secondary College/University.
• The course must support learning in one of the five General Education themes: Arts in Society, Civic Life, Social and Cultural Understanding, Personal Understanding, Understanding Science and Technology. Most courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, or introductory sciences qualify as General Education).
• The content of the course must be unrelated to the vocational outcomes or courses for the student’s program of study.
• Courses that focus on vocational, professional, technical, general interest or applied skills and knowledge do not qualify as General Education. This includes language, advanced science/math, computer, or applied arts courses, placement, practicum, or laboratory courses).
• The course must be a minimum of 3 credits or 42 contact hours
• The final grade on the official transcript must be 60% (C) or higher (50% for courses taken at Mohawk College). Courses with non-numerical grades or that are evaluated on a pass/fail basis are not eligible for Credit Transfer.

Note: To receive transfer credit/ exemption for a program mandated General Education course, the transferring course must match approximately 80% of the learning outcomes for the respective Mohawk College course.

If you have work/life or educational experience that does not meet the criteria for credit transfer/ exemption, you may wish to explore the possibility of having your learning assessed through Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition. PLAR is available for most of our General Education courses. Please note that there is a non-refundable PLAR challenge fee. To obtain further assistance and information about PLAR, please contact the college’s Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition office at: plar [at] mohawkcollege.ca (plar[at]mohawkcollege[dot]ca) 

You can apply for a General Education Exemption online via MyMohawk. For step by step instructions please see: Apply for an Exemption in 5 Easy Steps.  For General Education Exemptions, please select "General Education" when completing your request. For program mandatory gen-eds please select "Regular" course as the exemption type. 

Note: Do not assume your application will be approved! If you are scheduled to take your General Education Elective, register and remain in your course until you are notified about the outcome of your request. If approved, your Elective will be automatically dropped from your timetable.

If you are not currently registered in an Elective and/or you are requesting an exemption for a General Education Elective that you are scheduled to take in a future semester, you can apply for the exemption(s) at any time. If you are trying to exempt from an Elective that you are currently registered in, your application should be received before classes begin in order to be processed before the drop deadline.

Timelines can vary depending on the time of year; however, applications are normally assessed within 10 business days from the time the assessing Department receives your paperwork.

Do not assume your exemption request will be approved! If you are scheduled to take your General Education Elective, register and remain in an Elective course until you have been notified about the outcome of your application. If your exemption request is approved, your Elective course will be dropped automatically from your timetable.

Yes. Each credit sought through exemption requires its own Exemption Request form.

General Education Exemptions are represented as “E” on your transcript/MAP and are not calculated as part of your overall GPA.