UMass Boston

• develop an informed appreciation of the arts and humanities, which encompass philosophy, literature, the fine arts, and the performing arts. 
• learn how people have come to understand and express artistic, aesthetic, moral, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions of the human condition.

• learn about the nature and development of human behavior and institutions through time
• become aware of the complex and ambiguous nature of changing human experience

• learn how the laws of the physical and biological world are derived through observation, theory, and experiment
• expand your scientific knowledge and knowledge of powerful technologies
• understand the importance of falsifiable hypotheses, the nature of scientific "truth," and the impact of science on society

• learn how language and culture impose their own structurings of knowledge
• pursue intensive study of unfamiliar cultures, or study a foreign language or foreign literature in translation

Only certain courses satisfy a distribution requirement. To meet the requirement, a course must provide in-class instruction and practice in at least two general education capabilities, aiming at mid-level competence appropriate to the discipline.  A department offering the course must present an acceptable proposal to the distribution subcommittee of the Faculty  Council General Education Committee before the course can be given a specific distribution status.   See more information in the For Faculty section.