General Education at Pensacola State College provides the student with a broad range of knowledge and skills that have enduring value, no matter what path in life a student pursues. The foundation built through the general education courses prepares individuals not only for a baccalaureate or associate degree but for lifelong learning as well.

All baccalaureate and associate degree programs at the College include a general education component, which is a substantial part of each degree. Thirty-six credit hours of general education courses are required in the Dr. Marjan Mazza Bachelor of Applied Science in Business and Management, the Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and the Associate in Arts degree. Associate in Science degrees require a minimum of 15 college credit hours of general education courses.

The general education requirements at Pensacola State College are designed to ensure breadth of knowledge. Coursework in Communications, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences is required. No course in the general education program may narrowly focus on skills, techniques, or procedures specific to a particular occupation or profession; instead, general education courses serve as an introduction to a wide range of knowledge and a broad overview of various disciplines and subject matters.

Global Learning Outcomes

Each student who completes the general education program at Pensacola State College will have achieved the following outcomes:

1. CRITICAL THINKING: Evaluate the validity of ideas, principles, or data according to logically consistent standards.
2. COMMUNICATION: Effectively communicate knowledge and ideas.
3. SCIENTIFIC AND MATHEMATICAL LITERACY: Properly identify and apply scientific or mathematical principles and methods.
4. INFORMATION LITERACY: Effectively locate, evaluate, and apply information from a variety of sources.
5. CULTURAL LITERACY: Demonstrate an understanding of human culture and its diversity.

General Education Requirements

The student seeking a baccalaureate or the Associate in Arts degree must complete 36 college credit hours of General Education Coursework as indicated in the following table.

General Education Category	College Credits Required
Communications	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours
Humanities	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours
Mathematics	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours
Natural Sciences	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours
Social Sciences	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours
General Education Electives	Semester Hours: 6 credit hours

Communications (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

Humanities (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

Mathematics (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

Natural Sciences (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

Social Sciences (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

General Education Electives (6 Credit Hours) A.A.

---

 

General Education (Baccalaureate Programs and Associate in Arts Program)

Minimum Grades

The student in an Associate in Arts (AA) degree program must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher and must earn a minimum grade of C or better in each course meeting a general education writing emphasis requirement and in each mathematics course meeting the general education requirement. An overall GPA includes the Pensacola State College cumulative GPA as well as any transfer courses earned prior to enrollment at Pensacola State College.

Non-Traditional Credits

An AA student may not earn more than 15 credit hours of the general education coursework through non-traditional credits. Non-traditional credits include the following: credits earned through CLEP, departmental exemption examination, Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), and all other credits described in Non-Traditional Credits section.

Civic Literacy Requirement

Each student who initially enters a Florida College System institution in the 2022-2023 school year, and thereafter, who anticipates earning an associate in arts degree, associate in science degree, or a baccalaureate degree, must demonstrate competency in civic literacy.

This civic literacy requirement may be met by successfully completing a) and b) prior to graduation:

1. Successfully passing either POS 2041 American Government or AMH 2020 American History from 1877
2. Achieving the standard score on one of the following assessments:
   
   AP Government and Politics: United States - a score of 3 or above
   AP United States History - a score of 4 or above
   CLEP: American Government - a score of 50 or above
   Florida Civic Literacy Examination - a score of 60 or above

Foreign Language Requirement

A student who is enrolling in college for the first time (not a transfer student) in Fall 2014, or thereafter, and anticipates earning a baccalaureate degree or an Associate in Arts degree must meet the foreign language requirement. The foreign language requirement may be met with two years of the same foreign language in high school, two terms of the same foreign language in college, the second term of a freshman-level foreign language course, or appropriate scores on an external test for a foreign language.

An alternate method for students to demonstrate equivalent foreign language competence is by credit awarded on the basis of scores on the foreign language subject matter examinations in the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) as indicated in 6A-10.024(5)(b), F.A.C., which shall count toward the eight to ten term hours. The examination, minimum scores for awarding credit, and maximum credit to be awarded are as follows:

Examination	Minimum Score	Credit Awarded
French	59	6 cc
German	60	6 cc
Spanish	63	6 cc

A student who received an Associate in Arts degree prior to September 1, 1989, or who enrolled in a program of studies leading to an Associate in Arts degree from a Florida state college prior to August 1, 1989 and has maintained continuous enrollment shall be exempt from this admissions requirement. Any lower division student admitted without meeting the foreign language requirement must earn such credits prior to admission to the upper division of a state university. Any Associate in Arts degree graduate from a public community college admitted without meeting the foreign language requirement must earn such credits prior to graduation from a state university.

College-Level Communication and Computation Skills

Per Florida Administrative Code 6A-10.030, prior to receipt of an Associate in Arts degree or prior to entry into the upper division of a public university or college, a student must successfully complete, with a grade of C or higher, the following: 6 semester credit hours of English coursework (ENC 1101  and ENC 1102 ) and 6 semester credit hours of additional coursework in which the student is required to demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments. PSC designates such courses Writing Emphasis courses. In addition, a student must complete 6 semester credit hours of mathematics coursework at the level of college algebra or higher. The College-Level Communication and Computation Skills requirement was formerly referred to as the Gordon Rule.

Writing Emphasis Courses

---