Definition
The breadth courses all undergraduates must take outside their major, allegedly to create well-rounded citizens but often perceived as hoops to jump through. They're the vegetables of higher education—good for you, but students would rather just eat dessert.
Example Usage
Jake grudgingly enrolled in Philosophy 101 to fulfill his general education requirements, discovering too late that thinking about the meaning of existence was harder than his engineering classes.
Origin
Emerged from early 20th-century debates about liberal education versus professional training
Fun Fact
General education requirements are constantly being revised because faculty can never agree on what every educated person should know, leading to endless committee meetings about whether algebra or art history is more essential.
Related Terms
Translate This Term
See “general education requirements” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
Try the Translator