General Studies (GEN ST) courses support the undergraduate academic experience by offering students a holistic education beyond a particular discipline.
Housed and administered within Undergraduate Academic Affairs, General Studies courses serve as a place for curricular innovation, intellectual curiosity and experimentation. Courses are created and sustained by innovative educators and programs across campus.
General Studies courses facilitate formative and transformative learning experiences and promote critical reflection. These include facilitating positive academic transitions, developing learning communities, providing academic support, offering experiential learning opportunities, and propelling students’ leadership development.
GEN ST 391 is a Credit/No Credit course designed for students who wish to pursue faculty-supervised independent study or research. GEN ST 391 is only appropriate for students who have exhaused all available departmental courses relevant to your subject (ex. departmental 399/499 credit). If you are a pre-major student, please check with the department in which you are doing your project as often you do not need to be in that major to enroll in departmental related research/independent study credit (ex. A pre-major sudent doing research with a Biology faculty member should check with the Biology department about options to enroll in Biology research credit).
Students wishing to enroll in GEN ST 391 should have an already established independent study/research project and faculty supervisor who is willing to serve as a sponsor. Students normally enroll for 1 to 5 credits in a given quarter. A maximum of 15 credits of GEN ST 391 may be applied toward graduation.
Below you'll find the application to apply for GEN ST 391 credit.
Application components
- Personal Information
- Project Components
- Please describe the topic, scope, and academic objective of your project.
- Please describe how you plan to conduct your study/research (ex. Library research, lab facilities, research team, etc.)
- What supervisory/mentorship arrangements have you made with your faculty sponsor?
- How will you document your work (ex. papers, research reports, journals articles, audio/video, original art, etc.)?
- Enrollment Information
- Quarter you wish to enroll
- # of credits
- Faculty Sponsor Information
- Name, department
- You will be asked to upload a letter of support from your faculty sponsor. The letter should include their intention to supervise you in this project.
General Studies Courses fall under three basic themes, which influence the goals of the courses being offered. When the General Studies committee reviews a new course proposal, we evaluate how and where the course falls under the themes. Many of our courses that are currently offered touch on all of the themes, but with stronger focus in one particular area.
Academic Transitions and Support
- Demystify the intellectual, professional, and scholarly expectations of the University learning context, perhaps in comparison to students’ earlier experiences.
- Teach practical strategies, habits, and mindsets that support students, from a variety of different backgrounds, to successfully transition to university expectations and that aid them in improving their academic performance.
- Provide opportunities for transitioning students to sample unfamiliar disciplines, topics, or programs, as a part of learning what the university has to offer.
Experiential Learning
- Introduce students to experiential learning opportunities, such as community engagement, research, and internships at the UW, in Seattle, and abroad.
- Offer opportunities for self-reflection and evaluation in the context of experiential learning.
- Introduce scholarship about the challenges and complexities involved in experiential learning.
Leadership Development
- Offer opportunities for undergraduates to assume leadership roles and to cultivate their leadership potential within the UW community and beyond.
- Introduce scholarship and encourage critical thinking about the challenges and complexities of practicing leadership in a modern university setting and beyond.
- Offer ongoing education and guidance to undergraduate students who will serve as mentors, tutors, or teachers.
Thank you for your interest in developing a General Studies course. We look forward to learning more about your proposed class. Below are the steps we need all instructors (whether or not you have taught a GEN ST course previously) to take to facilitate review and confirmation of courses.
Getting Started
First, please read over our course goals and criteria (above) in order to better understand the purpose of the General Studies curriculum.
Questions for you to consider: What theme (Academic Transition and Support, Experiential Learning, Leadership Development) might your class fall under? Why? Is General Studies the best location for your curriculum on campus?
Your proposal will also require you to submit a draft syllabus.
If you feel like your class is a good fit under the General Studies criteria, you can put together a proposal. Details and deadlines are below.
Deadlines
Please note that our deadlines are nearly 3 quarters in advance of the quarter in which you want to teach.
- Course Offered: SPRING and/or SUMMER QUARTER 2025
- Proposal Due: October 11, 2024
- Course Offered: FALL QUARTER 2025
- Proposal Due: January 10, 2025
- Course Offered: WINTER QUARTER 2026
- Proposal Due: April 11, 2025
Note: If you are ever unsure about when to submit your materials, please email genst@uw.edu.
Teaching support and resources
Staff Teaching Community (STC) — The STC is a learning community established to create space for staff members and other instructors to come together, discuss teaching and share resources with one another. This community tries to come together several times a quarter to discuss thoughtful teaching practices. The committee is open to UAA staff instructors and other staff members across campus interested in teaching. If you are interested in joining or would like to be added to our listserv, please contact Ryan Burt (rburt@uw.edu).
Center for Teaching and Learning — For additional information on teaching, you may want to explore the resources available through the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Syllabus Guidelines and Resources: https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/syllabus-guidelines/
Faculty Resource on Grading: https://depts.washington.edu/grading/
The General Studies Committee works to solidify policies and procedures for GEN ST courses. We work closely with partners around course topics and goals, keeping both consistency and innovation in mind. New courses fitting into existing curriculum structures will be reviewed by the General Studies Committee and any proposed curricular changes in course numbers, descriptions, or purpose will be accomplished through the College Arts & Sciences Curriculum Committee.
Members
- Ryan Burt, Academic Support Programs
- Kathryn Pursch Cornforth, Community Engagement & Leadership Education Center
- Antonia Dorn, UAA Advising
- Dan Feetham, UAA Advising
- Michaelann Jundt, Undergraduate Academic Affairs (Lead)
- Fran Lo, Community Engagement & Leadership Education Center
- Jim Scott, UAA Advising
- LeAnne Jones Wiles, First Year Programs