The Associate of Arts (A.A.) in General Studies is designed as an accessible and flexible credential that recognizes significant academic achievement while serving as a direct pathway toward a bachelor’s degree. The A.A. in General Studies is open to both first-time freshmen and transfer students who are or have been enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at NLU, providing an opportunity for students to select from a wide range of college-level courses that support both academic exploration and skill development while advancing toward long-term educational and career goals. Built on the foundation of general education, the program develops essential skills in communication, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and the social and natural sciences. Graduates of the program leave with a versatile credential that enhances employability, prepares them for a wide range of professional settings, and positions them for seamless transfer into bachelor’s degree programs.
Program Learning Outcomes
PLO 1: Specialized/Industry Knowledge: Students identify core practices and terminology related to general education studies. Students investigate trends, analyze facts and form interpretations to generate cohesive arguments. Students utilize technology to deliver written and oral communications
PLO 2: Broad and Integrative Knowledge: Students consolidate learning from the five fields of study and to discover and explore concepts and questions that bridge these essential areas of learning.
PLO 3: Intellectual Skills: Students develop both traditional and nontraditional cognitive skills: analytic inquiry, use of information resources, engagement with diverse perspectives, ethical reasoning, quantitative fluency and communicative fluency, emphasizing the importance of making, confronting and interpreting ideas and arguments from different points of reference (e.g., cultural, technological, political).
PLO 4: Applied and Collaborative Learning: Students demonstrate their learning by addressing unscripted problems in scholarly inquiry, at work and in other settings outside the classroom, including research and creative activities involving both individual and group effort and may include practical skills crucial to the application of expertise.
PLO 5: Civic/Democratic and Global Learning: Students demonstrate integration of their knowledge and skills by engaging with and responding to civic, social, environmental and economic challenges at local, national and global levels.
PLO 6: Professional Skills: Students cultivate skills necessary for career readiness, including: decision making, change management, negotiation, organization and prioritization, leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence.
General Education Requirements
Communications
The following courses are recommended:
| ENG 101 | Beginning English Composition | 5 |
| ENG 201 | Intermediate English | 5 |
| ENG 203 | Effective Speaking for the Undergraduate | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines: academic writing, oral communications, and any course in the area of communications.
Humanities and Fine Arts
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ART 105 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art | 5 |
| ART 106 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art I | 2 |
| ART 107 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art II | 3 |
| HIS 103 | History Across the Globe | 5 |
| PHI 107 | Introduction to Ethics and Social Critique | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Humanities: foreign language, history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, interdisciplinary humanities and fine arts, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences
- Fine Arts: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film), film and cinema studies, and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance, theatre appreciation and performance, and dance)
Note: Students who select ART 106 and ART 107 should select another Fine Arts or Humanities course.
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Choose three courses from the list below (one must be math and one must be a natural science):
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Mathematics: college-level and not developmental in nature
- Natural Sciences: physics, chemistry, earth science, astronomy, geology, physical geography, biology, human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, botany and zoology; and interdisciplinary fields such as environmental science, and ecology and conservation
- Mathematics or Natural Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ECO 200 | Macroeconomics for Today’s Professional | 5 |
| HIS 102 | Civics and American Government | 5 |
| HIS 212 | Think Global: Movements in US History and its Impact on Society and School | 5 |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 5 |
| SOC 101 | Foundational Sociology | 5 |
| SOC 204 | Contemporary Chicago | 5 |
| SOC 222 | Culture and Identity | 5 |
| SOC 250 | Cultural and Ethnic Movements in the United States | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the area of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the following disciplines: anthropology, economics, geography, history, human geography, political science, psychology, sociology, interdisciplinary social/behavioral science, interdisciplinary humanities and social and behavioral science.
Additional General Education Courses
Two courses from the disciplines above: Coursework in any general education category or other courses consistent with integrated general education competencies can be used to satisfy the additional general education requirements.
Student and Career Success Requirements (5-10QH)
Student Success
Requires one of the following courses:
| GEN 103 | Student Success Seminar | 5 |
| GEN 103H | Honors Student Success Colloquium | 5 |
| GEN 203 | NLU & You: Tools & Strategies for Student Success | 3 |
Note: GEN 103 is required for first-time freshmen students only, except for Kendall students. GEN 203 (3 QH) is required for students transferring in less than 90 QH.
Career Development
Can be met through any Career Development course with a minimum of 2 QH. Courses may also be waived or credit for prior learning applied. See AA 2021-14 (waive criteria) or credit for prior learning POI 2022-26. The following courses are recommended.
| CAR 202 | Creating Professional Identity | 2 |
| CAR 203 | You The Professional | 3 |
| CAR 204 | Your Professional Story | 1 TO 5 |
| CAR 214 | Creating and Communicating the Professional Brand | 5 |
| CAR 217 | Workplace Leadership | 2 |
| CAR 295 | Career Service Learning | 5 |
| BRV 200 | Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator | 5 |
Prior Career Development courses that are no longer being offerred are also accepted as meeting the Career Development requirements, including GEN 297: Career Development Seminar, GEN 298: Braven Accelerater Course, and GEN 299: Career Development Seminar.
General Studies Electives
College-level courses in any discipline that fit the specific educational goals of the student to meet the overall requirement of 90 credit hours.