Frequently asked questions about General Education
Find the answers to frequently asked questions about General Education courses.
The General Education courses available to you will depend on the degree (or conjoint degrees combination) for which you are enrolled. To find out which courses are available, see General Education courses by degree.
No. You cannot take a General Education course in a subject in which you have previously passed a course, are already enrolled or are intending to enrol. For example, a student enrolled in POLITICS 106 cannot also enrol in POLITICS 107G.
No. One of the principles of General Education is to provide students with the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, so you cannot take both of your General Education courses in the same subject. For example, a student enrolled in MUS 144G cannot also enrol in MUS 149G.
Yes, a small number of General Education courses are available at Summer School. However, we do not recommend that first-year students take courses in Summer School.
Most General Education courses will be offered on the City Campus. A small number of courses will be offered at Epsom and Manukau campuses.
Yes. A few General Education courses have limits on the number of students who can enrol. Places in these courses will be allocated on a first-in-first-served basis, with some places reserved for new students.
If you change degrees after completing the General Education component, you can apply for a concession to reassign the General Education courses to the new degree.
Most General Education courses are taught at Stage I. There are a small number of Stage II courses. General Education courses are offered at Stage II to allow for some advanced teaching, but are not based on progression or pre-requisite study in that subject. A Stage II General Education course will indicate a more demanding course rather than one that requires pre-requisite study in the subject.
- In general, if you have been admitted to a University of Auckland degree with between 120 and 235 points transfer credit, you will be exempt from 15 points (one course) of General Education.
- If you have been admitted with 240 points or more transfer credit, you are exempt from General Education.
- However, there may be other circumstances where you will have a full or partial exemption, and you should seek advice from your faculty about your General Education requirement. See Faculty student centres.
- If you undertake an exchange programme of one fulltime semester, you are elibigible for a 15-point exemption from General Education without credit.
- This exemption means you still need to pass these 15 points for your degree, but they do not need to be from General Education courses.
No. You must enrol in the G version of a European language course for it to count as General Education. If you enrol in a regular European language course you will be asked to sign a form saying that you know the difference between the G and non-G versions and understand that you cannot change from the non-G to the G version. The non-G version cannot be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
