Bridging two cultures

In 2012, Hong Kong's university system will change from a three-year to a four-year curriculum, so each student will have to take more credits – including general education credits – to fulfill the graduation requirements. Accordingly, general education (GE) will play an increasingly important role in students’ college careers. While each university defines and designs GE courses differently, to implement their respective missions and promote their values, generally speaking these courses should not be too specialized and should be suitable for students from any discipline. GE courses help students acquire the skills or abilities essential to university-level learning. ¹ Stanford University introduces students to a broad range of fields and areas of study within the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, applied sciences and technology. Research on GE course design thus emphasizes that such courses should offer diverse and sometimes interdisciplinary perspectives.