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General Education - CERT

The General Education Certificate prepares students for transfer to any four-year college or university in the state. It also satisfies many or all of the CORE requirements contained in the associate degree programs offered at Luna. The certificate is also a good choice for students who are undecided as to their major or program choice. Additionally, the certificate program will give students opportunity to sample various disciplines to determine their educational goals.

For more information, contact Dr. Geno Castillo at gcastillo@luna.edu / 505-454-5388.


Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

  • Graduates will analyze and evaluate oral and written communication in terms of situation, audience, purpose, aesthetics, and diverse points of view.
  • Graduates will express a primary purpose in a compelling statement and order supporting points logically and convincingly.
  • Graduates will use effective rhetorical strategies to persuade, inform, and engage.
  • Graduates will employ writing and/or speaking processes such as planning, collaborating, organizing, composing, revising, and editing to create presentations using correct diction, syntax, grammar, and mechanics.
  • Graduates will integrate research correctly and ethically from credible sources to support the primary purpose of a communication.
  • Graduates will engage in reasoned civic discourse while recognizing the distinctions among opinions, facts, and inferences.
  • Graduates will identify, describe and explain human behaviors and how they are influenced by social structures, institutions, and processes within the contexts of complex and diverse communities.
  • Graduates will articulate how beliefs, assumptions, and values are influenced by factors such as politics, geography, economics, culture, biology, history, and social institutions.
  • Graduates will describe ongoing reciprocal interactions among self, society, and the environment.
  • Graduates will apply the knowledge base of the social and behavioral sciences to identify, describe, explain, and critically evaluate relevant issues, ethical dilemmas, and arguments.
  • Graduates will analyze and critically interpret significant primary texts and/or works of art (this includes fine art, literature, music, theatre,& film).
  • Graduates will compare art forms, modes of thought and expression, and processes across a range of historical periods and/or structures (such as political, geographic, economic, social, cultural, religious, and intellectual).
  • Graduates will recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience across a range of historical periods and/or cultural perspectives.
  • Graduates will draw on historical and/or cultural perspectives to evaluate any or all of the following: contemporary problems/issues, contemporary modes of expression, and contemporary thought.

Degree Requirements

The follow degree requirements are for the 2025-2026 Catalog. For other catalogs, please see Catalogs

Minimum of 32 Credit Hours

General Education Core (31 credit hours)
Area I. Communications (9 credit hours)
COMM1130 Public Speaking 3
COMM2120 Interpersonal Communication 3
ENGL1110 Composition I 3
ENGL1120 Composition II 3
Area II. Mathematics (4 credit hours)
MATH1220 College Algebra 4
Area III. Laboratory Science (4 credit hours)
BIOL1110 General Biology 3
BIOL1110L General Biology Lab 1
BIOL1135 Introductory Environmental Scien 4
BIOL1135L Introductory Environ. Science La 0
BIOL1140 Biology for Health Sciences 3
BIOL1140L Biology for Health Sciences Lab 1
BIOL2110 Princ. of Biology: Cellular andMolecular Biology 3
BIOL2110L Princ. of Biology: Cellular Lab 1
BIOL2210 Human Anatomy and Physiology I 3
BIOL2210L Human Anatomy & Physiology I Lab 1
BIOL2225 Human Anatomy & Physiology II 3
BIOL2225L Human Antmy & Physiology II Lab 1
BIOL2310 Microbiology 3
BIOL2310L Microbiology Lab 1
BIOL2610 Principles of Biology:Biodiversity, Ecology, andEvolution 3
BIOL2610L Principles of Biology:Biodiversity, Ecology, andEvolution Lab 1
CHEM1120 Introduction to Chemistry(Non-Majors) 3
CHEM1120L Introduction to Chemistry Lab(Non-Majors) 1
CHEM1215 General Chemistry I 3
CHEM1215L General Chemistry I Lab 1
CHEM1226 General Chemistry II 3
CHEM1226L General Chemistry II Lab 1
GEOL1110 Physical Geology 3
GEOL1110L Physical Geology Lab 1
GEOL2110 Historical Geology 3
GEOL2110L Historical Geology Lab 1
PHYS1115 Survey of Physics 3
PHYS1115L Survey of Physics Lab 1
PHYS1230 Algebra-based Physics I 3
PHYS1230L Algebra-based Physics I Lab 1
PHYS1240 Algebrga-based Physics II 3
PHYS1240L Algebra-based Physics II Lab 1
PHYS1310 Calculus-based Physics I 3
PHYS1310L Calculus-based Physics I Lab 1
PHYS1320 Calculus-based Physics II 3
PHYS1320L Calculus-based Physics II Lab 1
Area IV. Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credit hours)
ANTH1115 Introduction to Anthropology 3
ANTH1141 Cultures of the World 3
ECON2110 Macroeconomic Principles 3
POLS1120 American National Government 3
POLS2160 State and Local Government 3
PSYC1110 Introduction to Psychology 3
SOCI1110 Introduction to Sociology 3
Area V. Humanities (3 credit hours)
ENGL2610 American Literature I 3
ENGL2620 American Literature II 3
HIST1110 United States History I 3
HIST1120 United States History II 3
HIST1150 Western Civilization I 3
HIST1160 Western Civilization II 3
HIST2110 Survey of New Mexico History 3
RELG2115 History of Christianity 3
RELG2130 History of Christianity 3
SPAN1110 Spanish I 3
Any 100 or 200 Level Literature Course (3 credit hours)
Area VI. Creative and Fine Arts (3 credit hours)
ARTH2110 History of Art I 3
ARTS1120 Introduction to Art 3
ARTS1610 Drawing I 3
FDMA1110 Film History 3
FDMA1545 Intrdctn to Digital Photography& Digital Imaging 3
MUSC1130 Music Appreciation: WesternMusic 3
MUSC1210 Fundamentals of Music forNon-Majors 3
THEA1110 Introduction to Theater 3
THEA1220 Beginning Acting 3
Area VII. Electives (6 credit hours)
Elective 1 (3 credit hours)
An Additional Course from Areas III or IV
Elective 2 (3 credit hours)
An Additional Course from any general education Area