General education is a vital part of the undergraduate academic experience, providing students with opportunities to explore ideas beyond their major, build knowledge and skills across disciplines, make connections among different areas of study, and prepare to navigate a complex and changing world.

Now, UB is looking ahead.

Ten years after the launch of the UB Curriculum, a campus-wide committee is considering what general education at UB should accomplish for the next generation of students. Through research and input from the UB community, the committee will develop a vision for what all UB undergraduates should learn and experience. 

A major gives students depth in a particular field. General education provides a shared academic foundation that broadens how students understand the world and equips them to approach questions, challenges and opportunities from multiple perspectives.

At a comprehensive research university like UB, general education also presents an opportunity to create a distinctive undergraduate academic experience.

What knowledge and skills should every UB graduate have? What ideas should students encounter outside their major? What kinds of learning experiences should be part of every undergraduate education? And what should make general education at UB distinctly UB?

These are some of the questions the Committee will explore.

The Committee wants to hear from the UB community.

Students arrive at UB with different backgrounds, interests and goals. They pursue more than 150 undergraduate majors across our university. Yet general education creates an opportunity to identify important learning that can connect the undergraduate experience across disciplines. You are invited to think broadly about what that shared academic experience should accomplish.

Community input will be one source of information considered by the Committee, along with research, data and an examination of general education approaches at other institutions. Your ideas will help the committee identify priorities and develop a vision for the future of general education at UB.

This committee brings together faculty and staff from across the university to consider the future of general education at UB. From spring 2026 to spring 2027, the committee will focus on envisioning the future of general education: What should students learn? What should they experience? What should every UB graduate take from their general education? What should make the UB experience distinctive?

The committee will be collecting university input throughout the fall 2026 semester. The committee will develop a comprehensive report during the spring 2027 semester.

A future committee will focus on the design of the curriculum: How should those priorities translate into learning outcomes, courses, requirements and other elements of a general education program?