University Cultural Diversity

In order to further enrich the educational experience of the University of Georgia and to ensure that our graduates acquire the understanding and respect for cultural differences necessary for an enlightened citizenry, all undergraduate students will be required to study cultural diversity within a domestic or global context before graduation. This requirement may be completed by curricular or extracurricular experiences. The curricular requirement option may include study abroad, supported learning experiences, infusion of content across courses, or one course or a series of courses, so long as the particular approach meets the approval of the student's school or college. The extracurricular option may be fulfilled with a community service program or related project approved by the individual school or college. Having once satisfied this requirement, students will not have to fulfill it again unless it is part of the program requirements for their major. Both the curricular and extracurricular options will be developed or revisited by each school or college in consultation with students from that particular school or college. 

The Cultural Diversity requirement should enable students to develop their understanding of issues of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and class not only within the cultures they are studying, but also as applied to their own cultures. Thus, faculty teaching courses or supervising extracurricular experiences should help students process their experiences and insights by application to the contemporary cultures in which they live. 

Each school and college is charged with determining which courses and/or experiences of domestic or global study fulfill the curricular option and which activities fulfill the extracurricular option. Units will design the requirement so there is no increase in hours beyond the approved limit. Each school and college will be responsible for monitoring the compliance of its students to the requirement. 

The University will not mandate a Cultural Diversity requirement for students in post-baccalaureate programs. However, each school or college with a post-baccalaureate program is encouraged to evaluate, using its own procedures, the adequacy of those programs with respect to diversity content and issues and to make modifications where necessary.

For more information on this policy, click here.

To submit a request, please follow the steps below: 

• Click here for a complete list of courses that satisfy the UGA Cultural Diversity requirement, which indicates whether these courses do or do not satisfy the Franklin College Multicultural requirement. For more information, see Franklin College Degree Requirements. 
• Complete the Curriculum Request Form.
  • When you click on the link above, the form will open in a browser.  You will need to save the form and open in Adobe Acrobat.  This will allow you to complete the fillable form and add your signature.
  • Supporting documentation: 
    • Letter of justification signed by the Department Head
    • Printout of the course syllabus
    • Printout of the CAPA description
  • Please submit your PDF request to: April Brown at albrown@uga.edu.
• Once the Franklin College Curriculum Committee has reviewed and approved your request, it will be emailed to the Office of Curriculum Systems and to the Department Head.  No further action is needed.

QUESTIONS?  Please contact April Brown at albrown@uga.edu.