General Education Transfer Agreement (GERTA)

General education courses in the areas of communications, arts and humanities, social sciences, mathematics, science and technology taken at any North Dakota University System institution or any other participating colleges/universities count upon transfer toward the general education requirements at all NDUS institutions in one of the following two ways:

  1. If the general education coursework includes courses from each of these areas totaling at least 36 semester credits and completes the general education requirements of the institution from which the student transfers, then the student is deemed to have completed the lower division general education requirements of the institution to which the courses are transferred.
  2. In all other cases the general education courses from the indicated areas are applicable to an appropriate general education requirement of the institution to which they are transferred. In these cases the number of credits required to complete the general education requirement in each area is determined by the policies of the institution to which the courses are transferred.

Within the stipulated areas each institution shall indicate in its catalog and other student advisement materials its courses which are approved for general education. NDUS institutions may establish program/institution specific requirements. A student should consult the institution to which he or she intends to transfer relative to these program/institution requirements.

NDSCS GERTA Requirements

The following NDSCS requirements have been approved by the North Dakota University System for the purposes of meeting general education requirements for transfer to other NDUS institutions:

  1. Communication (nine credits: six credits English and three credits communications): Any course marked ND:ENGL may apply to the six credits English requirement. Any course marked ND:COMM may apply to the speech requirement.
  2. Humanities/history (six credits): From two different prefixes within the categories marked ND:HUM or ND:HIST.
  3. Social and behavioral sciences (eight credits): From two or more prefixes within the category marked ND:SS.
  4. Math, science and computer information systems (13 credits): Any course marked ND:LABSC, ND:MATH, ND:COMPSC, ND:SCI. All students must complete one lab science (ND:LABSC) course, one mathematics (ND:MATH) course and one CIS (ND:COMPSC) course.

NOTE: NDSCS also has a wellness requirement. Please consult specific transfer degree programs for more information.

The NDSCS courses listed in the GERTA column in the General Education and GERTA Course Matrix have been approved by NDUS to meet general education requirements in certain categories