• If you started here in fall 2025 or later, visit this Navigating IDEAs in Action page for an overview of the Curriculum.
• If you started here in fall 2022 – spring 2025, visit this Navigating IDEAs in Action page for an overview of the Curriculum.

Once you have access to your Student Center in ConnectCarolina, select the drop-down menu under Academics to access your ‘General Education Progress’ screen. This gives you an overview of your satisfied and remaining IDEAs in Action General Education requirements.

No. However, it is recommended that you start the GLBL-LANG requirement in your first two semesters, and preferably in your first semester. This is particularly helpful if you plan to pursue the same language you studied in high school. Some language courses are offered only in the fall or only in the spring.

Yes. American Sign Language level 3 can be used to fulfill the GLBL-LANG requirement. Some courses have already been pre-approved and will transfer to UNC as GENR 203 (level 3). Other courses will require you to submit a Credit Re-evaluation request. The Language Placement website provides additional details on all options for fulfilling the GLBL-LANG requirement.

You should take at least two First-Year Foundations classes for approximately 4 credits total per semester to be sure you finish these requirements in your first year.

• Example 1: IDST 101 College Thriving (1 credit) + First-Year Seminar or First-Year Launch (3 credits)
• Example 2: IDST 111L Data Literacy Lab (1 credit) + ENGL 105 (3 credits)

You should also start your Global Language requirement during your first year. If you are continuing a language from high school, we highly recommend you start your language in the first semester of your first year. Please note: some language courses are offered only in the fall or only in the spring.

Try to balance your schedule by taking a 1 credit course, such as IDST 101 College Thriving or IDST 111L Data Literacy Lab, and a 3 credit course, such as ENGL 105 or a First-Year Seminar/First-Year Launch. When searching for courses with unique topics such as First-Year Seminars or First-Year Launches, you can choose them based on your interest, but it helps to have an open mind because you may not get your first choice or ideal course every time. If you are unsure about the courses you would like to take, talk to your academic advisor. They can provide support to help you make the right choice.

Yes, in some rare cases, a 3-credit course with embedded lab may be used to fulfill this requirement. Approved courses will have the FC-LAB attribute.

No, if you are pursuing a degree program in Nursing, Clinical Laboratory Science, Radiologic Science, or Dental Hygiene, you must complete at least 6 of the 9 Focus Capacities (plus the Lab). If you double major in a different program, you must complete all 9 Focus Capacities (plus the Lab) as part of your second major.

Yes, if you complete the two-course Senior Honors Thesis sequence, you will fulfill both the High-Impact Experience and RESEARCH Gen Ed requirements.

No. But you are encouraged to take a course in your major/minor if available.

The Office of Student Affairs manages the Campus Life Experience requirement. You can log into the Heel Life application to find CLE events and view your event history to track previous attendance. Each event will have a method for confirming your attendance (receiving credit), such as scanning your student ID, scanning a QR code, or signing an attendance sheet. To learn more, visit the Office of Student Affairs website.

Yes. If you attend more than two approved events in a single semester, the additional event(s) will count towards your overall total. If you attend 8, full-time semesters at UNC-Chapel Hill, you are required to complete 16 Campus Life Experience events. If you attend 3 events in a single semester, all 3 events count towards the 16 required for graduation.

After attending a CLE event, students must fill out the Campus Life Experiences Submission (22-23) form to receive their CLE requirement. Once the form is reviewed and approved by CLE staff, the Tar Heel Tracker should update 24 hours following its approval.

Seniors approved for an underload and enrolled in fewer than nine hours need to complete only one CLE for that term. An underload of nine or more hours still requires two CLEs for that term.

This requirement broadens your perspective on the major by examining its relationship to work in at least one other field. This requirement is only for the BA degree. You may fulfill the requirement by completing a second major, completing a minor, or completing three courses numbered above 199 in departments outside your major. The three courses may not double count with First-Year Foundation or Focus Capacity requirements.

If you started your UNC degree before Fall 2022, you should follow the Making Connections Gen Ed curriculum. If you started your UNC degree in Fall 2022 or later (including taking summer classes at UNC prior to starting in Fall 2022), you must follow the IDEAs in Action Gen Ed curriculum.

In general, you may not change to a different curriculum. However, if you were following the old Making Connections curriculum and took an extended leave of absence from UNC, you may be eligible to opt forward to the new IDEAs in Action curriculum, particularly if you completed less than a year of coursework prior to the leave of absence. Please meet with an academic advisor to discuss your options.

Yes, with some caveats:

• • • Some courses are approved for two (2) Focus Capacity requirements. However, a single course may be used to fulfill only one Focus Capacity requirement. In other words, you must complete nine (9) courses for the nine (9) Focus Capacity requirements.
    • The same course may not be used to fulfill both the Research & Discovery requirement and the High Impact requirement.

  </ul class=”faq-answer”> The chart below provides the ‘overlapping’ rules for the IDEAs in Action curriculum.

• 	FY-Seminar or FY-Launch	1 FC + Lab	Research or High-Impact	Comm Beyond	Interdisciplinary	Sup. Gen Ed
  FY-Seminar or FY-Launch	---	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO
  Focus Capacities	YES	---	YES	YES	YES	NO
  Research & Discovery	YES	YES	---	YES	YES	YES
  High-Impact Experience	YES	YES	---	YES	YES	YES
  Communication Beyond Carolina	YES	YES	YES	---	YES	YES
  Interdisciplinary	YES	YES	YES	YES	---	YES
  Supplemental Gen Ed	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	---

Your Tar Heel Tracker will optimize the best use of courses for fulfilling Gen Ed requirements. Your Gen Ed progress bar and summary report will reference courses approved for two Focus Capacities and which requirement it’s being used to fulfill.

Yes, with the exception of College Thriving, Writing at the Research University, and Lifetime Fitness. Some majors/minors may have additional restrictions. For more info, check the Catalog.

Yes. Some courses have already been pre-approved as UNC equivalent courses, which means the Gen Ed(s) associated with the Study Abroad course are the same as when the course is taken at UNC. Other courses can be submitted for Gen Ed review via the Study Abroad Student Credit Portal. To learn more, visit the Study Abroad website.

Yes. If you think the transfer course meets the learning outcomes for a Gen Ed requirement or is equivalent to a UNC course that meets a Gen Ed requirement, you can submit a Credit Re-Evaluation request. To learn more about the process, visit the Undergraduate Admissions website. The Catalog provides the learning outcomes for each requirement.

• First-Year Foundation requirements
  • Transfer credit may be used to fulfill the Writing at the Research University and GLBL-LANG requirements. You will need to complete the remaining First-Year Foundation requirements at UNC.
• Focus Capacity requirements
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course.
• Reflection & Integration requirements
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course. There are some types of High-Impact Experiences that are not awarded through transfer credit (i.e., internships, independent study).
• Supplemental Education requirement (BA degree only)
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course.

• All IDEAs in Action requirements are satisfied through your associate’s degree, with the following exceptions:
  • Global Language
  • Research and Discovery
  • Lifetime Fitness
  • Communication Beyond Carolina
  • Supplemental General Education (for BA degree only)
• If you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill any of the requirements listed above.
• Although not required, you may elect to enroll in College Thriving, the Data Literacy Lab, and a First-Year Seminar or First-Year Launch course.

See FAQ section for Transfer Students (below).

• First-Year Foundation requirements
  • If you completed 24 or more credits at another institution (earned after graduating from high school), you are exempt from the First-Year Seminar/First-Year Launch, Data Literacy Lab, and College Thriving requirements.
  • If you completed fewer than 24 credits prior to your first semester at UNC, you are required to complete all First-Year Foundations requirements.
  • Writing at the Research University and Global Language can be completed via transfer course credit.
  • College Thriving, FY-Seminar/FY-Launch, and Data Literacy Lab cannot be completed using transfer credit.
• Focus Capacity requirements
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course.
• Reflection & Integration requirements
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course. There are some types of High Impact Experiences that are not awarded through transfer credit (i.e., internships, independent study).
• Supplemental Education requirement (BA degree only)
  • Yes, if you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill the same Gen Ed requirement as the UNC course.

No. The content and structure of these courses are tailored for students in their first two semesters of college. Seats are limited in these courses, so the seats are restricted to first-year students only who are required to complete these courses.

• All IDEAs in Action requirements are satisfied through your associate’s degree, with the following exceptions:
  • Global Language
  • Research and Discovery
  • Lifetime Fitness
  • Communication Beyond Carolina
  • Supplemental General Education (BA degree only)
• If you receive equivalent course credit, you may use the transfer credit to fulfill any of the requirements listed above.

If you completed fewer than 24 hours of college coursework at another institution (earned after graduating from high school), then you are required to complete all First-Year Foundation requirements. Test credit (e.g., AP, IB, SAT II) does not apply to this calculation. Please check the Transfer Credit Report details in ConnectCarolina to see which courses are included in this review.

You must complete College Thriving, First-Year Seminar or First-Year Launch, Data Literacy Lab, and ENGL 105 in your first two semesters on-site at UNC. For example, if Spring 2026 is your first semester at UNC, then you must complete the requirements in Spring 2026 and Fall 2026. You may also register for classes during the summer in between to fulfill these requirements. All students are strongly encouraged to begin Global Language during their first two semesters at UNC, if not already satisfied.

The following requirements may not be completed using by-exam test credit:

• • • College Thriving
    • FY-Seminar/FY-Launch
    • Data Literacy Lab
    • Writing at the Research University
    • Lifetime Fitness
    • High Impact

  </ul class=”faq-answer”>

Of the 9 Focus Capacities, students may fulfill up to 5 Focus Capacities (+Lab) using by-exam credit. Your Tar Heel Tracker will optimize the best use of courses for fulfilling Gen Ed requirements. Additional by-exam credit will count towards general elective credit.

Volunteer work that did not receive academic college credit may not be used to fulfill the High-Impact Experience requirement.

No. Varsity student athletes who participate in a sport for at least one semester are exempt. ROTC students who participate in the program for at least one semester are exempt. You still have the option to take a Lifetime Fitness course.

Yes. Participating in a UNC-approved study abroad program fulfills the High-Impact Experience requirement.

Yes. If you receive academic credit from a department/school at UNC for an internship experience, it will fulfill the High-Impact Experience requirement. If you do not receive credit for the internship experience, it is not eligible for the High-Impact Experience requirement.

No. All Gen Ed courses must be taken for a letter grade, with these exceptions: 1) Lifetime Fitness courses are offered only pass/fail, 2) College Thriving is offered only pass/fail, and 3) some forms of High-Impact Experience courses are offered only pass/fail. For graded courses, you must earn a D or better to pass the course and satisfy the Gen Ed requirement.

Filter your search criteria in ConnectCarolina by the IDEA Gen Ed Attribute (e.g., FY-SEMINAR, INTERDISC, FC-CREATE, etc.) to narrow your search down to the specific kind of IDEAs in Action Gen Ed; make sure you check “Show Open Classes Only.”

No. You may only take one course from each of the following categories.

• • • 1 First-Year Seminar or 1 First-Year Launch
    • 1 Data Literacy Lab (IDST 111L)
    • 1 First-Year Writing (ENGL 105)
    • 1 First-Year Thriving (IDST 101 or HNRS 101)

  </ul class=”faq-answer”>

If you complete the course with a passing grade (i.e., D or better), you may not take another course in that category.

If you must take a First-Year Foundations class again to satisfy that requirement, we will keep you in the enrollment eligibility group so that you may enroll yourself in the needed class in the upcoming semester.

To find writing in the discipline sections, search for ENGL 105 and look for section numbers of 200 or higher. The ‘discipline’ (e.g., Writing in the Natural Sciences, Writing in the Humanities) is not visible in the initial search results, so click on the class section to see a drop-down with the topic. Questions can be directed to greenlawregistrar@unc.edu.

Starting in fall 2025, ‘Triple-I’ courses are called ‘Interdisciplinary’ courses, they have the letter ‘I’ after the course number, and they are no longer corequisites with the Data Literacy Labs. The Data Literacy Lab (numbered IDST 111L) will use a hybrid format, meaning most of the work will be done online each week, with at least six in-person sessions throughout the semester (usually every other week).

• • • • If you are missing both the Triple-I and Data Literacy Lab, you will need to enroll in them separately. In ConnectCarolina, search for the Interdisciplinary course with available seats using the ‘IDEA INTERDISCI’ or ‘IDEA FY-TRIPLE’ class attributes. Search for Data Literacy Labs with available seats using the ‘IDEA FY-DATA’ class attribute or IDST 111L. You should be able to enroll into both directly.
      • If you only need the Triple-I, search in ConnectCarolina for the Interdisciplinary class with available seats using the ‘IDEA INTERDISCI’ or ‘IDEA FY-TRIPLE’ class attributes. You should be able to enroll in the class directly.
      • If you only need the Data Literacy Lab, search for “IDEA FY-DATA” or IDST 111L in ConnectCarolina. You should be able to enroll in the class directly.
      • If you still need the Interdisciplinary class and/or Data Literacy Lab, the class has open seats, and you are still unable to enroll during your registration window, contact first-year-foundations@unc.edu with your name, PID, and the class in question.

    </ul class=”faq-answer”>

No. If you complete the course with a passing grade (i.e., D or better), you have fulfilled the requirement and may not take another FY-SEMINAR or FY-LAUNCH course. If you do not complete the course with a passing grade, you will have to take another FY-SEMINAR or FY-LAUNCH to fulfill this requirement.

The Data Literacy Lab will meet in-person at least six times during the semester, usually every other week. The first in-person meeting will either happen during the first week of classes or the second week of classes. Check the ConnectCarolina class notes and the course syllabus for schedule meeting details. There will also be online modules and assignments throughout the semester that you will work on asynchronously.

If you qualify to enroll in a First-Year Foundations class and received the requisites error message, it may mean that you have gone over your credit limit for your registration session or Wave (Wave 1 limit = 13 hours; Wave 2 limit = 17 hours; Open Enrollment credit limit = 18 hours). You need to drop another class in order to make room for the desired First-Year Foundation in your schedule. Please note that the system will also prevent you from enrolling into more than one class in the same First-Year Foundations category. You might have to swap or drop to accommodate the desired class.

All FY Launch classes are scheduled with the section numbers 01F, 02F, or 03F. You can search for available FY Launch in ConnectCarolina Class Search and filter search criteria by the FY-LAUNCH Gen Ed Attribute; make sure you check “Show Open Classes Only.”

Yes. You should complete your First-Year Foundations requirements in your first two semesters (fall & spring). However, some First-Year Foundations courses may have offerings in the summer. First-year students are welcome to enroll in these courses to fulfill their requirements.

No. The content and structure of these courses are tailored for students in their first two semesters of college. Seats are limited and restricted to first-year students only who are required to complete these courses.

Yes. Seats are reserved for Honors Carolina students until Open Enrollment. At that point, all first-year and qualifying transfer students should be able to freely enroll in these classes.

No. You must take either an Honors FY Seminar or Honors FY Launch to complete this FYF requirement. In doing so, you will also complete your Honors Carolina FY Seminar/FY Launch requirement.