James Greenebaum took a hip-hop class at OSU because he thought it would be a fun elective to take with some friends.

But he never thought he’d actually use those dance moves after graduating. Now, X years later and a member of the United States Peace Corp, Greenebaum has changed his mind.

“It turns out that knowing some dance moves and being comfortable dancing is a great asset here in the Dominican Republic,” said Greenebaum, an OSU alumna who studied evolution and ecology. “Being able to dance has helped a lot with my cultural integration.”

OSU is home to some interesting alternative courses under each of its 175 offered majors—from classes such as the aforementioned “Hip-Hop Dance,” “Chocolate Science” and “Wine & Beer in Western Culture”—but students cannot simply take those special interest courses all through the completion of their degree.

Before graduation, students are required to complete a predetermined set of General Education Curriculum, or GEC. OSU says GEC classes, divided into five sections that include skills, diversity, issues of the contemporary world, historical study and breadth, are designed to give students a broader base of knowledge that will help them after graduation.

But despite these promises, students often question whether these classes are worthwhile, especially if they don’t correlate to a given major in any visible way.

“I took a class on formal logic that I'm still waiting to see the use for,” said Miami University graduate Shanley Farris. “That one sticks out in my mind because it was such a challenging course.”

Some alumni, on the other hand, like Sarah Needham, an OSU Fisher College of Business graduate, said she had multiple examples of how those “useless” classes ended up benefiting her in post-graduate life.

“Statistics was very hard, but very useful,” she said. “This is one of those classes where the actual subject matter will come up in real life.”

Needham said that even random GECs, like sociology, came in handy long after leaving the classroom.

“People will talk about broad subjects like this, and you will sound stupid if you’ve never heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or something,” she said.

The functionality of GEC classes primarily depends on future career plans. How can you choose classes now that will give you a well-rounded education and also prepare you for the future? The answer to this question, according to at least one student is to take classes outside of your spectrum of interests.

In addition to the hip-hop class, Greenebaum also said a GEC political science course prepared him for his current career, even though it was completely unrelated to his area of study.

“I was an evolution and ecology major, so I knew nothing about political science,” he said. “This pretty rigorous introduction taught me a great deal about world government structures and politics. This year is an election year in the Dominican Republic, and so I'm very thankful to know a little bit about foreign government structures and how corruption and capitalism play into political dynamics.”

For more information on the GEC system, visit gec.osu.edu. For a list of GEC requirements assorted by major, visit ascadvising.osu.edu/gec/curriculum.