THE CHALLENGES AND PAINS OF DISCIPLINARY GENERAL EDUCATION: A GLIMPSE INTO SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

As a significant direction of higher education reform, disciplinary general education faces numerous challenges in practice across universities. Drawing on nearly a decade of teaching experience at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), this paper elaborates on the core essence and objectives of disciplinary general education, distinguishes it from traditional general education, and details SUSTech’s specific measures—such as curriculum design, tutorial systems, and tiered teaching—in implementing disciplinary general education under a model without predefined major divisions at enrollment. The paper also analyzes student feedback and existing issues in course practice, offers suggestions for organizing disciplinary general education courses in the AI era, and provides practical references for universities aiming to develop disciplinary general education.