General Education

I. Communicating through Writing (3 courses including English 101 and 102 plus an approved writing-intensive course).

Good writing skills enable students to create and share ideas, investigate and describe values, and record discoveries – all skills that are necessary not only for professional success but also for personal fulfillment in a world where communication increasingly takes place through electronic media. Students must be able to identify areas for inquiry, locate relevant information, evaluate its usefulness and quality, and incorporate the information logically and ethically. They must be able to write correctly, and they must be aware that different audiences and purposes call for different rhetorical responses.

To satisfy this requirement, students take the first-year composition sequence, which may be met in one of two ways:

• By completing 6 hours in English writing courses – either English 101 and 102; or English 118 and English 102; or English 131 and 132. Eligibility for English 118 will be determined by ACT or SAT scores. Students who obtain a grade of A or B in 118 may complete their first-year composition requirement with 102, or with a sophomore-level course in the English department, or English 355. The sophomore course, if designated AH, may also be used toward the Arts and Humanities General Education requirement.
• By earning a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Test in Literature and Composition. Credit in English 101 is earned with a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Test in Language and Composition.

Upon completion of English 101 and 102 or their equivalent, students must take one other course designated as “writing-intensive” (WC) in the undergraduate catalog. The writing-intensive courses can be within the student’s major or an elective. In order to gain a (WC) designation, courses shall require formal and informal writing assignments that total 5,000 words.

Approved Communicating Through Writing (WC) Courses

II. Communicating Orally (1 course)

The ability to communicate one’s ideas orally is as important as the ability to express them well in writing. Students should be able to speak in an informative and/or convincing manner to other individuals and to groups, both small and large. Being able to express one’s thoughts clearly has always been a critical component of good citizenship. Students should be able to locate relevant information, evaluate its usefulness and quality, and incorporate the information logically and ethically in public address. (See Note 5.) This requirement may be completed by

1. completion of Communication Studies 210  or Communication Studies 240  (or honors equivalents: CMST 217  or CMST 247 )
   or
2. completion of a course with an (OC) designation.

Approved Communicating Orally (OC) Courses

III. Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses)

In today’s world, arguments and claims often rely for support on scientific studies and statistical evidence. Students should possess the mathematical and quantitative skills to evaluate such evidence. Furthermore, students should possess the skills both to recognize the quantitative dimension of problems and to use mathematical reasoning to formulate and solve the problem. Finally, students need strong quantitative skills because they are indispensable in managing everyday-life situations. This requirement may be completed by either of the following.

1. Taking two mathematics or statistics courses from the list below. (Preferably, these courses would be taken in one of the following pairings: Mathematics 113 and 115; Mathematics 123 and 125; Mathematics 141 and 142; Mathematics 147 and 148; Mathematics 151 and 152; Mathematics 125, 141 or 147 and Statistics 201 or 207; Mathematics 115 and 123 or 125 or 202.).
   or
2. Taking one mathematics course from the list below and one course designated in the undergraduate catalog as having a quantitative component (QR). The course designated as having a quantitative component may be within the student’s major or an elective.

I. Natural Sciences (2 courses)

As science and technology come to play an increasingly important role in contemporary life, it is essential for all educated persons to have a fundamental understanding of science and its methods. All students should be familiar with one or more scientific disciplines and the role of science in contemporary society. Such familiarity may be gained through acquisition of knowledge of a discipline’s basic vocabulary, chief discoveries, and fundamental principles; exposure to a discipline’s experimental techniques; and the ability to analyze issues with scientific dimensions. This requirement is satisfied by taking two courses from the approved list. At least one of the courses must have a laboratory.

Approved Natural Sciences (NS) Courses († Non-Lab Courses)

II. Arts and Humanities (2 courses)

To live well in the present, one must have an acquaintance with the past, especially with the cultural achievements that are the distinctive hallmarks of all human societies. An appreciation of art, music, theater, literature, and philosophy will not only enrich the lives of students, but it will also help them understand their own and other’s aspirations, both in a historical and a contemporary context. This requirement is satisfied by taking two courses from the list below.

Approved Arts and Humanities (AH) Courses

III. Social Sciences (2 courses)

The goal of the social sciences is to help us understand the way that we live, especially the relation between the individual and the group, sometimes from an historical but often from a contemporary perspective. Vital to the continued health and success of our society is an understanding of the complex individual, political, and social dynamics that make up the modern world. Students should not only have knowledge of the principal concerns of the social sciences, but they should also understand the methods by which social scientists collect and evaluate knowledge. This requirement is satisfied by taking two courses from the following list.

Approved Social Sciences (SS) Courses

IV. Cultures and Civilizations (2 courses)

Knowledge of foreign languages and cultures and their histories have long been required of educated people. Today technologies of travel and communication create global communities, and so increase the importance of this knowledge. While it is not possible to become expert in all cultures and civilizations, a perspective on which to build knowledge over a lifetime can be gained by study of foreign languages and the study of the cultures and histories of their speakers. This perspective improves the ability of students to function effectively in the global community of the twenty-first century by developing an appreciation of linguistic, historical, and cultural diversity. This requirement is satisfied by either

(1) taking two courses from the following list
or
(2) taking a two-course sequence in a foreign language at the intermediate level.
or
(3) taking a six-hour intensive foreign language course at the intermediate level.

Approved Cultures and Civilizations (CC) Courses