2009-2010 University General Education Requirement
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Statement of Purpose. General education provides the foundation for successful academic study, for lifelong learning, and for carrying out the duties of local, national, and global citizenship. By building basic skills in communication, analysis, and computation as well as by broadening students’ historical and cultural perspectives, the general education curriculum helps students acquire an understanding of both self and society, and thus contributes to their personal enrichment while enrolled and after graduation.
The University of Tennessee’s general education program has been designed to enable the student to move among colleges within the university or to move to another institution of higher learning. Although it will provide the students with the skills required by college study, those skills are specific neither to UT Knoxville nor to a particular major or career path.
Outcomes. The program is expected to produce the following outcomes for the students.
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Building Basic Skills. Because the hallmark of the educated person is the ability to think independently, students must be trained to acquire, evaluate, and use information.
- Students must be able to acquire information by conducting independent research, both in a conventional library setting and through the use of the rapidly developing electronic technologies, including databases and internet resources.
- Students must then learn to evaluate the reliability, accuracy, and logical soundness of that information. The students will be taught to apply evaluative techniques to statistical and rhetorical presentations in arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.
- Students must be trained to use the information that they have acquired. They must write clearly, speak convincingly, and solve problems using creative approaches.
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Developing Broadened Perspectives. General education should help students develop habits of self-examination in the context of the individual’s relationship to family, community, society, and world. To this end, general education should also help foster a commitment to respecting the diversity of personal and cultural values.
- Students should be able to explain their own values and beliefs, as well as to understand the histories and cultures behind those values. Students should also develop a commitment to lifelong learning so that they may continue to examine the relationships between their personal perspectives and the perspectives that arise from other cultures.
- Students should strengthen their sensitivity to cultural diversity by studying the histories and traditions of other cultures, both within and outside the United States; and by understanding the dynamic nature of a multicultural world through interdisciplinary perspectives or by learning other languages.
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These are the General Education requirements (See Notes).
A. For Building Basic Skills
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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:
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- By completing 6 hours in English writing courses – either ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 ; or ENGL 118 and ENGL 102 ; or ENGL 131 and ENGL 132 . Eligibility for ENGL 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 ENGL 102 , or with a sophomore-level course in the English department, or ENGL 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 ENGL 101 is earned with a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Test in Language and Composition.
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Upon completion of ENGL 101 and ENGL 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
Agricultural and Extension Education
AGEE 440 - Communication Techniques in Agriculture
Anthropology
ANTH 210 - Principles of Biological Anthropology
Animal Science
ANSC 280 - Biotechnology and Management Practices in Animal Production
Architecture
ARCH 213 - Modern Architecture: Histories And Theories
Art History
AHIS 402 - Seminar in Art History II
Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Child and Family Studies
Civil Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
English
Forestry
Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism
(same as Retail and Consumer Sciences 390)
Industrial Engineering
Information Sciences
(same as Journalism and Electronic Media 450)
Journalism and Electronic Media
Judaic Studies
(same as Medieval Studies 322 and Philosophy 322)
Materials Science and Engineering
Medieval Studies
(same as Judaic Studies 322 and Philosophy 322)
Music Education
Musicology
(same as Women’s Studies 330)
Nuclear Engineering
Nursing
Nutrition
Philosophy
(same as Medieval Studies 322 and Judaic Studies 322)
Plant Sciences
Retail and Consumer Sciences
(same as Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism 390)
Russian
Social Work
Sociology
Theatre
Women’s Studies
(same as Musicology 330)
(same as Philosophy 382)
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II. Communicating Orally (1 course)
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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
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- completion of or (or honors equivalents: or )
or
- completion of a course with an (OC) designation.
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Approved Communicating Orally (OC) Courses
Aerospace Engineering
Animal Science
Art Design/Graphic
Biology
Biomedical Engineering
Biosystems Engineering
Chemistry
Child and Family Studies
Civil Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Environmental and Soil Sciences
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Nursing
Philosophy
(same as Religious Studies 244)
Religious Studies
(same as Philosophy 244)
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III. Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses)
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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.
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- Taking two mathematics or statistics courses from the list below. (Preferably, these courses would be taken in one of the following pairings: and ; and ; and ; and ; and ; , or and or ; and or or .).
or
- 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.
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Mathematics
Statistics
Approved Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Courses
Architecture
Computer Science
Interior Design
Music Technology
B. For Developing Broadened Perspectives
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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)
Anthropology
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Astronomy
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†
Biology
Chemistry
Engineering Fundamentals
Entomology and Plant Pathology
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Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
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Geography
Geology
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†
†
†
†
†
Haslam Scholars Program
†
Microbiology
Nutrition
†
Physics
†
†
†
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II. Arts and Humanities (2 courses)
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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
Africana Studies
(same as Art History 162)
(same as English 225)
(same as English 226)
(same as English 233)
Architecture
Art History
(same as Africana Studies 162)
Classics
English
(same as Africana Studies 225)
(Same as Africana Studies 226)
(same as Africana Studies 233)
Haslam Scholars Program
Musicology
Philosophy
(same as Religious Studies 244)
Religious Studies
(same as Philosophy 244)
Russian
Theatre
University Honors
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III. Social Sciences (2 courses)
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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
Africana Studies
Agricultural Economics
Anthropology
Child and Family Studies
(same as Women’s Studies 230)
Economics
Geography
Haslam Scholars Program
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
University Honors
Women’s Studies
(same as Child and Family Studies 220)
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IV. Cultures and Civilizations (2 courses)
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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
Africana Studies
Anthropology
Classics
Environmental and Soil Sciences
Global Studies
History
Latin American Studies
Medieval Studies
Religious Studies
Sociology
University Honors
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INTERMEDIATE FOREIGN LANGUAGE SEQUENCES
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Arabic
Asian Languages
Asian Studies
Chinese
Classics
French
German
Hebrew
Italian
Japanese
Persian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
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INTENSIVE INTERMEDIATE FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES
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French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Spanish
Notes
- Some courses on the various General Education course lists may have prerequisites. Students are responsible for meeting all course prerequisites.
- A student’s college/program may require specific General Education courses.
- General Education courses must be taken for a letter grade (i.e., AF) rather than Satisfactory/No Credit (unless this is the only way the course is offered).
- The Office of Disability Services (ODS) is committed to providing equal opportunities for students with disabilities at the University of Tennessee. Appropriate accommodations will be made to enable persons with disabilities to satisfy the General Education requirements. Students with documented disabilities should contact the Office of Disability Services for assistance with appropriate accommodations at (865) 974-6087 or ods@tennessee.edu.
- Subcommittees of the Undergraduate Council General Education Committee are charged with management of the courses to be included on the General Education course lists for the Basic Skills and Broadened Perspectives areas. The most current list of General Education courses is posted at http://web.utk.edu/~ugcouncl.
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