The General Education Curriculum

The General Education Curriculum provides a setting for exploring relationships between and among significant branches of knowledge: the humanities, the arts, and the natural and social sciences. Students are acquainted with various means of discovering and knowing. Although satisfaction of the General Education requirements alone does not define a liberally educated person, such common experiences provide the foundation upon which all further learning is built.

Academic experiences within the General Education Curriculum are intended to shape informed thought and action; thus, each student should possess:

  • a core of knowledge in natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and a recognition of their interrelationships;
  • skills in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and problem solving;
  • effective communication through varied means of expression;
  • broadened aesthetic sensitivities and perceptions;
  • sound ethical values and heightened social conscience and responsibility;
  • an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures and perspectives, both past and present;
  • experience in considering the fundamental questions of knowing oneself, the local and global community, the environment, and God;
  • a recognition of the continuity and interconnectedness of all life; &
  • the desire and capacity for a life of continued physical, intellectual, and spiritual development.

Currently, attainment of these outcomes occurs in coursework within various academic departments. General Education requirements are arranged within seven significant areas of knowledge and human experience as listed on the next page.

The General Education Curriculum

 
Effective Communication: 9 hours
·Two English courses (111 AND 112); &  
·One Communication and Media Studies course (115 or 200)  
 
Christian Faith and Values: 6 hours
·Two Religion courses (231 AND either 233, 235, or 237)  
   
Natural Sciences: 9 hours*

·One Biology Course (100 or 111); &

  
·One Physical Science course from either  
Chemistry (100, 102, 111, or 112),  
Geology (113), or  
Physics (103, 105, 109, or 111); &  
·Three or more credit hours in Mathematics at the level of College Algebra or above*, including Computer Science 107.  
 
Cultural and Aesthetic Values: 16 hours*

·Two courses in different disciplines from either

Art (107, 115, 117, 118, 120, 216, 217, 234, 313),
Theatre and Performance Studies (107, 220, 225, 227, 347, 407, or 425), or
Music (107, 147, 149, 305, 307, 315, 425, or 426); &
·One six-hour sequence from either
History (111 AND 113),
English Literature (211 AND 213), or
Philosophy (201 AND 203); &
·One three-hour course from each Humanities sequence not chosen above (including also Philosophy 150, 151, 152, and 325)
 
Foreign Language and Culture: 0-9 hours*

·Demonstrate language proficiency at the intermediate level in one of the following languages: French (201), German (201), Greek (203), Japanese (201), Latin (201), or Spanish (201);
Social Sciences: 6 hours*

·Two courses in different disciplines from:
Economics (221 or 223),
Political Science (100 or 300), Psychology (111, 242, or 260), or
Sociology (111, 113, SOC/GEO 115, SOC/ANT 116, ANT/GEO 317)
 
Kinesiology and Health Studies: 1 hour

·KHS (100) 

*Special Notes for the General Education Curriculum:

  1. One of the Natural Science courses selected must include a laboratory.
  2. Elementary Education majors must take MAT 103 and MAT 104 (which satisfies the math requirement), KHS 230, and the following: ART 313, THE 407, MUS 315. Initial teacher certification by Kentucky requires laboratory experiences for both biological and physical sciences.
  3. Bachelor of Music Education majors must select:
    1. (a) MUS 425 and 426 and ONE additional course (not two) from disciplines NOT chosen from humanities sequence in Cultural and Aesthetic Values,
    2. either French or German (through 102) in Foreign Language and Culture, AND
    3. One course from those listed in Social Sciences category.