Approved by: Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee
Implementation Date: Summer 2016
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
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General Education
The General Education Program is central to UNC Charlotte's basic mission of providing all of its undergraduates with a liberal arts education. The Program approaches the liberal arts in its traditional meaning of learning the arts appropriate for living the educated, responsible life of a free (liberãlis) citizen. It provides all undergraduate students, regardless of their majors, with the foundations of the liberal education they will need to be informed people who have the ability to act thoughtfully in society, the ability to make critical judgments, and the ability to enjoy a life dedicated to learning and the pleasures of intellectual and artistic pursuits.
The Program is designed to address four areas of liberal education. First, it helps students develop the foundational skills necessary for obtaining the full benefits of a college education: basic college-level writing, basic use of information technology, and basic college-level mathematical and logical skills. Second, it helps provide students with an understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry and the ways that knowledge is acquired and accredited in the life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences. Third, the General Education Program addresses major themes related to living as a liberally educated person in the twenty-first century. Students take four Liberal Studies courses designed especially for the General Education Program. These courses are organized around major themes of liberal education: the arts and society, the Western cultural tradition, global understanding, and ethical and cultural critique. Fourth, it helps students develop more specialized skills for disciplinary writing and oral presentations. Students should seek advice concerning completion of their General Education requirements from an advisor in their department or college.
The General Education Program is administered by University College but individual courses are taught by faculty from all of the colleges. Thus, requests for exceptions to any aspects of the General Education requirements for individual students must be approved by the Dean of University College, but matters relating to the course itself need to be addressed by the department and college offering the course. Some transfer students may be exempt from the General Education Requirements; see Transfer Credit and Advanced Academic Standing below for details.
I. Development of Fundamental Skills of Inquiry (9-12 hours)
First-Year Writing Courses
Students take two courses, UWRT 1101 and UWRT 1102. Entering freshmen who qualify for the accelerated course in writing and rhetoric may meet this requirement by completing one course, UWRT 1103. After completing these courses students are expected to be able to write clearly and concisely in standard English and to be generally prepared to do college-level writing and editing.
- UWRT 1101 - Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I (3) and UWRT 1102 - Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts II (3)
or - UWRT 1103 - Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I and II (3)
Mathematical and Logical Reasoning
One three-credit course in mathematics and a second three-credit course selected from mathematics, statistics, or deductive logic are required.
- MATH 1XXX Math Elective (3)
Plus one of the following:
- MATH 1XXX Math Elective (3)
- STAT 1XXX Statistics Elective (3)
- PHIL 2105 - Deductive Logic (3)
Most undergraduates at UNC Charlotte major in programs that require mathematics or statistics as related work. For these students, the related mathematics requirements determine the courses taken to meet the General Education requirement. Students in majors that do not require related work in mathematics normally take MATH 1100, followed by either MATH 1102 or PHIL 2105.
Basic Skills of Information Technology
Incoming students are expected to have already developed the basic computer skills necessary to use word processing software, email, and the internet. By the end of their first semester at UNC Charlotte, students are expected to have developed the basic skills necessary to find and evaluate information from the internet and bibliographic and database sources in Atkins Library. These skills are developed in UWRT 1101 and UWRT 1103, and help with bibliographical and database search skills is available in the information commons of the Library. Basic tutorial help is also available at campus computer labs. Students are expected to exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computers. More advanced information literacy and technology skills are required by individual departments and majors.
II. Inquiry in the Sciences (10 hours)
Two Courses in the Natural Sciences, At Least One of Which Must Be Taken With a Laboratory
These courses introduce students to the methods of various science disciplines. They provide an understanding of the current scientific knowledge of the world, how that knowledge is secured, and how scientific knowledge changes over time. Selected from:
- Astronomy (PHYS 1130)
- Bioinformatics (BINF 1101)
- Biological Anthropology (ANTH 2141)
- Biology (BIOL 1110, BIOL 1115)
- Chemistry (CHEM 1111, CHEM 1112, CHEM 1200, CHEM 1203, CHEM 1204, CHEM 1251, CHEM 1252)
- Earth Sciences (ESCI 1101)
- Geography (GEOG 1103)
- Geology (GEOL 1200, GEOL 1210)
- Kinesiology (KNES 2168, 2168L, 2169, 2169L)
- Physics (PHYS 1100, PHYS 1101, PHYS 1102, PHYS 1201, PHYS 1202, PHYS 1203, PHYS 2101, PHYS 2102)
- Psychology (PSYC 1101)
- Science (ITIS 1350)
One Course in the Social Sciences
These courses introduce students to the methods of the social sciences and to the applications of these methods for gaining a scientific understanding of the social world. Selected from: