Courses and Learning Outcomes

students on campus

COMMUNICATION (9 hours)

The goal of the communication requirement is to enhance the effective use of the English language essential to students' success in school and in the world by way of learning to read and listen critically and to write and speak thoughtfully, clearly, coherently, and persuasively.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in Written Communication should be able to:

distill a primary purpose into a single, compelling statement.
order major points in a reasonable and convincing manner based on the primary purpose of their composition.
develop their ideas using appropriate rhetorical patterns in response to their rhetorical situation;
employ standard diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics. and
manage and coordinate basic information gathered from multiple sources.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in Oral Communication should be able to:

demonstrate an awareness of the importance of freedom of speech and the ethics of public speech making;
speak extemporaneously in public with confidence;
demonstrate competency in developing and organizing a speech with a compelling thesis statement and solid supporting materials gathered from multiple sources;
convey messages via appropriate verbal, nonverbal, and multimedia forms; and
understand the importance of audience in a public speaking situation and align messages with the interests of the audience.

Courses:

ENGL 1010 (Freshman English I)
ENGL 1020 (Freshman English II)
COMM 2200 (Public Speaking)

ARTS AND HUMANITIES (9 hours)

The goal of the arts and humanities requirement is to enhance the understanding of students who, as citizens and educated members of their communities, need to know and appreciate their own human cultural heritage and its development in a historical and global context. Also, through study of the arts and humanities, students will develop an understanding of the present as informed by the past.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in the Arts and Humanities should be able to:

apply the critical and analytical methodologies of the arts and humanities to a text and/or work of art;
explain the ways in which humanistic and/or artistic expression expresses the culture and values of its time and place;
demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of global and cultural diversity; and
recognize and explore the importance of both continuity and change in human culture and history.

Courses:

AREN 2310 (Architectural History)
ART 1010 (Art Appreciation)
ENGL 2012 (Literary Genres I)*
ENGL 2013 (Black Arts and Literature I)*
ENGL 2022 (Literary Genres II)*
ENGL 2023 (Black Arts and Literature II)*
ENGL 2110 (American Literature I)*
ENGL 2120 (American Literature II)*
ENGL 2210 (Survey of English Literature I)*
ENGL 2220 (Survey of English Literature II)*
ENGL 2310 (World Literature I)*
ENGL 2320 (World Literature II)*
ENGL 2400 (Introduction to Film Studies)
HIST 1000 (Global Culture in History)
MUSC 1010 (Music Appreciation)
PHIL 1030 (Introduction to Philosophy)
RELS 2010 (Introduction to Religious Studies)
THTR 1020 (Appreciation of Drama)

* Designates sophomore literature courses. 3 of the 9 hours required in the humanities and/or fine arts must comprise one of the sophomore literature courses.

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (6 hours)

The goal of the social/behavioral sciences requirement is: (a) to develop in the student an understanding of self and the world by examining the content and processes used by social and behavioral sciences to discover, describe, explain, and predict human behavior and social systems; (b) to enhance knowledge of social and cultural institutions and the values of this society and other societies and cultures in the world; and (c) to understand the interdependent nature of the individual, family, and society in shaping human behavior and determining quality of life.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in the Social and Behavioral Sciences should be able to

recognize and analyze social institutions, structures, and processes in the context of a complex and diverse global society;
explain the relevance of behavioral and social scientific research to contemporary issues
gather, analyze, and present logical conclusions from social and behavioral science research data; and
communicate the values and processes used to formulate theories of individual and social behavior.

Courses:

AFAS 2010 (Introduction to Africana Studies)
ANTH 2300 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology)
ECON 2010 (Principles of Economics I)
ECON 2020 (Principles of Economics II)
GEOG 1010 (World Regional Geography I)
GEOG 1020 (World Regional Geography II)
HPSS 1510 (Health and Wellness I)
NUFS 2300 (Introduction to Food and Culture)
POLI 1010 (Introduction to Political Science)
POLI 2010 (American National Government)
PSYC 2010 (General Psychology)
SOCI 2010 (Introduction to Sociology)
URBS 2010 (Introduction to Urban Studies)
WMST 2000 (Introduction to Women's Studies)

HISTORY (6 hours)

The goal of the History requirement is to develop in students an understanding of the present that is informed by an awareness of past heritages, including the complex and interdependent relationships between cultures and societies.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in History should be able to

recognize and correctly identify persons, institutions, and events of historical importance;
analyze historical continuities and processes of historical change, including the role of geography, economics, culture, and politics;
analyze changing historical constructions of class, gender, race, sexuality, and other social categories and to discuss the progress of challenges to discrimination;
apply historical perspective to contemporary issues;
recognize and critically evaluate historical interpretations; and
analyze a primary source in its historical context.

Courses:

HIST 2010 (American History I)
HIST 2020 (American History II)
HIST 2030 (Tennessee History)
HIST 2060 (World History I)
HIST 2070 (World History II)
HIST 2700 (The African American Experience)

Note: Students lacking the required one high school unit of United States history must fulfill the General Education History requirement by completing six hours comprising HIST 2010, HIST 2020, and/or HIST 2030.

NATURAL SCIENCES (8 hours)

Issues in today's world require scientific information and a scientific approach to informed decision making. Therefore, the goal of the Natural Science requirement is to guide students toward becoming scientifically literate. This scientific understanding gained in these courses enhances students' ability to define and solve problems, reason with an open mind, think critically and creatively, suspend judgment, and make decisions that may have local or global significance.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in the Natural Sciences should be able to:

conduct an experiment, collect and analyze data, and interpret results in a laboratory setting;
analyze, evaluate, and test a scientific hypothesis;
use basic scientific language and processes and be able to distinguish between scientific and non-scientific explanations;
identify unifying principles and repeatable patterns in nature, the values of natural diversity, and apply them to problems or issues of a scientific nature; and
analyze and discuss the impact of scientific discovery on human thought and behavior.

Courses:

AGSC 2400 (Fundamentals of Environmental Science I)
AGSC 2401 (Fundamentals of Environmental Science II)
ASTR 1010 (Introduction to Astronomy I)
ASTR 1020 (Introduction to Astronomy II)
BIOL 1010/1011 (Introductory Biology I)
BIOL 1020/1021 (Introductory Biology II)
BIOL 1110/1111 (General Biology I)*
BIOL 1120/1121 (General Biology II)*
BIOL 2210/2211 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I)**
BIOL 2220/2221 (Human Anatomy and Physiology II)**
CHEM 1030/1031 (General Chemistry I)
CHEM 1040/1041 (General Chemistry II)
CHEM 1110/1111 (General Chemistry I)*
CHEM 1120/1121 (General Chemistry II)*
PHYS 1030/1032 (Conceptual Physics)
PHYS 2010/2011 (College Physics I)
PHYS 2020/2021 (College Physics II)
PHYS 2110/2111 (General Physics I)
PHYS 2120/2121 (General Physics II)

*For science majors.

**BIOL 2210/2211 and BIOL 2220/2221 are approved only for Nursing and Health Sciences majors.

MATHEMATICS (3 hours)

The goal of the Mathematics requirement is to expand students' understanding of mathematics beyond the entry-level requirements for college and to extend their knowledge of mathematics through relevant mathematical modeling with applications, problem solving, critical thinking skills, and the use of appropriate technologies.

Students completing the General Education curriculum in Mathematics should be able to

assess mathematical results for reasonableness and completeness;
apply mathematical and/or basic statistical reasoning to analyze data and graphs;
make meaningful connections between mathematics and other disciplines;
use mathematics to model real-world behaviors and apply mathematical concepts to the solution of real-world problems; and
recognize and model patterns occurring in different mathematical situations.

Courses:

MATH 1013 (Contemporary Mathematics)
MATH 1110 (College Algebra I)
MATH 1120 (College Algebra II)
MATH 1410 (Structure of the Number System I)
MATH 1530 (Introductory Probability and Statistics)
MATH 1710 (Pre-Calculus Algebra)
MATH 1720 (Pre-Calculus Trigonometry)
MATH 1730 (Pre-Calculus Math, Alternate)
MATH 1830 (Basic Calculus I)
MATH 1910 (Calculus I)
MATH 1915 (Calculus and Analytical Geometry I)

Honors sections of the courses listed on this page can also be applied toward General Education requirements.