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Students complete these courses to gain a foundation of knowledge to power their exploration and integration of many fields of study. At the end, students will have self-knowledge and awareness, and master the fundamentals of science, arts and humanities, and the forces that shape the individual and modern society through which they will travel their lives.
Learning Outcomes
Physical and Life Science (B1-B3)
Science courses develop students’ understanding of the scientific method as a continuous and adaptive process of discovery and communication about the physical universe and its life forms. These courses equip students with the quantitative and qualitative skills necessary for understanding scientific theories, concepts, and data about both living and non-living systems.
Students will be able to:
- use methods derived from current scientific inquiry in life or physical science to question existing explanations;
- demonstrate ways in which science influences and is influenced by complex social factors, including political and moral issues; and
- recognize methods of science in which quantitative, analytical reasoning techniques are used.
Arts and Humanities (C)
Courses in Arts and Letters develop students’ knowledge and understanding of significant works of the human intellect and imagination. Students examine the interaction of analytical and creative processes in the production and perception of such works, along with the significance of the historical and cultural contexts in which the works are created and interpreted. Courses enable students to participate in social and cultural communities associated with artistic and literary endeavors, thus enriching their personal and professional lives.
Arts (C1)
The Arts and Humanities disciplines provide knowledge and understanding of significant works of the human intellect and imagination. All students will examine the interaction of analytical and creative processes in the production and perception of such works, and the significance of the historical and cultural contexts in which the works are created and interpreted. Courses should enable students to participate in social and cultural communities associated with artistic and literary endeavors, enriching their personal and professional lives.
Students will be able to:
- recognize aesthetic qualities and processes that characterize works of the human intellect and imagination;
- make connections between the arts and cultural and social issues; and
- respond to works of art both analytically (in writing) and affectively (in writing or through other forms of personal and artistic expression).
Humanities (C2)
Students will be able to:
- analyze and appreciate works of philosophical and cultural importance;
- explore and articulate their own subjective aesthetic and intellectual experiences; and
- write effective personal responses to and research-based critical analyses of works of the human intellect and imagination.
Social Sciences (D)
Students learn from Area D courses that human behavior is inextricably interwoven with social, political, and economic institutions. By exploring the principles, methodologies, values systems, and ethics employed in social scientific inquiry, students come to appreciate processes of social change and social continuity, the role of human agency in those social processes, and the forces that engender social cohesion and fragmentation.
Students shall be able to:
- demonstrate understanding of the ways in which social institutions, culture, and environment shape and are shaped by the behavior of individuals, both past and present;
- compare and contrast the dynamics of two or more social groups or social systems in a variety of historical and/or cultural contexts;
- place contemporary social developments in cultural, environmental, geographical, or historical contexts; and,
- draw on social/behavioral science information from various perspectives to formulate applications appropriate to contemporary social issues.
Human Understanding and Development (E)
Students will understand themselves as integrated physiological, social, and psychological beings capable of formulating strategies for lifelong personal development. Courses shall address challenges confronting students who are entering the complex social system of the university, so that students can access university resources to support academic and personal development. It is strongly recommended that students complete this course during their first two semesters of university study.
Students shall:
- understand physiological, social/cultural, and psychological influences on their well-being and reflect upon the interrelationships among these factors;
- know how to access social and academic resources that enhance learning and facilitate positive interpersonal relationships with diverse groups and individuals; and
- recognize themselves as individuals undergoing a stage of development in the human lifespan.
Ethnic Studies (F)
Approved courses shall meet at least three of the five following student learning outcomes: Students shall be able to:
- Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism, racialization, ethnicity, equity, ethno-centrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, imperialism, settler colonialism, and anti-racism;
- Apply ethnic studies theory and knowledge to describe and actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial issues and the practices and movements that have and continue to facilitate the building of a more just and equitable society;
- Critically analyze the intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age;
- Critically review how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation are relevant to current and structural issues such as communal, national, international, and transnational politics as, for example, in immigration, reparations, settler-colonialism, multiculturalism, language policies; and,
- Describe and actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial issues and the practices and movements that have contributed to the building of a more just and equitable society.
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