Courses 2012-2013
Western State Colorado University is an institution which values the Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as professional programs. The idea behind the General Education curriculum is to provide students with a broad educational foundation which can provide a rich context for their specific fields of study and a basis for understanding an ever more complex and changing world. General Education courses require students to engage with the knowledge, perspectives, and methods of specific disciplines while developing foundations of analysis in reading, writing and critical reasoning. The General Education Program at Western provides a wide variety of opportunity for analytical discovery, independent thinking and informed and engaged citizenship.
A description of the General Education Program 2012-2013
Western’s thirty-five credit General Education Program contains two components: Essential Skills (9 credits) and the Liberal Arts (26 credits).
I. Essential Skills (9 Credits)
The purpose of the Essential Skills requirements is to provide students with the tools needed to reason, write, speak, read, quantify, and use information and technology in new ways of thinking and doing. The acquisition, application, and integration of the Essential Skills are practiced through the General Education curriculum and within courses in the disciplines during the students’ college careers.
Students must earn a minimum grade of “C-” in the following courses to fulfill the Essential Skills requirement:
First Writing Course (3 credits). Complete one of the following:
Enrollment in English 102 Academic Writing requires reading and writing abilities consistent with the university entry-level expectations defined by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Consult with an advisor for English course prerequisites.
Second Writing Course (3 credits). Complete one of the following:
Mathematics Course (3 credits). The mathematics requirement varies by program of study (major, emphasis, minor). Many programs have specific requirements beyond the minimum. In all cases, these specific requirements satisfy the University Mathematics Course requirement. To select the appropriate courses, see the Academic Programs section of this Catalog.
If there is no specific mathematics requirement within a program of study, the minimum Mathematics Course requirement of the University may be satisfied by passing, with a minimum grade of “C-,”any university-level mathematics course numbered 100 or above.
Mathematics essential skills courses include the following:
MATH 105 Mathematics for the Liberal Arts (GT-MA1)* 3 cr
Enrollment in university-level mathematics courses (numbered 100 or above) requires mathematics abilities consistent with the college entry-level expectations defined by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Students should consult with their advisors about which mathematics course is appropriate.
II. Liberal Arts & Sciences (26 Credits)
Each of the courses included in the Liberal Arts program extends the development of Essential Skills while examining the social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts and humanities. Courses in the Liberal Arts program may also satisfy major and/or minor requirements.
Area I: Social Sciences (9 credits) Courses in Area I focus on the following goals:
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Students use social science methods and reasoning.
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Students demonstrate knowledge of how historical, political, economic cultural or social context shape the human environment.
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Students demonstrate knowledge of how individuals relate to the social world, past and present.
Nine credits are required from the courses listed below. Students must choose from three disciplines.
ENVS 100 Introduction to Environment and Sustainability 3 cr
POLS 255 Introduction to Comparative Politics 3 cr
POLS 260 Introduction to World Politics 3 cr
AREA II: The Natural Sciences: (8 credits) Courses in Area II focus on the following goals:
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Students demonstrate knowledge of scientific viewpoints.
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Students use the scientific method.
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Students evaluate the impacts of science and technology on society.
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Students demonstrate scientific literacy.
Eight credits are required from the courses listed below:
AREA III: Arts and Humanities (9 credits).
Courses in Area III focus on the following goals:
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Students enhance their appreciation of the modes of creative expression.
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Students ask fundamental questions of value and meaning.
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Students survey a variety of ways humans have perceived their world.
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Students explore the ways in which the human environment is shaped by social, cultural, linguistic, religious, philosophical, and historical circumstances.
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Students gain increased awareness of the moral and ethical dimensions of the human condition.
Nine credits are required from the courses listed below. Students must choose from three disciplines. English, French, and Spanish are counted as one discipline for General Education purposes.
ART 105 Introduction to Art (GT-AH1)* 3 cr
ART 106 Studio Art for the Non-Artist 3 cr
COM 121 Introduction to Theatre 3 cr
MUS 245 History of Rock and Roll 3 cr
*General Education gtPathways Curriculum
gtPathways is a set of general education courses that the state guarantees to transfer. For information regarding State Guaranteed General Education Transfer Courses and the 31-credit State Guaranteed General Education Transfer Curriculum, please consult the Colorado Department of Higher Education web site.
Articulation Agreements for approved majors: http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/Students.html
