College core requierments, share and discuss

[Elta]

I noticed that the requirements at my new school are quite different from my old school, though some parts seem to be the same nation wide.

I find them interesting because it is what the schools think every student ought to learn no matter what there final degree is in.

I. UNIVERSITY CORE CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS 36-41

A. English – 3-6 credits

ENG 101 – Composition I (3 credits)
ENG 102 – Composition II (3 credits)
(NOTE: Students who place in ENG 102 are not required to complete ENG 101)

B. Mathematics – 3-5 credits

Select one of the following courses 3-5
*APST 270 – Introduction to Statistical Methods (4 credits)
MATH 120 – Fundamentals of College Mathematics (3 credits)
MATH 128 – Precalculus and Trigonometry (5 credits)
*STAT 152 – Introduction to Statistics (5 credits)
MATH 176 – Introductory Calculus for Business and Social Sciences (3 credits)
MATH 181 – Calculus I (4 credits)

*Must also complete MATH 124 or achieve satisfactory score on placement examination to receive core math credit.

C. Natural Sciences – 6 credits

Refer to the “Natural Sciences” section of the Core Curriculum chapter in this catalog.

D. Social Sciences – 3 credits

Refer to the “Social Sciences” section of the Core Curriculum chapter in this catalog.

E. Fine Arts – 3 credits

Refer to the “Fine Arts” section of the Core Curriculum chapter in this catalog.

F. Core Humanities – 9 credits

CH 201 – Ancient and Medieval Cultures (3 credits)
CH 202 - The Modern World (3 credits)
CH 203 – American Experience and Constitutional Change (3 credits)

G. Capstone Courses – 6 credits

Refer to the “Capstone” section of the Core Curriculum chapter in this catalog.

H. Diversity – 3

Refer to the “Diversity” section of the Core Curriculum chapter in this catalog.

For my non American friends - A typical U.S. Bachelors Degree includes 120 to 132 credits. Most classes are worth 3 credits, typically a student will take 4 or 5 classes a semester and a few summer classes depending on their needs.




Can some of you post the core classes from your schools, say which classes you think are a must, which could be lost, what you think should be added etc?



P.S. I have a secondary question to add as well, what majors have you seen offered as a B.A. and a B.S.

For example, depending on the classes you take you can get a B.S. or a B.A. in Geography. Does anyone know of any other majors that offer this?

 

[Earthling]

Small world, or news world at least, was just reading this yesterday:
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/what-should-colleges-teach/
More importantly this actual study:
https://www.goacta.org/publications/downloads/WhatWillTheyLearnFinal.pdf

Although, I'm actually not a huge fan of core requirements, though fortunately I AP'd out of many (and of course laugh at needing my math/science credits...right).

With regards to your last question - we're constantly at war with the English Etymology department and their bogus B.A.s

 

[Elta]

Interesting!

Though, They made a mistake, UNR is Nevada's flagship, not UNLV.

 

[Kraznaya]

If I go to a prestigious institution, I don't plan on claiming AP credit. Stupid or what?

 

[Earthling]

Really hard to say, and it'll depend on what the potential credit is/what your major is/etc... Prestigious as in Ivy League or equivalent, or what? It is true that some prestigious schools will require more core classes or classes in various disciplines than your general state college. But also, there are a lot of things where I couldn't imagine a student who was ready to move on not wanting AP credit. For instance, you wouldn't want to sit through two semesters of repeating introductory Calculus if you've already had it in high school, right?

 

[DaveShack]

The list in the OP seems pretty typical. For comparison here are the current requirements for University of Arizona.
General Education Requirements

Foundations
English 101,102 - 6 units or placement
Math 3 units or placement test
Second Language - 4th semester if B.A., 2nd semester otherwise. Can be by exam or placement

Tier 1 (complete by end of 4th semester)
Traditions & Cultures (TRAD) - 2 courses with different numbers
Individuals & Societies (INDV) - 2 courses with different numbers
Natural Sciences (NATS) - 2 courses with different numbers

Tier 2 (complete by end of degree - higher level courses)
Humanities - 1 course
Individuals & Societies - 1 course
Natural Science - 1 course
Arts - 3 units

One course in a student’s degree program must focus on one of the following areas: Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, or Non-Western Studies. A complete list of Diversity Emphasis courses with descriptions is available in the General Catalog.

 

[shortguy]

P.S. I have a secondary question to add as well, what majors have you seen offered as a B.A. and a B.S.

For example, depending on the classes you take you can get a B.S. or a B.A. in Geography. Does anyone know of any other majors that offer this?

My alma mater offers a B.A. (as well as a B.S. of course) in Physics and Chemistry. I don't really know how common that is, though a quick google search seems to indicate that a lot of schools offer B.A.s in the sciences.

 

[Lord Baal]

We have no core units that everyone has to do. We have core units for different subjects. If one does a BoA - like me - then one has to do:

Contemporary Society - A sociology course.

Inventing Modernity - Sort of a combination of history and philosophy.

Texts and Traditions - An English course, with a 50-50 split between literature and philosophy.

Australia and the World - An Australian history/foreign relations subject.

This is at the University of Western Sydney. I have to go to three different campuses, stupid university.

 

[Dachs]

If I go to a prestigious institution, I don't plan on claiming AP credit. Stupid or what?

 

[Quintillus]

If I go to a prestigious institution, I don't plan on claiming AP credit. Stupid or what?

As a general no-matter-what policy, it doesn't sound like a very good idea. It can be a good idea to retake courses if you think it would significantly enhance your understanding and help you later. But if you are already very confident of your abilities in an area, there's little point in retaking a course that you already know well (and a well-taught AP course that you excelled in can substitute for a course even at a prestigious institution - I feel no loss for skipping the introductory course for my major thanks to AP credit at my top-50 university). Also, if you used the AP to proficiency out of a requirement in an area where you never plan to take another course, why take it again? If you never plan to take another math course and you got out of the requirement from AP Calculus BC, claim that AP credit!

Back on topic, my college's requirements are:

*Two semesters of a "Core" course, focused on reading some of the "core" readings an educated person will have, as well as increasing writing skills. All students in the same year read the same books, and usual suspects are Nietzsche, Marx, and Plato. More recent authors are included as well, though the exact lineup changes from year to year.

*Completion of at least one semester of calculus, or of symbolic logic. Can proficiency out with AP Calculus (or IB).

*Completion of at least one semester of an arts course. I think you can proficiency out, but am not sure.

*Completion of at least one semester of a natural sciences course (biology, physics, or chemistry). Can proficiency out.

*Completion of at least out semester of a social sciences course (anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, etc.). Can proficiency out.

*Completion of at least one semester of a history course. Can proficiency out.

*Completion of a standard writing course, English 103. Can proficiency out with sufficiently high SAT scores, or with AP credit.

*Completion of two years of a foreign language. Can proficiency out with AP scores or by passing an exam at the university.

*Completion of one semester of a literature course. The "Core" course does not count. Can be satisfied by AP English.

*Completion of three "wellness" courses, including one on alcohol awareness. The other two of these are weighted at equivalent to one-quarter of a standard course each.

*Completion of two library skills workshops, to be done first year unless missed due to illness or skipping/forgetting about the class (somewhat common with a once-per-semester workshop). I should have skipped one of mine due to illness, but didn't .

In my opinion the core plus literature is a bit excessive - it essentially amounts to three semesters of literature, and then the writing course (which I thankfully didn't have to take). Otherwise I can see the justification for all of the other requirements well enough, although I sometimes wish I didn't have to fulfill them all. They all fulfill a different niche, except for the core/literature overlap.

There are a number of disciplines available as either a BA or BS, including more than one with "Science" in the name (I could get a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, although I plan to complete the BS to avoid that oxymoron). We also have an Economics degree through both our business school and our school of arts and sciences, with different requirements.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Statistics should be a requirement for anybody.

 

[Merkinball]

Here's mine:

- 23 Engineering classes (some are just labs)
- Senior Design (8 credits)
- 4 Tech electives
- 2 Science Electives
- 5 Co-ops (2000 hours total)
- 1 writing
- 1 arts of expression
- 2 social sciences
- 2 Humanities
- 3 Liberal Arts Concentration
- 3 Free electives
- Calc I-IV, Physics I-3, Diff Eq, Matrices and Boundary Value Problems, College Chem

5 year program. You only really get one summer off.

 

[downtown]

At Ohio State, I had to complete

-2 math
-4 science (2 physical, 2 life. 2 had to be incremental, and one had to be a lab)
-4 foreign language (I ended up taking 5 because I failed one)
-3 English
-3 "diversity" sorts of things

Outside of the math, science and language, I'm a little unclear, because I tested out of a lot of the social science ones, and I also transferred. I took more Science/Math/Foreign Language classes than I did Political Science though (I majored in Poli Sci). I think that is completely stupid.

 

[uppi]

Core classes? That's what school was for!