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The Building Perspectives Model

Our current general education model allows students to put together a set of general education courses that do not cohere in a meaningful way. This model aims to help students have a general education experience that clearly connects their general education courses together.

This program is 32 total credit hours.

University 101

1 credit hour:

  • This course is akin to our FYE but adds an explanation of why general education is important and how students can navigate it effectively.

Foundations

9 credit hours/one of each of the following:

  • A foundational math course
  • A composition course
  • An oral presentation/difficult dialogue course

Exploring perspectives

12 credit hours/one of each of the following:

  • A course in the arts
  • A humanities course
  • A natural sciences course
  • A social science course

Building connections

9 credit hours/one of each of the following:

  • Interdisciplinary introduction:
    This course requires some explanation. Three faculty from three distinct designators (across at least two colleges) will create a course around a theme (perhaps one of the United Nations’ sustainability goals or some timely, pressing issue like artificial intelligence). Three sections of this course will be generated. Each faculty member will spend five weeks on the theme as their discipline would approach it in one of the three sections, and then they rotate sections. Three sections will see how three different disciplines approach a particular theme, which will help students understand why they might choose one type of approach over another and the importance of understanding various approaches to the same topic.
  • An intercultural understanding course
  • A global citizenship course

Other requirements

  • Three writing intensive courses
  • A quantitative reasoning course
  • Up to two experiential learning courses (broadly construed)
  • These courses need not be contained in the above categories, and either way, may double count, thereby not adding more general education credit hour requirements.