Nov 23, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education Core Curriculum Requirements


About the General Education Program

Kennesaw State University’s General Education program offers a comprehensive series of interrelated courses in the liberal arts and sciences for all KSU students. Whereas the major program contributes depth within a chosen specialization, the General Education Core Curriculum Areas A-E provide a breadth of understanding within a variety of disciplines. Together, the General Education Core Curriculum and the major degree program offer students the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to become informed and engaged citizens living in a diverse, global community.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will encounter the General Education learning outcomes over the course of their General Education Core Curriculum in Areas A-E.

  • Written Communication: Students will write & communicate at a college level in various modes, media, and/or rhetorical contexts.
  • Reading Comprehension: Students will demonstrate an ability to comprehend, analyze, & interpret texts in various modes, genres, media, and/or contexts.
  • Quantitative Learning: Students will demonstrate the ability to explain information presented in mathematical forms (e.g., equations, graphs, diagrams, tables) and/or convert information into mathematical forms at a level appropriate for the complexity of problems in a college-level course.
  • Critical Thinking: Students will evaluate and synthesize information to support ideas and perspectives.
  • Literature: Students will include multicultural, social, or historical contexts in their interpretation of literary work. 
  • Global Perspectives: Students will analyze creative works from multiple international cultures in relation to the historical, political, economic, sociocultural, aesthetic, or personal contexts in which those works emerged.
  • Applied Math: Students will demonstrate an ability to effectively apply symbolic representations to model and solve problems.
  • Natural Sciences: Students will demonstrate an understanding of college-level scientific principles, theories, and laws, and apply them to solve problems and explore natural phenomena.
  • U.S. Perspectives: Students will demonstrate a broad understanding of history, political systems, or culture of the U.S.
  • Social Sciences: Students analyze the complexity of how historical, economic, or political relationships develop, persist, or change.

General Education Core Requirements at KSU


Throughout the university system, the core curriculum consists of 42 semester hours of which a minimum of 42 are in general education.

Area A1: Communication - (6 Credit Hours)


Note:


Science Majors: Students must take MATH 1113

Engineering Majors: Students must take MATH 1190

Area B: Institutional Option - Critical Thinking - (5 Credit Hours)


B1: Contemporary Economic Issues (2 Credit Hours)


B2: Cultural Perspectives (3 Credit Hours)


Select one from the following:

Area C: Humanities, Fine Arts, and Ethics - (6 Credit Hours)


Area D: Science, Mathematics & Technology - (10 to 12 Credit Hours)


Note:


D1:

Science Majors: Students must take MATH 1190 or higher

Engineering Majors: Students must take MATH 2202

 

D2: 

Science and Engineering Majors: Students must take two four-hour laboratory sciences, Students must choose from CHEM 1211/L, CHEM 1212/L, PHYS 1111/L*, PHYS 1112/L,  PHYS 2211/L*, PHYS 2212/L, BIOL 1107/L, or BIOL 1108/L.
* Students cannot take both PHYS 1111/L and PHYS 2211/L nor PHYS 1112/L and PHYS 2212/L.


Health and Nursing Majors: Students must take a two-semester laboratory sequence in either physics, chemistry, or biology. Students can choose from CHEM 1151/L & 1152/L, CHEM 1211/L & 1212/L, PHYS 1111/L & PHYS 1112/L, or BIOL 1107/L & 1108/L. See the individual degree program requirement section for majors with these requirements. Nursing majors are recommended to take CHEM 1151/L & CHEM 1152/L.

All other majors: Take one four hour laboratory science course and one additional science course. 

Area E: Social Sciences – (12 Credit Hours)