2017-2018 Catalog

Nov 27, 2024

2017-2018 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LAS General Education Requirements

The college requires all students to complete an English writing requirement, a reasoning proficiency requirement, area requirements, and cultural diversity, oral communication, and global awareness requirements. Assuming that a student does not test out of the writing and reasoning requirements, the total number of credit hours needed to complete the college general education requirements is 45. This requirement is in addition to the University Compass Curriculum requirement of 24 credit hours. There may be courses that can satisfy multiple requirements. Consult the Campus Wide Requirements: Compass Curriculum page and an advisor to determine the full extent of your requirements.

The College of Letters, Arts & Sciences will accept transfer courses from the community college “general education core” and substitute these credits for credits required within the 120 hours needed for the BA or BS degree in whatever manner is most advantageous to the student. The College will also accept non-core academic courses in transfer, i.e., courses that are not considered to be vocational or technical in nature.

Students with diagnosed disabilities that hinder their ability to fulfill LAS General Education Requirements should contact Disability Services and the LAS Dean’s office.

English Rhetoric and Writing and Writing Portfolio Requirements

To qualify for a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, a student must complete C01 and C02 core writing requirements and demonstrate writing portfolio competency. See English First-Year Rhetoric and Writing Program for details.

Quantitative and Qualitative Reasoning Proficiency Requirement

Well-educated people should be able to think at a certain level of abstraction and to manipulate symbols. The quantitative and qualitative reasoning proficiency requirement has two principal objectives. The first is to provide students with the analytical tools used in core curriculum courses and in their major areas of study. The second is to help students acquire the reasoning skills necessary to assess adequately the problems that confront them in their daily lives.

Students completing this requirement should be able to do the following:

Construct a logical argument based on the rules of inference
Analyze and interpret numerical data
Obtain exact results when appropriate
Apply mathematical methods to solve problems in their university work and in their daily lives.

Four Ways to Fulfill Requirement

1. Pass the UCCS Reasoning Skills Test (RST). This RST is offered by the University Testing Center, which can be reached at (719) 255-3554. The RST requires a fee to be paid in advance, and credit hours are not awarded to those who meet the requirement by passing the RST.

2. Successfully complete one of the following:

3. Successfully complete both of the following:

4. Successfully complete one of the following pairs (A&C: math course and statistics/logic course or B&C: the required test scores and a statistics/logic course):

EITHER: a) Complete MATH 1040 - College Algebra (or a mathematics course that has college algebra as a prerequisite) OR b) Score 87% or higher on the College Algebra placement test AND score 50% or higher on the Business Calculus placement test
AND c) Complete one of the following courses.

Area Requirements: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences

A liberal arts degree provides students with a breadth of experiences, and the Area Requirements are designed to help fulfill that goal. Consequently, each student must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours from the following Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences lists.

Please note:

Courses in your major will not count toward the Area Requirements.
Courses taken on a pass/fail basis will not count toward the Area Requirements.
Do not take more than two courses from any one department to satisfy the Area Requirements.
Courses may have prerequisites or co-requisites, so be sure to check their descriptions for details.
Prospective teachers may have additional restrictions; see an advisor before selecting courses.
Any crosslist for a course on the lists will satisfy the requirement (unless the crosslist is within the student’s major). A crosslisted course, if taken twice under different subjects, will only count once toward any requirement.

Specific Limitations

No more than two courses from any one discipline may be applied to the area requirements.
With the exception of Distributed Studies, courses in a student’s primary major may not be applied to the area requirements.
Courses may not be taken pass/fail.

Humanities Courses—9 Credit Hours

The humanities course requirement must be satisfied in part by successful completion of one UCCS 3000 level humanities courses. The remaining six hours may be selected from the list below or may be satisfied by community college humanities courses that are equivalent or similar in content to those listed below.

Art History

Communication

English

Film Studies

History

Interdepartmental Studies

ID 2000 - Mathematics: A Human Endeavor

Languages and Cultures

Any crosslisted course will satisfy the requirement unless taken within the major. A crosslisted course taken twice under two subjects will only count toward the requirement once.

Music

Philosophy

Theatre

Visual Arts

Women’s and Ethnic Studies

Social Science Courses—9 Credit Hours

The 9-hour social science area requirement may be met by the lower and upper division courses that are listed below. Students who transfer to UCCS from community colleges may fulfill this area requirement by substituting courses that are equivalent or similar in content to those listed below.

Anthropology

Communication

Economics

Geography and Environmental Studies

Gerontology

Museum Studies and Gallery Practice

MSGP 4100 - Native American Perspectives on Museums

Philosophy

Political Science

Psychology

Sociology

Women’s and Ethnic Studies

Natural Science Courses-9 Credit Hours

The 9-credit hour natural science area requirement may be satisfied by the lower and upper division courses listed below, including at least one laboratory science course. (Laboratory science courses are indicated by *.) Community college students transferring to UCCS may fulfill this requirement by substituting courses that are equivalent or similar in content to those listed below.

Anthropology

Biology

Chemistry

Energy Science

Geography and Environmental Studies

Geology

Interdepartmental Studies

Physics and Energy Science

Psychology

PSY 3270 - Introduction to Biopsychology

Oral Communication Requirement

LAS students are required to take a course with a substantial component involving oral communication. This course may be within a student’s major department, as an elective, or as an approved general education (area requirements) course. Approved courses for the oral communication requirement are as follows:

Cultural Diversity Requirement

While fulfilling their general education requirements, LAS students are required to take a course which also increases their awareness of cultural diversity in the United States. Approved courses for the cultural diversity requirement are as follows:

Global Awareness Requirement

While fulfilling their general education requirements, LAS students are required to take a course which increases their awareness of global issues. Approved global awareness courses are as follows:

Foreign Language Requirement

As of January 1, 1993, the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences no longer has a foreign language requirement. However, a variety of language classes will continue to be offered for students who wish to study a foreign language. Students contemplating graduate school should be aware that many graduate schools require proficiency in a foreign language.

Newly admitted freshmen are still required to have completed two units of foreign language at the high school level. Freshmen admitted who are deficient in this requirement may make up the deficiency as outlined in the beginning of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences section of this Catalog. The foreign language placement examination will continue to be administered for those students wishing to determine their level of placement in a foreign language course. For information, contact the Language Technology Center on the second floor of Dwire Hall at (719) 255-3691.

Students are urged to continue language study in a timely manner, as proficiency declines rapidly without application of skills.

Note: If coursework in a foreign language taken at other institutions is repeated at the same level at UCCS, academic credit for any hours duplicated will not be counted toward graduation.