General Education Core Curriculum
Note: The following is a general list of core curriculum requirements for a baccalaureate degree at CSU. Refer to the undergraduate degrees menu for specific requirements for each baccalaureate program.
Area A – Essential Skills – 9 Credit Hours
| Core | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following two courses: | ||
| ENGL 1101 | English Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 1102 | English Composition II | 3 |
| Select one of the following courses (see major program exceptions below): | ||
| MATH 1101 | Mathematical Modeling | 3 |
| MATH 1111 | College Algebra | 3 |
| MATH 1113 | Pre-Calculus | 3 |
| MATH 1125 | Applied Calculus | 3 |
| MATH 1131 | Calculus with Analytical Geometry | 4 |
See the undergraduate degrees menu for specific requirements or recommendations for the following programs: Accounting (BBA), Biology (BA), Biology (BS), Biology and Secondary Education (BA), Chemistry (BA), Chemistry (BS), Chemistry and Secondary Education (BA), Computer Information Systems (BBA), Computer Science (BS), Finance (BBA), General Business (BBA), Geology (BS), Geology and Secondary Education (BS), Management (BBA), Marketing (BBA), Mathematics (BA), Mathematics (BS), and Mathematics and Secondary Education (BA)
Area B – Institutional Options – 4-5 Credit Hours
| Core | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following course: | ||
| COMM 1110 | Communication | 3 |
| Select two courses under Group 1 or one course under Group 2 (see major program exceptions below): | ||
| Group 1 | ||
| ITDS 2726 | Introduction to Cultural Diversity | 1 |
| ITDS 2727 | Introduction to Interpersonal Skills | 1 |
| ITDS 2735 | Life and Career Planning | 1 |
| ITDS 2746 | Business and Society | 1 |
| ITDS 2748 | Topics in Global Issues | 1 |
| ITDS 2749 | Ethics and Legal Issues in the Professions | 1 |
| ITDS 2755 | Elements of Critical Thinking | 1 |
| Group 2 | ||
| LIBR 1105 | Introduction to Library and Information Science | 2 |
| LEAD 1705 | Introduction to Servant Leadership | 2 |
| EURO 2105 | Introduction to the European Union | 3 (*) |
| HIST 1111 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 1112 | World History since 1500 | 3 |
| POLS 2401 | Global Issues | 3 (*) |
| Any 1000 or 2000 level foreign language course | 3 (*) | |
| Any Area C-E course with a study abroad component | 3 (*) | |
| * the extra hour may be used as an elective | ||
The following programs require 4 credit hours in Area B: Biology (BA), Biology (BS), Biology and Secondary Education (BA), Chemistry (BA), Chemistry (BS), Chemistry and Secondary Education (BA), Computer Science (BS), Geology (BS), Geology and Secondary Education (BS), Health Science (BS), Mathematics (BA), Mathematics (BS), and Nursing (BSN) . See the undergraduate degrees menu for specific requirements
Area C – Humanities/Fine Arts/Ethics – 6 Credit Hours
| Core | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following humanities courses: | ||
| ENGL 2111 | World Literature 1 | 3 |
| ENGL 2112 | World Literature 2 | 3 |
| ITDS 1145 (*) | Comparative Arts | 3 |
| ITDS 1155 | The Western Intellectual Tradition | 3 |
| PHIL 2010 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| Select one of the following fine art courses: | ||
| ARTH 1100 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ITDS 1145 (*) | Comparative Arts | 3 |
| MUSC 1100 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| THEA 1100 | Theatre Appreciation | 3 |
* ITDS 1145, though listed under both humanities and fine arts, may only be taken once.
Area D – Science/Math/Technology – 10-11 Credit Hours
| Core | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 1145 | Human Origins (no lab) | 3 |
| ASTR 1105/1305 | Descriptive Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies (lab optional) | 3/1 |
| ASTR 1106/1305 | Descriptive Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies (lab optional) | 3/1 |
| BIOL 1125 | Contemporary Issues in Biology (no lab) | 3 |
| BIOL 1215 | Principles of Biology (lab included) | 4 |
| BIOL 1225 | Contemporary Issues in Biology (lab included) | 4 |
| CHEM 1151/1151L | Survey of Chemistry 1 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| CHEM 1152/1152L | Survey of Chemistry 2 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| CHEM 1211/1211L | Principles of Chemistry 1 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| CHEM 1212/1212L | Principles of Chemistry 2 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| ENVS 1105 | Environmental Studies (no lab) | 3 |
| GEOL 1110 | Natural Disasters: Our Hazardous Environment (no lab) | 3 |
| GEOL 1112/1112L | Understanding the Weather (lab optional) | 3/1 |
| GEOL 1121/1121L | Introductory Geo-sciences 1: Physical Geology (lab optional) | 4 |
| GEOL 1122/1322 | Introductory Geo-sciences 2: Historical Geology (lab optional) | 3/1 |
| GEOL 2225 | The Fossil Record (lab included) | 4 |
| PHYS 1111/1311 | Introductory Physics 1 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| PHYS 1112/1312 | Introductory Physics 2 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| PHYS 1125/1325 | Physics of Color and Sound (lab optional) | 3/1 |
| PHYS 2211/2311 | Principles of Physics 1 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| PHYS 2212/2312 | Principles of Physics 2 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| Select one of the following courses or a science course from above: | ||
| CPSC 1105 | Technological Solutions | 3 |
| CPSC 1301/1301L | Computer Science 1 (lab required) | 3/1 |
| MATH 1113 | Pre-Calculus | 3 |
| MATH 1125 | Applied Calculus | 3 |
| STAT 1127 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| MATH 1131 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1132 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry 2 | 4 |
| MATH 1165 | Computer-Assisted Problem Solving | 3 |
| MATH 2125 | Introduction to Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| PHIL 2500 | Formal Logic | 3 |
See the undergraduate degrees menu for specific requirements or recommendations for the following programs: Biology (BA), Biology (BS), Biology and Secondary Education (BA), Chemistry (BA), Chemistry (BS), Chemistry and Secondary Education (BA), Computer Science (BS), Geology (BS), Geology and Secondary Education (BS), Health Science (BS), Mathematics (BA), Mathematics (BS), Mathematics and Secondary Education (BA), and Nursing (BSN)
Non-science majors should select one science course with a lab; the other course may be lab or non-lab (see list below for specific requirements for science majors):
Area E – Social Sciences – 12 Credit Hours
| Core | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one course from the following two courses: | ||
| HIST 2111 | U.S. History to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 2112 | U.S. History since 1865 | 3 |
| Take the following course: | ||
| POLS 1101 | American Government | 3 |
| Select one behavioral science course from the following courses: | ||
| ECON 2105 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 2106 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| PHIL 2030 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| PSYC 1101 | Introduction to General Psychology | 3 |
| SOCI 1101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| Select one world cultures course from the following courses: | ||
| ANTH 1105 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 1107 | Discovering Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 2105 | Ancient World Civilizations | 3 |
| ANTH 2136 | Language and Culture | 3 |
| ENGL 2136 | Language and Culture | 3 |
| GEOG 1101 | World Regional Geography | 3 |
| HIST 1111 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 1112 | World History since 1500 | 3 |
| ITDS 1146 | Introduction to African and African-American Culture | 3 |
| ITDS 1156 | Understanding Non-Western Cultures | 3 |
