General Education

General education and related requirements for students entering fall 2010 and after

General education requirements 2010 and later

Information technology requirement

Proficiency-intensive (P-I) requirements

Students who may meet reduced P-I requirements

Reading

General education requirements 2010 and later

ETSU’s general education requirements and other graduation requirements apply to all undergraduate students pursuing baccalaureate degrees.   Many majors and degree programs require students to take specific courses to fulfill general education requirements. Students should consult the catalog and their advisors.


COMMUNICATION – 9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication

Written Composition
Complete the following:

  • ENGL 1010 Critical Reading and Expository Writing (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 1020 Critical Thinking and Argumentation (3 cr.)

    Students eligible to enroll in ENGL 1010 must do so during their first term at ETSU. Students must earn a grade of "C" or better in ENGL 1010 and 1020. Students who take Developmental Studies Writing (DSPW) courses should enroll in ENGL 1010 the next term after completing DSPW 0800.

Oral Communication
Complete one of the following:

  • SPCH 1300 Introduction to Communication Studies (3 cr.)
  • SPCH 2300 Public Speaking (3 cr.)
  • SPCH 2320 Argumentation & Debate (3 cr)

    When one of the oral communication courses listed above is completed to meet the general education core requirement, that course will not count toward ETSU’s oral communication-intensive requirement (see Other Graduation Requirements, below).  Any additional course from this list that is completed will count toward the oral communication-intensive requirement.


HUMANITIES AND FINE ARTS – 9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives

Literature
Complete one of the following:

  • ENGL 2030 Literary Heritage (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2110 American Literature I (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2120 American Literature II (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2210 British Literature I (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2220 British Literature II (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2330 World Literature (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 2430 European Literature (3 cr.)

Fine Arts
Complete one of the following:

  • ARTH 2010 Art History Survey I (3 cr.)
  • ARTH 2020 Art History Survey II (3 cr.)
  • DANC 3500 Dance as Human Experience (3 cr.)
  • HUMT 2310 Arts and Ideas I (3 cr.)
  • HUMT 2320 Arts and Ideas II (3 cr.)
  • MUSC 1030 Introduction to Music (3 cr.)
  • MUSC 1035 History of Jazz (3 cr.)
  • THEA 1030 Introduction to the Theatre (3 cr.)

Humanities Electives
Complete one of the following:

  • ENGL 3150 Literature, Ethics, and Values (3 cr.)
  • ENGL 3280 Mythology (3 cr.)
  • ENTC 3020 Technology and Society (3 cr.)
  • HIST 1110 World History and Civilization to 1500 (3 cr.)
  • HIST 1120 World History and Civilization Since 1500 (3 cr.)
  • PHIL 1030 Introduction to Philosophy (3 cr.)
  • PHIL 2020 Introduction to Ethics (3 cr.)
  • PHIL 2040 Philosophy as Conversation (3 cr.)
  • PHIL 2210 Introduction to the Study of Religion (3 cr.)
  • PHIL 2640 Science and the Modern World (3 cr.)


SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES – 6 credits, consisting of two of the following:

  • ECON 1050 Economics and Society OR
  • ECON 2210 Principles of Macroeconomics (3 cr.)

 

  • ECON 2220 Principles of Microeconomics (3 cr.)
  • GEOG 1012 Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 cr.)
  • HDAL 2310 Developmental Lifespan Psychology (3 cr.)
  • HDAL 2340 Cultural Diversity (3 cr.)
  • PSCI 1110 Political Life (3 cr.)
  • PSCI 1120 Introduction to American Government (3 cr.)
  • PSYC 1310 Introduction to Psychology (3 cr.)
  • SOCI 1020 Introduction to Sociology (3 cr.)
  • ANTH 1240 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 cr.)
  • SOCI 2020 Social Problems (3 cr.)
  • SRVL 1020 Introduction to Service Learning (3 cr.)
  • WMST 2010 Introduction to Women's Studies (3 cr.)

    Students may count either ECON 1050 or ECON 2210 toward the Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement, but not both.


HISTORY – 6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

  • HIST 2010 The United States to 1877 (3 cr.)
  • HIST 2020 The United States Since 1877 (3 cr.)

    HIST 2030 History of Tennessee (3 cr.) may be substituted for 3 credits of U.S. history.

NATURAL SCIENCES – 8 credits, consisting of two of the following (required labs are shown with the lecture numbers):

  • ASTR 1010 Astronomy I (4 cr.)
  • ASTR 1020 Astronomy II (4 cr.)
  • ASTR 1035 Life in the Universe (4 cr.)
  • BIOL 1110-1111 Biology for Science Majors I (4 cr.)
  • BIOL 1120-1121 Biology for Science Majors II (4 cr.)
  • BIOL 1130-1131 Biology for Science Majors III (4 cr.)
  • CHEM 1110-1111 General Chemistry (4 cr.)
  • CHEM 1120-1121 General Chemistry (4 cr.)
  • GEOG 1110 Earth Science: Weather and Climate (4 cr.)
  • GEOG 1120 Earth Science: Landforms & Processes (4 cr.)
  • GEOL 1040(4 cr) -1041(1 cr) Physical Geology (5 cr.)
  • GEOL 1050 Historical Geology (4 cr.)
  • HSCI 2010-2011 Anatomy and Physiology I (4 cr.)
  • HSCI 2020-2021 Anatomy and Physiology II (4 cr.)
  • PHYS 2010-2011 General Physics I – Non-Calculus (4 cr.)
  • PHYS 2020-2021 General Physics II – Non-Calculus (4 cr.)
  • PHYS 2110 Technical Physics I – Calculus Based (5 cr.)
  • PHYS 2120 Technical Physics II – Calculus Based (5 cr.)

        Open to nonscience majors only:

  • BIOL 1010-1011 Biology for Non-majors I (4 cr.)
  • BIOL 1020-1021 Biology for Non-majors II (4 cr.)
  • BIOL 1310-1311 Concepts in Biology (4 cr.)
  • CHEM 1000 Chemistry and Well Being (4 cr.)
  • CHEM 1030 Introduction to Chemistry Survey (4 cr.)
  • PHYS 1030 Introduction to Physics Survey (4 cr.)

MATHEMATICS – 3-4 credits, consisting of one of the following:

  • MATH 1530 Probability and Statistics – Non-Calculus (3 cr.)
  • MATH 1840 Analytic Geometry & Differential Calculus (3 cr.)
  • MATH 1910 Calculus I (4 cr.)

    Students eligible to enroll in one of these math courses must do so during their first calendar year of enrollment or prior to accumulating 33 semester credits at ETSU. Students who take Developmental Studies Math (DSPM) courses should complete the general education math requirement after completing DSPM courses and must do so in the next calendar year or prior to accumulating 33 more semester credits at ETSU.

MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCES

  • IBMS 1100 Integrative Biology and Statistics (6 cr.)
  • IBMS 1200 Integrative Biology and Calculus (6 cr.)

    Completion of IBMS 1100 and 1200 satisfies both the Mathematics requirement and the Natural Sciences requirement. Students must complete the entire two-course sequence in order to fulfill the Mathematics and Natural Sciences blocks. Students who complete only one of the courses (not recommended) will be considered to have met four credit hours of the Natural Sciences requirement.


Other graduation requirements

ETSU students also meet graduation requirements designed to reinforce skills that are essential for professional success, satisfying personal relationships and civic engagement.  These requirements are as follows:

Information technology

Students must demonstrate a working knowledge of word-processing, spreadsheets, electronic communication, and online searches during their first calendar year of enrollment or prior to accumulating 33 semester credits at ETSU.  This requirement may be met by passing the UIT proficiency exam or by successfully completing CSCI 1100, Using Information Technology.  Students may register to take the UIT proficiency exam by going to http://www.cs.etsu.edu/academics/proficiency .

Proficiency-intensive (P-I) requirements

Students also reinforce vital skills by taking specially approved "proficiency-intensive" courses in their majors and across the curriculum.  Meeting P-I requirements need not add hours to students' programs of study.  Students should carefully plan to meet these requirements by taking courses they need to take anyway to complete their majors and other coursework.

Oral Communication 
 Students must complete a minimum of two oral communication-intensive (ICOM) courses. At least one of these courses must be in the student’s major or minor.   (NOTE: Any course taken in the department in which a student is majoring counts as in the major.)

Information Technology  
Students must complete a minimum of one information technology-intensive (ITEC) course in the student’s   major or minor.

Writing 
Students must complete a minimum of four writing-intensive (IWRT) courses. At least two of these courses must be in the student’s major or minor.  At least two of the four courses must be at the 3000-4000 level.

Students must meet proficiency-intensive requirements through courses taken at ETSU.

Proficiency-intensive courses do not transfer to ETSU from other institutions. Courses that fulfill oral communication-intensive, information technology-intensive, and writing-intensive requirements are indicated in the Schedule of Classes each term.   A list of ETSU’s proficiency-intensive courses offered in a particular term is available through the "Look Up Courses" feature in Goldlink..

Students who may meet reduced P-I requirements

The following categories of students are allowed to meet reduced requirements for proficiency-intensive courses: one oral communication-intensive course, one information technology-intensive course and two writing-intensive courses.

  • students who enter ETSU with associate degrees or who complete such degrees after entering ETSU;
  • transfer students with 50 or more transferable semester credits upon entering ETSU; and
  • readmission students who re-enter ETSU with at least 50 transferable semester credits or who earned at least 50 credits at ETSU before 1995 or who have a combination of at least 50 credits in both categories upon first re-entry to the university.

 

Reading

Students who are required to take the COMPASS test and who are assessed as being deficient in reading must complete DSPR 0800 prior to accumulating 33 semester credits at ETSU.   Faculty in any course who question whether a student is reading at a reasonable college level may remand the student to the Developmental Studies Program for assessment.

Back to top