General Education Requirements

Goals of General Education

1. General Education Requirements
   1. ETSU’s general education requirements are as follows:
      1. Communication (9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication)
      2. Humanities and Fine Arts (9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives)
      3. Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)
      4. History (6 credits)
      5. Natural Sciences (8 credits)
      6. Mathematics (3-4 credits)
   2. ETSU’s undergraduate catalog publishes a list of courses satisfying these requirements.
   3. Students who have completed an associate degree designed for transfer at a regionally accredited college or university have satisfied ETSU’s general education requirements.
   4. ETSU’s general education requirements do not apply to students who have completed a baccalaureate degree at ETSU or another regionally accredited college or university and are pursuing a second bachelor’s degree.
2. Transfer Credits and General Education
   1. Transfer students from Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges without associate degrees who completed blocks of general education requirements at those schools have satisfied the corresponding blocks in ETSU’s general education core.
   2. ETSU will conduct a course-by-course evaluation and apply transfer courses toward its general education requirements as appropriate for transfer students from TBR community colleges who did not complete general education blocks and transfer students from other institutions.
   3. When ETSU requires students to complete a particular general education course with a minimum grade (e.g., C), this requirement also applies to that course in transfer.
   4. Some majors at ETSU require students to complete courses that also satisfy general education requirements. Transfer students who took other courses at previous institutions to meet those general education requirements must still take the courses required for the major at ETSU.

Communication

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

Written Composition

Complete both of the following:

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

Students required to complete learning support in writing must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of ENGL 1010  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading. Students needing learning support in both reading and writing should enroll in ENGL 1010 -Lxx immediately upon completing learning support in reading. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport.

Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1010  and ENGL 1020 .

Oral Communication

Complete one of the following:

• SPCH 1300 Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits) 
• SPCH 2300 Public Speaking (3 credits)  
• SPCH 2320 Argumentation and Debate (3 credits) 

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 credits) 
• ENGL 2110 American Literature I (3 credits) 
• ENGL 2120 American Literature II (3 credits) 
• ENGL 2210 British Literature I (3 credits)  
• ENGL 2220 British Literature II (3 credits) 
• ENGL 2330 World Literature (3 credits) 
• ENGL 2430 European Literature (3 credits) 

Fine Arts

Complete one of the following:

• ARTA 1030 Art Appreciation (3 credits) 
• ARTH 2010 Art History Survey I (3 credits) 
• ARTH 2020 Art History Survey II (3 credits) 
• BLUE 2150 American Roots Music (3 credits)  
• DANC 1500 Dance as a Human Experience (3 credits) 
• HUMT 2310 Arts and Ideas I (3 credits) 
• HUMT 2320 Arts and Ideas II (3 credits) 
• MUSC 1030 Introduction to Music (3 credits) 
• MUSC 1035 History of Jazz (3 credits) 
• THEA 1030 Introduction to the Theatre (3 credits) 

Humanities Electives

Complete one of the following:

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

Social and Behavioral Sciences

6 credits, consisting of two of the following:

• ANTH 1240 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits) 

• ECON 1050 Economics and Society (3 credits)  or
• ECON 2210 Principles of Macroeconomics (3 credits) 

• ECON 2220 Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits) 
• GEOG 1012 Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 credits) 
• HDAL 2310 Developmental Psychology (3 credits) 
• HDAL 2340 Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits) 
• MCOM 1030 Introduction to Mass Communications (3 credits) 
• PSCI 1110 Introduction to Political Science (3 credits) 
• PSCI 1120 Introduction to American Government (3 credits) 
• PSYC 1310 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits) 
• SOCI 1020 Introduction to Sociology (3 credits) 
• SOCI 2020 Social Problems (3 credits) 
• SRVL 1020 Introduction to Service-Learning in the Community (3 credits) 
• WMST 2010 Introduction to Women’s Studies (3 credits) 

History

6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

• HIST 2010 The United States to 1877 (3 credits)  
• HIST 2020 The United States since 1877 (3 credits) 

Note: HIST 2030 History of Tennessee (3 credits)  may be substituted for 3 credits of United States History.

Natural Sciences

8 credits, consisting of two of the following (some require labs which are listed directly after the lecture):

(Note: Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in the College of Arts and Sciences must select 8 credit hours in a SINGLE laboratory science. Please see listing in College of Arts and Sciences B.S. Degree Requirements for options.)

• ASTR 1010 Astronomy I (4 credits) 
• ASTR 1020 Astronomy II (4 credits) 
• ASTR 1035 Life in the Universe (4 credits)  
• BIOL 1110 Biology for Science Majors Lecture I (4 credits)  
• BIOL 1111 Biology for Science Majors Laboratory I (0 credit)  
• BIOL 1120 Biology for Science Majors Lecture II (4 credits)  
• BIOL 1121 Biology for Science Majors Laboratory II (0 credit)  
• BIOL 1130 Biology for Science Majors Lecture III (4 credits)  
• CHEM 1110 General Chemistry Lecture I (4 credits)  
• CHEM 1111 General Chemistry Laboratory I (0 credit)  
• CHEM 1120 General Chemistry Lecture II (4 credits)  
• CHEM 1121 General Chemistry Laboratory II (0 credit)  
• GEOL 1040 Geosciences: Earth and Society Lecture (3 credits)  
• GEOL 1041 Geosciences: Earth and Society Laboratory (1 credit)  
• GEOL 1050 Geosciences: Earth through Time Lecture (3 credits)  
• GEOL 1051 Geosciences: Earth through Time Laboratory (1 credit)  
• HSCI 2010 Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits)  
• HSCI 2011 Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory I (0 credit)  
• HSCI 2020 Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits)  
• HSCI 2021 Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory II (0 credit)  
• PHYS 2010 General Physics I-Noncalculus (3 credits)  
• PHYS 2011 General Physics Laboratory I-Noncalculus (1 credit)  
• PHYS 2020 General Physics II-Noncalculus (3 credits)  
• PHYS 2021 General Physics Laboratory II-Noncalculus (1 credit)  
• PHYS 2110 Technical Physics I-Calculus Based (5 credits)  
• PHYS 2120 Technical Physics II-Calculus Based (5 credits)  

Open to non-science majors only:

• BIOL 1010 Biology for Non-majors I (4 credits) 
• BIOL 1011 Biology for Non-majors Laboratory (0 credit) 
• BIOL 1020 Biology for Non-majors II (4 credits)  
• BIOL 1021 Biology for Non-majors Laboratory II (0 credit) 
• BIOL 1310 Concepts in Biology (4 credits) 
• BIOL 1311 Concepts in Biology Laboratory (0 credit) 
• CHEM 1000 Chemistry and Well-Being (4 credits) 
• CHEM 1030 Introduction to Chemistry Survey (4 credits) 
• PHYS 1030 Introduction to Physics Survey (4 credits) 

Mathematics

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

• MATH 1530 Probability and Statistics – Noncalculus (3 credits) 
• MATH 1840 Analytic Geometry and Differential Calculus (3 credits) 
• MATH 1910 Calculus I (4 credits) 

Note:

Students will enroll in the appropriate general education math course during their first calendar year of enrollment at ETSU. Students required to complete learning support in mathematics must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of MATH 1530  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading or writing. Students needing learning support in reading or writing in addition to learning support in math should enroll in MATH 1530 -Lxx immediately upon completing their other learning support requirements. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website http://www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

Reading

Students required to complete learning support in reading must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01 - L99) of  SPCH 1300  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer). Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website http://www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

Transferring General Education Courses within the Tennessee Board of Regents System

All institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) System share a common general education core curriculum of forty-one (41) semester credits for baccalaureate degrees and the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. ETSU courses that fulfill the general education requirements are listed above. Lists of courses fulfilling general education requirements at other TBR institutions are available at http://www.tbr.edu/policies/default.aspx Although the courses TBR institutions designate to fulfill general education requirements vary, transfer of these courses among TBR institutions is assured as follows:

• Upon completion of an A.A. or A.S. degree at a TBR institution, general education core requirements will be complete and all TBR institutions will recognize completions of these requirements in the transfer process.
• If an A.A. or A.S. is not obtained or if a student is pursuing a baccalaureate degree at a TBR university, transfer of completed general education requirements will be based upon completion of subject blocks. When a student completes a subject category requirement (e.g., if all eight credits in the category of Natural Sciences are complete), completion of that block will be recognized by all TBR institutions. When a student has taken courses that fulfill only part of a subject block requirement, the application of transferred courses to the receiving institution’s general education requirements will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.
• Some institutions or particular academic departments within institutions require a minimum grade of ‘C’ in certain general education courses.
• These minimum grade requirements will also apply to the transfer of general education courses. Even if transfer credit hours are granted for a course, any requirement for a minimum grade of ‘C’ by the receiving institution will be enforced.
• Certain majors require students to take particular courses to fulfill general education requirements. Students and their academic advisors should note any major-specific stipulations regarding fulfillment of general education requirements.
• Transfer students may meet the general education history requirement as follows:

1. Transfer students from University of Tennessee (UT) System institutions who met the general education history requirement while attending those schools will also have met ETSU’s history requirement, as will transfer students who met UT history requirements while attending TBR community colleges.
2. Transfer students who earned credit for two of the following courses at any TBR institution will also have met ETSU’s history requirement:     

HIST 1110 World History to 1500  

HIST 1120 World History Since 1500  

HIST 2010 The United States to 1877  

HIST 2020 The United States since 1877  

HIST 2030 (3 credits)  

3. Transfer students from institutions outside the TBR and UT systems who completed courses equivalent to those listed above may apply those courses to ETSU’s history requirement.
4. Students who completed only one of the courses listed above prior to transferring to ETSU can complete the history requirement by taking HIST 2010 , HIST 2020 , or HIST 2030 .
5. All students must present evidence of completing one year of American history in high school. Students lacking such documentation must satisfy a high school deficiency by completing HIST 2010 , HIST 2020 , or HIST 2030 . Completing one of these courses to remove the deficiency will also count toward completion of the general education history requirement.

Transfer students who use HIST 1110  or HIST 1120  to meet the general education history requirement cannot also use it to meet the general education humanities requirement.