2007-2008 Undergraduate Catalog

University General Education Curriculum: Requirements

Candidates for a baccalaureate degree at Western Illinois University are required to complete the General Education Curriculum approved by the University faculty. General Education courses should ordinarily be taken during the freshman and sophomore years, and the entire 43 semester hours should be completed not later than the last semester of the junior year. Individual colleges and departments may require additional courses and students should refer to the section of the catalog for the college in which they are enrolled for requirements beyond the University General Education Curriculum.

The following restrictions apply:

  1. No courses numbered 275, 298, 450, 475, and 498 are acceptable for credit in the General Education Curriculum;
  2. Students may not use any one course to satisfy two General Education distribution requirements;
  3. Students may not count more than two courses from the discipline in which they major toward satisfaction of the General Education requirements;
  4. No courses under the Pass/Fail option may apply to the General Education requirements.

University General Education Curriculum: Categories

I. Communication Skills: 9 s.h.

College Writing

All students enrolled in the University must demonstrate their ability to write and speak clearly, accurately, and effectively. Entering students' writing skills are assessed upon initial registration. Students placed in English 100 must complete that course with a grade of C or better before enrolling in English 180.

English 180 must be taken either semester of the freshman year. Students who fail to receive a grade of C or better must repeat the course.

English 280 is to be taken after 24 hours earned and before 60 hours earned. English 180 is a prerequisite. Students who fail to receive a grade of C or better in 280 must repeat the course.

Students may also receive credit for all or part of the writing requirement by 1) passing the appropriate proficiency examination, 2) completing the stated requirements of General Honors 101, or 3) completing a comparable course or courses at another university with a grade of C or better.

Public Speaking

Students may also receive credit for the oral communication requirement by 1) completing the accelerated section 50 of Communication 241 with a grade of B or above, 2) completing the Honors section 25 of Communication 241, or 3) satisfactorily completing a comparable course at another college/university.

Categories II, III, IV, V, and VI

All courses in categories II, III, IV, V, and VI of the General Education Curriculum include at least one writing assignment. In addition, students fulfilling requirements in categories II, III, IV, V, and VI must take six semester hours of courses that are specially designated by the suffix "W" to denote an emphasis on writing.** Students may choose from either of the following two options to fulfill this requirement: 1) take courses from at least two different General Education categories, or 2) take courses from at least two different academic departments*** within the same General Education category. All six semester hours may not be taken from one academic department in one General Education category. Students should look for such designations (W) in printed class schedules for each academic term. Students should note, however, that they cannot take a AW@ course and then enroll in the same course without the “W” and receive credit (example, Hist 106W and Hist 106). These are considered the same course for credit purposes.

  1. Students who transfer 16 or fewer hours of those required in General Education Areas II–IV must take at least 6 hours of courses designated "W" (writing emphasis) as outlined in the preceding paragraph.
  2. Students who transfer 17 to 26 hours in Areas II–IV must take at least 3 hours of WIU General Education courses with a "W" designation.
  3. Students who transfer 27 or more hours in Areas II–IV do not have to comply with the 6 hour "W" requirement.

**Students who have completed English 180 and 280 (or the equivalents) may fulfill the “W@ requirement by taking English 380 “Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences.” Students should note, however, that English 380 is not part of the General Education Curriculum and will not fulfill a course requirement in any category of the General Education Curriculum. It will count as elective credits for graduation. Students may not use any single course to count for both AW@ (Writing Emphasis) credit and AWID@ (Writing in the Discipline) credit.

***The following General Education disciplines are considered one academic department for the purpose of fulfilling the writing intensive requirement: Philosophy and Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, and Foreign Languages.

II. Natural Sciences and Mathematics: 10 s.h.

Students must fulfill the competency requirement of Part A and the general education requirement of Part B of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics category.

PART A—Competency
All students enrolled in the University must demonstrate their ability to use general baccalaureate-level skills in mathematics by one of the following means:

  1. Receive University credit for Math 100, Core Competency in Mathematics (3 s.h.);
  2. Receive a satisfactory score on an assessment examination instrument designated by the Department of Mathematics; or
  3. Receive University credit for a mathematics course which lists Math 100 as a prerequisite.

PART B—General Education

Students must complete ten semester hours from the courses listed below. At least one laboratory course must be included. Students may take no more than two courses from any one grouping below.

Biology

Chemistry

Geography

Geology

General Honors

Mathematics

Physics

*Math 106 and 206 are open only to Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Bilingual/Bicultural Education, and Special Education majors in the State Certification Program. The sequence of 106/206 counts as 3 hours of General Education credit.

III. Social Sciences: 9 s.h.

Students must take at least three courses in the Social Sciences. Students may take no more than two courses from any one grouping below.

Anthropology

Economics

General Honors

Geography

Political Science

Psychology

Sociology

*Dual-category course. Students may only count a dual-category course to satisfy the requirements in one General Education category.

IV. Humanities: 9 s.h.

Students must take at least three courses in the Humanities. No more than two courses from the same discipline may be counted.

African American Studies

Art

Communication

English

Foreign Languages and Literatures

General Honors

History

Music

Philosophy

Religious Studies

Theatre

*Dual-category course. Students may only count a dual-category course to satisfy the requirements in one General Education category.

V. Multicultural Studies: 3 s.h.

Students must select at least one course from the following list:

*Dual-category course. Students may only count a dual-category course to satisfy the requirements in one General Education category.

VI. Human Well-Being: 3 s.h.

Students may select any combination of courses from at least two of the following departments:

Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising and Hospitality

Health Sciences

Kinesiology

Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration

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