General Education Program
General Education Program Overview
The Virginia State University (VSU) General Education Program is founded on the principles of academic excellence and personal growth and comprises the core curriculum for all baccalaureate degrees offered by the institution. Driven by the University’s Mission and Principles, the program endeavors to develop engaged, enlightened, productive citizens in a changing world.
The liberal arts emphasis of VSU’s General Education Program is designed to foster dispositions that value lifelong learning, personal responsibility, integrity, creative expression, and the ethic of service.
General Education Program Provisions, Requirements, and Courses
The General Education (GE) course framework represents a balanced menu of courses designed to enhance core skill sets, including synthesis and analysis of information; problem solving through structures, organizations and systems; understanding of global/cultural and historical contexts; research; and effective communication skills. Students must satisfy the University's assessment requirements to document their acquisition of these core skill sets and their level of achievement of the University's GE student learning outcomes.
Provisions and Requirements
- The General Education program requires the successful completion of 33 semester hours in the following areas:
- English (Composition) - 6 semester hours
- History - 3 semester hours
- Humanities - 3 semester hours
- Global Studies - 3 semester hours
- Literature - 3 semester hours
- Health/Wellness - 2 semester hours
- Mathematics - 6 semester hours
- Social Science - 3 semester hours
- Natural Science and Lab - 4 semester hours
- Students may use one course simultaneously to satisfy a requirement for general education and their major discipline; however students may not use one course to satisfy more than one general education course requirement.
- The minimum grade required for successful completion of English 110/112 and English 111/113 (Composition I and II) is “C.”
- Departments (majors) may choose courses from the limited menus or allow students to choose.
General Education English Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGLISH - 6 semester hours required from the courses listed below (Minimum grade of C is required) | ||
| ENGL 110 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 111 | Composition II | 3 |
| ENGL 112 | Honors Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 113 | Honors Composition II | 3 |
General Education Global Studies Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AGRI 295 | Contemporary Global Studies | 3 |
| ARAB 110 | Elementary Arabic I | 3 |
| ARAB 111 | Elementary Arabic II | 3 |
| ARAB 212 | Intermediate Arabic I | 3 |
| ARAB 213 | Intermediate Arabic II | 3 |
| ENGL 214 | World Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 215 | World Literature II | 3 |
| FREN 110 | Elementary French I | 3 |
| FREN 111 | Elementary French II | 3 |
| FREN 212 | Intermediate French I | 3 |
| FREN 213 | Intermediate French II | 3 |
| HIST 114 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 115 | World History Since 1500 | 3 |
| GEOG 210 | World Geography | 3 |
| GLST 202 | Global Studies Abroad: Topic | 1-6 |
| IDUP 270 | Introduction To Africana Stud | 3 |
| MUSI 199 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| POLI 207 | International Relations | 3 |
| POLI 210 | Comparative Government | 3 |
| SPAN 110 | Elementary Spanish I | 3 |
| SPAN 111 | Elementary Spanish II | 3 |
| SPAN 212 | Intermediate Spanish | 3 |
| SPAN 213 | Intermediate Spanish II | 3 |
General Education History Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HISTORY - 3 semester hours required from the courses listed below | ||
| HIST 114 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 115 | World History Since 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 122 | U.S. History to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 123 | U.S. History After 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 240 | African American Hist. to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 241 | Afric. Am. Hist. Fr 1865 to Pr | 3 |
| HIST 245 | HBCU History | 3 |
| HIST 274 | History of Africa to 1800 | 3 |
| HIST 275 | History of Africa Since 1800 | 3 |
General Education Humanities Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HUMANITIES - 3 semester hours required from the courses listed below | ||
| ARTS 199 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ARTS 200 | Art Crafts | 3 |
| DANC 100 | Foundations of Dance | 3 |
| DANC 251 | Hist Dance & Black Experience | 3 |
| DRAM 199 | Drama Appreciation | 3 |
| ENGL 201 | Introduction To Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 202 | Intro African American Lit | 3 |
| ENGL 210 | English Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 211 | English Literature II | 3 |
| ENGL 212 | American Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 213 | American Literature Ii | 3 |
| ENGL 214 | World Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 215 | World Literature II | 3 |
| FREN 110 | Elementary French I | 3 |
| FREN 111 | Elementary French II | 3 |
| FREN 212 | Intermediate French I | 3 |
| FREN 213 | Intermediate French II | 3 |
| HIST 122 | U.S. History to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 123 | U.S. History After 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 240 | African American Hist. to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 241 | Afric. Am. Hist. Fr 1865 to Pr | 3 |
| HIST 245 | HBCU History | 3 |
| MUSI 198 | Jazz Appreciaton | 3 |
| MUSI 199 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| MUSI 200 | Blacks in American Music | 3 |
| PHIL 140 | Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 180 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| PHIL 220 | Introduction To Logic | 3 |
| PHIL 275 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 290 | Business Ethics | 3 |
General Education Literature Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Literature - 3 semester hours are required from the courses listed below | ||
| ENGL 201 | Introduction To Literature (Course is designed for most students.) | 3 |
| ENGL 202 | Intro African American Lit (Course is designed for most students.) | 3 |
| ENGL 210 | English Literature I (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
| ENGL 211 | English Literature II (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
| ENGL 212 | American Literature I (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
| ENGL 213 | American Literature Ii (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
| ENGL 214 | World Literature I (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
| ENGL 215 | World Literature II (Course is intended for students with a strong background in literature.) | 3 |
General Education Mathematics Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics - 6 semester hours required from the courses listed below | ||
| MATH 112 | Basic Mathematics I | 3 |
| MATH 113 | Basic Mathematics II | 3 |
| MATH 120 | College Algebra | 3 |
| MATH 121 | Trigonometry | 3 |
| MATH 122 | Finite Mathematics | 3 |
| MATH 130 | Number And Operations | 3 |
| MATH 131 | Algebra And Functions | 3 |
| MATH 150 | Precalculus | 4 |
| MATH 260 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 261 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHIL 220 | Introduction To Logic | 3 |
| STAT 210 | Elementary Statistics I | 3 |
General Education Science and Lab Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Science - 4 semester hours required from the courses listed below *To meet the General Education requirement in Science a student must successfully complete one course with associated labs (four semester hours) or the appropriate science courses to satisfy the approved curriculum in the student's major. This requirement can be satisfied by completing one two-semester hour course or two one-semester hour courses.* | ||
| AGRI 100 | General Earth Science | 1-4 |
| AGRI 150 | Intro Environmental Science | 4 |
| BIOL 116 | Biological Science | 4 |
| BIOL 120 | Principles Of Biology I | 1-4 |
| BIOL 121 | Principles Of Biology II (Required for all Biology majors) | 1-4 |
| CHEM 100 | Chemistry in Society | 1-4 |
| CHEM 151 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 153 | General Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 152 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 154 | General Chemistry II Laborator | 1 |
| CHEM 161 | Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 163 | Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CHEM 162 | Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 164 | Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| DIET 101 | Nutrition:Contemp Health Issue | 3 |
| PHYS 100 | Physical Science | 1-4 |
| PHYS 105 | Introduction to Physics I | 1-3 |
| PHYS 106 | Introduction to Physics II | 1-3 |
| PHYS 112 | General Physics I | 1-4 |
| PHYS 113 | General Physics II | 1-4 |
General Education Social Science Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Social Science - 3 semester hours required from the courses listed below | ||
| CJUS 116 | Intro To Criminal Justice | 3 |
| ECON 100 | Basic Economics | 3 |
| ECON 210 | Principles Of Microeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 211 | Principles Of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| FACS 201 | Consumer Economics | 3 |
| POLI 150 | United States Government | 3 |
| POLI 202 | Contemporary Political Thought | 3 |
| PSYC 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 212 | Human Growth & Development | 3 |
| SOCI 101 | Introduction To Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 102 | Introduction To Anthropology | 3 |
General Education Wellness/Health Courses
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Wellness/Health - 2 semester hours required from the courses listed below *This requirement can be satisfied by completing one two-semester hours course or two one-semester hour courses* | ||
| HPER 160 | Team Sports/Wellness | 1 |
| HPER 165 | Personal Fitness | 1 |
| HPER 166 | Beginning Swimming/Wellness | 1 |
| HPER 169 | Gymnastics Wellness | 1 |
| HPER 170 | Health And Wellness | 2 |
| HPER 171 | Lifetime Sports/Wellness | 1 |