Mar 19, 2024  
2023-2024 Academic Catalog (August 2023 - July 2024 
    
2023-2024 Academic Catalog (August 2023 - July 2024

General Education Program


All students must complete a minimum of 120 semester hours to be eligible to receive a baccalaureate degree, regardless of their field of specialization, and within this number, a minimum of 39-40 semester hours are prescribed and designated as the General Education Program.  The General Education Program consists of some courses which are absolute requirements and others where students choose from distributed lists.  Although General Education coursework may continue throughout the full four years, students will likely take most of the General Education Program in their first two years of study.

The General Education Program is an essential element of the educational process designed with specific student learning expectations focusing on the attainment of foundational knowledge and essential skills needed for a comprehensive undergraduate education.  At Concord University, the General Education Program is a distribution of coursework in the liberal arts and sciences that together emphasize a common, shared body of knowledge, the development of essential skills, and a deeper appreciation of the diverse social and cultural concepts, values, and institutions that make up today’s world.  Through study in the basic disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences, students not only gain a solid foundation for specialized studies, they are also equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop a richer understanding of the various modes of inquiry, the differing ways of knowing needed for establishing a broad educational underpinning, and a foundation for lifelong learning.

(39-41 Hours)

A. Written and Oral Communications (9 Hours)

Required Courses:

ENGL 101 Composition and Rhetoric I(3)   
ENGL 102 Composition and Rhetoric II(3)   

Select one course from the following list:

BGEN 205 Fundamentals of Business Communication(3)   
COMM 101 Fundamentals of Speech(3)   

B. Literature and Humanities (6 Hours)

Literature (3 hours)
Select one course for a total of three credit hours from the following list:

ENGL 203 World Literature I(3)   
ENGL 204 World Literature II(3)   

History and Philosophy (3 hours)
Select one course from the following list:

HIST 101 History of Civilization(3)   
HIST 102 History of Civilization(3)   
HIST 203 History of the United States(3)   
HIST 204 History of the United States(3)   
PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy(3)   
PHIL 308 Logic(3)   
PHIL 316 Ethics(3)   
PHIL 361 Biomedical Ethics(3)    

C. Fine Arts (3 Hours)

Select one course for a total of three credit hours from the following list:

ART 101 Introduction to Visual Arts(3)  
ART 103 Drawing I(3)  
ART 105 Design I(3)  
ART 106 Basic Computer Graphics(3)  
ART 204 Painting I(3)  
ART 205 Ceramics I(3)  
ART 216 Photography I(3)  
ART 303 Jewelry I(3)  
ART 304 Watercolor Painting(3)  
ART 308 Printmaking I(3)  
MUS 101 Introduction to Music(3)  
MUS 451 Collegiate Singers(1)  Repeat up to three credit hours for this category.
MUS 453A Marching Band(1)  Repeat up to three credit hours for this category.
THEA 102 Introduction to Theatre(3)  

D. Social and Behavioral Sciences ( 9 Hours)

Select one course from three different categories outlined below:

Category I-Business and Professional Studies

BGEN 105 Introduction to Business(3)  
ECON 203 Principles of Microeconomics(3)  
ECON 204 Principles of Macroeconomics(3)  
FIN 200 Personal Financial Planning(3)  
HSP 100 Introduction to Hospitality Management(3)  
SOWK 161 Introduction to Social Work(3)  

Category 2-Geography

GEOG 101 Humans and the Environment(3)  
GEOG 221 Cultural Anthropology(3)  

Category 3-Political Science

POSC 101 Introduction to Political Science(3)  
POSC 104 American Federal Government(3)  
POSC 202 State and Local Government(3)  

Category 4-Psychology

PSY 101 General Psychology(3)  
PSY 200 Basic Learning(3)  

Category 5-Sociology

SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology(3)  
SOC 201 Social Problems(3)  
SOC 301 Sociology of Families(3)  

E. Natural Science (7-8 Hours)

Select one course from two different categories outlined below:

Category 1-Biological Science
BIOL 101 Biology: Theme(4)   
BIOL 102 Biology: Theme(3)   
BIOL 121 Foundations of Biology I(4)   
BIOL 122 Foundations of Biology II(4)   

Category 2-Earth and Space Science
GEOL 101 Earth Processes, Resources, and the Environment(4)   
GEOL 140 Geology and Environmental Issues in Appalachia(3)   
GEOL 150 Oceanography(3)   
GEOG 200 Digital Earth(3)   
PHSC 104 Concepts in Physical Science: Earth/Space Sciences(4)   
PHYS 105 Introductory Astronomy(4)   

Category 3-Physical Science
CHEM 100 Fundamentals of Chemistry(3)   
CHEM 101 General Chemistry I(3)   and CHEM 111 General Chemistry Laboratory I(1)  
PHSC 103 Concepts in Physical Science: Physics/Chemistry(4)   
PHYS 101 Introductory Physics(4)   
PHYS 201 University Physics with Calculus, Part 1(4)   

F. Mathematics (3 Hours)

Select one Mathematics course numbered 100 or higher.

G. Physical Wellness (2-3 Hours)

Select one or more courses from the following list for a total of at least two hours:
H ED 120 Personal Health(3)   
H ED 304 Principles of Nutrition and Weight Management(2)   
P ED 101M Personal Wellness(2)   
P ED 117 Team Sports(3)   
P ED 118 Individual Sports and Physical Activities(3)   

Modern and Classical Language Option (6 Hour Substitution)

A two-semester sequence of courses in the same modern or classical language may be substituted for up to two General Education courses.  Both courses in this two-course sequence must be passed before General Education credit may be awarded.  Modern or classical language courses can be used to substitute for no more than ONE General Education course from each of the content areas labeled A-G above.  No substitution is permitted for ENGL 101, ENGL 102, the Mathematics requirement, or the 4-hour Natural Science requirement.

Honors Course Substitution

Any student enrolled in the Honors Program may elect to substitute the 400-level capstone course for any General Education course not required for his or her program, except that there is no substitute permitted for ENGL 101, ENGL 102, the Mathematics requirement, or the 4-hour Natural Science requirement.