UTC’s Philosophy and Goals of General Education Curriculum
The UTC faculty believes that the general education curriculum can expand students’ fundamental knowledge, abilities, and aesthetic sensibilities, leading to more enriched lives and a more comprehensive view of our global world.
General Education Goals
Through study in rhetoric and composition, the natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, the behavioral and social sciences, non-Western culture, the humanities, and the fine arts, graduates of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be able to:
- Express a broad knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world;
- Think critically, analytically, and reflectively;
- Employ qualitative information to define and defend viewpoints, solve problems, and to make informed decisions;
- Communicate effectively, especially in speech and in writing; and collaborate on common tasks, and
- Synthesize information and concepts across general and specific disciplinary studies, demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills and responsibilities to new settings and situations.
Categories of Study
The achievement of the five overall general education outcomes listed above will begin by students completing courses in the categories listed below for a total of 40-41 credit hours. Students should check the specific requirements for their majors before choosing courses since specific courses in each category may be required for a particular major.
UTC courses that have not been certified for the General Education curriculum may not be used to satisfy any General Education requirement. Consequently, student petitions seeking credit for non-certified UTC courses will not be accepted by the Office of the University Registrar or the General Education Committee.
Rhetoric and Writing Category
In general, students must complete six (6) credit hours in the Rhetoric and Writing category. This requirements typically consists of two sequential 3-hour courses to be taken consecutively, completing each with a grade of C or better. Students are expected to complete this requirement within the first 30 attempted credit hours. Students with ACT-English scores of 30 or above (SAT Verbal of 680 or above) are exempt from the first course in this sequence.
Some students may not be eligible to enroll in general education courses in this category until they fulfill prescribed course requirements. See the catalog section on Advising, Orientation, and Registration and information about directed self-placement for further details.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to develop a student’s ability to read and write critically and communicate effectively in a variety of genres and contexts.
Rhetoric and Writing I:
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this course and receipt of a grade of C or better, students will be able to:
- Read and understand multiple genres and texts.
- Use academic writing strategies with an emphasis on developing ideas, formulating a thesis, constructing an argument, and adjusting organization and details to meet audience needs.
- Use revision strategies to clarify and improve a writing project’s purpose, thesis, organization, use of supporting details, use of source material, and audience appropriateness.
- Work effectively in peer groups to give and receive feedback on emerging drafts.
- Use at least one multi-subject database to find relevant research and effectively incorporate material from their research into formal assignments.
- Apply basic citation principles in at least one style (such as MLA or APA).
- Complete formal writing projects using appropriate grammar, mechanics, formatting, and tone.
Rhetoric and Writing I courses:
Rhetoric and Writing II:
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this course and receipt of a grade of C or better, students will be able to:
- Develop effective arguments for multiple audiences using appropriate rhetorical strategies and various types of evidence.
- Develop a focused research question and identify research strategies for finding appropriate primary and secondary sources.
- Understand and use several multi-subject databases to locate sources; evaluate sources for reliability and persuasive potential; understand and use other research methods where appropriate.
- Effectively and ethically incorporate the words and ideas of others into their own original writing.
- Confidently use at least one common citation method, (such as MLA or APA).
- Successfully complete several formal writing projects, including research-driven arguments, using appropriate grammar, mechanics, formatting, and tone.
Rhetoric and Writing II courses:
The Fine Arts and Humanities Category
Students must complete a total of 12 credit hours in The Fine Arts and Humanities category. There are four (4) subcategories in this overarching category: Historical Understanding; Literature; Thought, Values and Beliefs; and Visual and Performing Arts. A student must complete at least one course in each subcategory.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to develop skills in the analysis and interpretation of products of human thought and imagination in the realms of visual and performing arts, history, literature, philosophy, ethics, and religion.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this category, students will be able to:
- Describe the forms and limits of knowledge in the arts and the humanities.
- Identify the relationships among ideas, text, and artistic works and their cultural and historical contexts.
- Recognize and evaluate competing interpretations of texts broadly defined.
- Compare the differences and commonalities among the various disciplines in the Fine Arts and Humanities.
- Apply the techniques of interpretation and analysis characteristic of disciplines in the Fine Arts and Humanities to explore significant issues, texts, and artistic works.
- Communicate the results of their inquiries and analyses in writing.
Historical Understanding Subcategory
Subcategory Purpose:
The purposes of this subcategory are to develop student skills in historical analysis and to increase student understanding of the past and its complexities. Students are encouraged to check the specific requirements for their major for this category.
Subcategory Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this subcategory, students will be able to:
- Explain concepts such as cause and effect, change over time, context, and contingency.
- Explain the varieties of historical evidence and assess their strengths and limitations.
- Analyze and interpret primary and secondary source material, distinguish between them, and place them in context.
- Evaluate multiple perspectives that emerge from differing narratives and sources.
- Follow and construct logical and coherent historical arguments.
- Articulate the relationship between the past and the present.
Historical Understanding subcategory courses:
CLAS 2000 - Everyday Life in the Roman Empire
ENGL 3230 African-American Slave Narrative Tradition
HIST 2030 - History of Tennessee
HIST 2210 - Medieval Europe, Illumined! From 300-1500
HIST 2220 - The Making of Europe, from 1500-1800
HIST 2230 - Empires, Nations, and Wars: Europe since 1800
HIST 2410 - Colonial and Revolutionary America
HIST 2420 - Early National and Antebellum America
HIST 2430 - The Era of the Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 2440 - Gilded Age to Jazz Age
HIST 2450 - Depression Era to Recent Times
HIST 2460 - History of the American South
HIST 2510 - History of Epidemics and Society
HIST 2610 - History of Sub-Saharan Africa to 1800
HIST 2620 - History of Africa, c. 1800-Present
HIST 2810 - East Asia from Antiquity to 1600
HIST 2820 - Modern East Asia
HIST 2850 - Colonial Latin America
HIST 2860 - Latin America from Independence to the Present
HIST 2880 - History of the Modern Middle East
HUM 3230 African-American Slave Narrative Tradition
UHON 3510r Topics in Historical Understanding
Literature Subcategory
Subcategory Purpose:
The goal of the literature subcategory is to promote critical engagement with the written word through prose, poetry, and drama. Students will acquire skills in the analysis and interpretation of texts and deepen their knowledge of the ways in which figurative language contributes to human thought and expression. Courses in this category should promote college-level reading skills through an emphasis on comprehension, building vocabulary, and exposure to a range of literary expression. Students are encouraged to check the specific requirements for their major for this category.
Subcategory Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this subcategory, students will be able to:
- Recognize and analyze figurative language.
- Identify and discuss multiple levels of meaning.
- Construct theses and logical arguments related to the meaning or contexts of texts.
- Arbitrate competing interpretations.
- Articulate differences in genre (e.g. fiction, poetry, drama, etc.) and sub-genre (e.g. short story, essay, epic, sonnet, etc.).
- Address the influence of cultural and historical contexts on literary texts.
- Read and comprehend college-level literature.
Literature Subcategory courses:
CLAS 1200 Legendary Rome: Epic Founders, Wicked Emperors, Saintly Martyrs
ENGL 1310 Values in 20th-Century American Fiction
ENGL 2060r Topics in Literature
ENGL 2070r Topics in Rhetoric
ENGL 2080r Topics in Intellectual Inquiry
ENGL 2510r Popular Fiction
ENGL 2530r Topics in Literature and War
LTAM 1250 - Introduction to Latin American Studies
LTAM 2200 - Afro-Latino Voices: The Caribbean and Beyond
MLNG 1050 Knights of the Round Table in Film and Legend
UHON 3520r Topics in Literature
Thought, Values and Beliefs Subcategory
Subcategory Purpose:
The goal of this subcategory is for students to engage analytically and critically at least one body of philosophical, ethical, and/or religious thought. Students will examine ways in which such thought can shape decisions and actions. Students are encouraged to check the specific requirements for their major for this category.
Subcategory Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this subcategory, students will be able to:
- Identify the key components of at least one body of thought.
- Explain and analyze a body of thought.
- Apply the unique perspective of the body of thought to a specific problem or question.
- Effectively articulate in writing their individual perspective in relation to the body of thought.
Thought, Values and Beliefs Subcategory courses:
CLAS 1200 Legendary Rome: Epic Founders, Wicked Emperors, Saintly Martyrs
ENGL 2080r - Topics in Intellectual Inquiry
ENGR 3010 - The Ethics of Contemporary and Emerging Technologies
MLNG 1050 Knights of the Round Table in Film and Legend
PHIL 1110 - Applied Critical Thinking
PHIL 1200 - World Philosophy
PHIL 2120 Introduction to Asian Philosophy
PHIL 2260 - Sports Ethics
PHIL 2350 - Popular Culture, Religion, and Philosophy
PSPS 3052 - Political Philosophy I
PSPS 3053 - Political Philosophy II
REL 1050 - Introduction to Islam: History, Religion, Culture
REL 2120 Introduction to Asian Philosophy
REL 2140 - The History of Christianity
REL 2350 - Popular Culture, Religion, and Philosophy
UHON 1020 Humanities II
UHON 3530r Topics in Thought, Values and Beliefs
Visual and Performing Arts Subcategory
Subcategory Purpose:
The purpose of this subcategory is to engage students in aspects of human creative thought and expression. Students are encouraged to check the specific requirements for their major for this category.
Subcategory Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this subcategory, students will be able to:
- Describe, interpret, and analyze creative modes of expression.
- Offer multiple solutions to specific creative problems.
- Form and defend judgments about creative modes of expression.
- Compare ideas, issues, or themes in human civilizations’ achievements.
Visual and Performing Arts Subcategory courses:
COMM 2250 - Television and Pop Culture
MLNG 1500r World Cinema
MLNG 2400 - African and Caribbean Film
MUS 1150 - Principles of Music
MUS 3130 America’s Musical Heritage
UHON 3540r Topics in Visual and Performing Arts
The Natural Sciences Category
Students must complete seven or eight (7-8) credit hours of courses in the Natural Sciences category. At least one course will include a laboratory component that contributes to ¼ of the final grade. The laboratory component grade may be reported separately. Students are encouraged to check the specific requirements for their major for this category.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to allow students to participate in the systematic ways in which human beings analyze the physical universe, to appreciate the achievements of the human mind in comprehending the universe, and to understand the significant role of the natural sciences in human development.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this category, students will be able to:
- Explain intellectual foundations, conceptual approaches, and methodologies of the natural sciences.
- Understand and explain scientific terminology.
- Discuss historical, social and political issues related to scientific data and advances.
- Construct graphic and analytical models from a description of a specific natural phenomenon.
- Formulate a hypothesis based on empirical data.
- Apply the scientific method to solve problems.
- Design experiments to test hypotheses.
- Express conclusions and implications from scientific experiments using a variety of methods.
Natural Science Laboratory courses:
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BIOL 1050 - Life on Earth
CHEM 1050 - Principles of Chemistry and
CHEM 1050L - Principles of Chemistry Laboratory
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UHON 3565r Topics in Natural Sciences (Lab)
Natural Science Non-Laboratory Science courses:
GEOG 1010 - Physical Geography
INTS 1110 - Science of Sustainability
UHON 3560r Topics in Natural Sciences (Non-Lab)
Behavioral and Social Science Category
Students are required to complete six (6) credit hours in the Behavioral and Social Sciences category. These two courses should be from different disciplines unless requirements for the major stipulate otherwise.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to explore the nature of human behavior and social systems.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this category, students will be able to:
- Use and communicate evidence and theory to examine individual, social and or cultural phenomena.
- Explain the strengths and limitations of behavioral or social science methods in predicting human behavior.
- Describe and explain social or behavioral phenomena by applying a discipline’s concepts and/or theories.
- Engage in reasoning using qualitative or quantitative social science or behavioral science tools and information.
- Analyze empirical observations in relation to discipline-appropriate theoretical constructs.
Behavioral and Social Science courses:
ANTH 1500 - Anthropology Today: The Arc of Humanity
ETR 1010 - Entrepreneurship: The Mindset and Skillset
SOCW 2050 - Introduction to Social Policy: A Child and Family Perspective
UHON 3550r Topics in Behavioral and Social Sciences
Mathematics Category
In general, students must complete three (3) credit hours in the Mathematics category. Students are expected to complete this requirement within the first 30 attempted credit hours. Students with ACT-Math scores of 28 or above (SAT Math of 630 or above) are exempt from this requirement.
Some students may not be eligible to enroll in general education courses in this category until they fulfill prescribed course requirements. See the UTC catalog section, Advising, Orientation, and Registration for further information.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to develop students’ ability to use abstract and deductive reasoning, to think logically and creatively about quantitative phenomena, and to analyze and solve real-world and abstract mathematical problems.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this category, students will be able to:
- Explain key mathematical concepts or prove mathematical statements.
- Describe both the strengths and limitations of mathematics in addressing human problems.
- Use a variety of appropriate mathematical concepts, skills, tools, and methods to solve quantitative problems that arise in students’ personal or professional lives.
- Analyze and resolve real-world and abstract quantitative situations that require critical thinking, logical reasoning, and the ability to identify assumptions and separate relevant from irrelevant information.
- Communicate, interpret, and justify results with clarity and coherence.
Mathematics Category courses:
MATH 1710 Precalculus I
UHON 3570r Topics in Mathematics
Statistics Category
Students must complete three (3) credit hours in the Statistics Category. Some students may not be eligible to enroll in general education courses in this category until they fulfill prescribed course requirements. Check prerequisite and co-requisite requirements for courses certified for this category for specific information.
Category Purpose:
The purpose of this category is to develop students’ ability to use statistical reasoning in their personal and professional lives.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this category, students will be able to:
- Apply conceptual understandings of basic statistical principles to real-world situations.
- Use statistical thinking.
- Explain statistical concepts and interpret statistical results using appropriate statistical vocabulary.
- Apply techniques of descriptive and inferential statistics and basic probability principles to real data.
- Recognize the strengths and limitations of statistics in addressing human problems and conduct investigations of statistically accessible problems.
- Use software packages for data analysis and statistical understanding.
Statistics Category courses:
MGT 2130 - Statistics for Business
UHON 3580r Topics in Statistics
Non-Western Culture Category
Students must complete three (3) hours in the Non-Western Culture category. General education courses in Non-Western Culture may also be certified for a second general education category or subcategory. However, students must still complete 40-41 credit hours in the general education curriculum.
Category Purpose:
Courses in this category will investigate some aspect of a culture whose dominant traditions originate outside of “Western” traditions, values, and systems of thought and belief. The purpose of this category is to ensure that students explore at least one culture outside of the Euro-American framework. Students are required to take one course certified in this category. This course may also be certified in another category or subcategory.
Category Outcomes: Upon completion of the required credit hours in this subcategory, students will be able to:
- Identify and analyze knowledge, artifacts, or practices of at least one non-Western* culture.
- Recognize and articulate the complexities of human differences within the culture or cultures under examination.
- Draw comparisons between the culture or cultures under examination and Western* traditions or practices.
*For the purposes of this document, “Western” is defined as an ideological, not a geographic, construct referring to peoples whose traditions trace their origins predominantly to European or American cultural heritages, recognizing that virtually no culture can be said to be “purely” Western or non-Western.
Among the clearest examples of Western cultures as defined above would be the nations and non-indigenous cultures of the continents of North America, Europe, and Australia. Likewise the clearest examples of “non-Western” cultures would be the nations and cultures of Asia and Africa and the indigenous cultures of North and South American and Australia. We recognize that there are some gray areas, such as the cultures of South and Central America or countries like Israel or even Russia, which are sometimes characterized as “Western” and sometimes not. Departments seeking certification for courses dealing with such nations or cultures should explain their rationale for labeling their course “non-Western.”
Non-Western Culture Category courses:
ANTH 1500 - Anthropology Today: The Arc of Humanity
HIST 2510 - History of Epidemics and Society
HIST 2610 - History of Sub-Saharan Africa to 1800
HIST 2620 - History of Africa, c. 1800-Present
HIST 2810 - East Asia from Antiquity to 1600
HIST 2820 - Modern East Asia
HIST 2850 - Colonial Latin America
HIST 2860 - Latin America from Independence to the Present
HIST 2880 - History of the Modern Middle East
LTAM 1250 - Introduction to Latin American Studies
LTAM 2200 - Afro-Latino Voices: The Caribbean and Beyond
MLNG 2400 - African and Caribbean Film
PHIL 1200 - World Philosophy
PHIL 2120 Introduction to Asian Philosophy
PSPS 2700 Comparative Government
REL 2120 Introduction to Asian Philosophy
UHON 3590r Topics in Non-Western Culture
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