General Education Course List

Courses listed below fulfill the indicated general education requirements for all B.A., B.S., and B.S.Ed. degree-seeking students. Instances where requirements for BLS students are different are noted.

Foundations

First-Year Seminar

(Not required of BLS students.)

Written Communication 

Three courses designated as writing intensive (WI).

WI courses are indicated in the online schedule of courses. The course must be designated as WI in the semester in which it is taken in order to satisfy the requirement. Some sections of a particular course may be designated as WI while others are not; students should be aware of this fact when selecting courses for their schedule.

Oral Communication

One course designated as speaking intensive (SI).

SI courses are indicated in the online schedule of courses. The course must be designated as SI in the semester in which it is taken in order to satisfy the requirement. Some sections of a particular course may be designated as SI while others are not; students should be aware of this fact when selecting courses for their schedule.

Language

Intermediate competency in a second language (not required of BLS students). Demonstrated by:

1. completion of 201 or higher in a language including ASL;
2. a score of 620 or higher on any language SAT II subject test;
3. a score of 3 or higher on any modern language or language and literature AP Exam or a score of 4 or higher on a Latin AP Exam;
4. a score of 4 or higher on any group 2 (second language) higher-level IB Exam;
5. a score of 6 of higher on specified group 2 (second language) standard-level IB Exams (check equivalency chart carefully):
6. a passing score on the University of Mary Washington language competency exam;
7. a rating of “Intermediate” on the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI);
8. a rating equivalent to “Intermediate-Low Competency” on the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale on an approved third-party exam;
9. a score of 60 or higher on the CLEP exam;
10. completion of Level IV in a language in high school; or
11. the submission of pertinent documents which verify that a student has had a high school education conducted in a language other than English or has lived extensively in and become fluent in the language of a non-English-speaking country.

Methods of Investigation

Arts and Literature

One course focusing on visual art, performing art, and/or literature from the following list:

Humanities

One course focusing the humanities (including history) from the following list:

Natural Science

One course focusing on natural sciences that includes a laboratory from the following list:

¹

If a student takes a non-laboratory science before taking a laboratory science, the Natural Science requirement will not be considered to have been met until the laboratory course has been completed.

Quantitative Reasoning

One course focusing on quantitative information and abstract reasoning from the following list:

Social Science

One course focusing on the social sciences from the following list:

Additional Methods of Investigation

Two additional courses from two different Methods of Investigation. (BLS students must take three additional courses from two different Methods of Investigation.)

Students electing to take a second course in the Natural Sciences as one of their Methods of Investigation requirements will choose from a list of approved courses that may include non-laboratory courses. If a student takes a non-laboratory science before taking a laboratory science, the Natural Science requirement will not be considered to have been met until the laboratory course has been completed.

Connections

Digital Intensive 

One course designated as digital intensive (DI).

DI courses are indicated in the online schedule of courses. The course must be designated as DI in the semester in which it is taken in order to satisfy the requirement. Some sections of a particular course may be designated as DI while others are not; students should be aware of this fact when selecting courses for their schedule.

Diverse and Global Perspectives

One course designated as diverse and global perspective (DGP).

DGP courses are indicated in the online schedule of courses. The course must be designated as DGP in the semester in which it is taken in order to satisfy the requirement. Some sections of a particular course may be designated as DGP while others are not; students should be aware of this fact when selecting courses for their schedule.

Beyond the Classroom

One faculty supervised experience involving a significant experiential learning component designed to challenge students to go outside of the bounds of the typical classroom. (Not required of BLS students.) Selected from the following:

• All courses numbered 491 and 492 (individual studies) and all Undergraduate Research 197 courses meet this requirement. 
• Some sections of additional courses approved as Community Engaged (CE) courses and taught by specified approved instructors may be designated as Beyond the Classroom (BTC) courses in a particular semester. Students can view which sections are designated as BTC in the online schedule of courses.
• The following courses also satisfy this requirement:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Credits
  AMST 485	Senior Thesis	3
  ANTH 480	Senior Research	3
  BIOL 424	Tropical Ecology	4
  CHEM 493	Chemical Outreach	1-2
  CLAS 351	Special Studies in Classical Civilization	3
  CLAS 485	Guided Research	3
  COMM 481	Policy Debate Practicum	1
  CPSC 391	Special Projects in Computer Science	1-4
  CPSC 430	Software Engineering	4
  ECON 490	Experiential Learning	3
  EDUC 303	Scientific Inquiry and Instructional Technology	3
  EDUC 351A	Instructional Design and Assessment	4
  ENGL 314	The Literary Journal: Professional Practice in Publishing and Editing	3
  ENGL 399	Community Service Learning	1
  EESC 360	Environmental Exploration	2-4
  EESC 481	Readings	1-2
  GEOG 361	Grassroots Development in Guatemala	3
  GEOG 485	Readings in Geography	1-3
  HISP 305A	Historic Building Technologies	3
  HISP 461	Laboratory in Building Forensics	3
  HISP 467	Field Methods in Archaeology	3
  HISP 469	Laboratory in Preservation Planning	3
  HIST 485	Historical Research	3
  HONR 201	Honors Service Learning	1
  IDIS 483	Peer Mentorship	1
  JOUR 380	Practicum in Journalism	1
  MUSC 000	Music Forum	0
  MUSC 490	Music Seminar	3
  PHIL 485	Research in Philosophy	3
  PSYC 350	Psychology of Women and Gender	3
  RELG 401	Guided Research	3
  SOCG 332	Introduction to Social Welfare	3
  SOCG 475	Public Sociology	3
  SPAN 301	Study Abroad Reflection	1
  SPAN 321	Culture of Service and Social Action in the Hispanic World	3
  ARTS 475	Senior Thesis Seminar	3
  THEA 390	Theatre Practicum	1
  THEA 482	Senior Project	3
  URES 000	Undergraduate Research and Creativity Experience	0
  WGST 485	Senior Project	3

• Internships (499) that have a final project/paper that is to be evaluated by the sponsoring faculty member will also meet this requirement.
• The “community service option” offered by a number of departments also fulfills this requirement (see the following sections of this Catalog for details: Biology, Psychology, and Spanish). 
• The Chemistry Program’s summer research experience also fulfills this requirement (see the Chemistry section of this Catalog).
• A qualifying and approved education abroad experience may also be used to satisfy this requirement. Contact the Center for International Education in Lee Hall for details about how to secure the required pre-approval to meet this requirement via an education abroad experience/project. Note: the same education abroad experience may not be used to satisfy both the Beyond the Classroom and Diverse and Global Perspectives requirements.

After Mary Washington

One experience focused on translating the liberal arts experience for life after Mary Washington. (Not required of BLS students.) All sections in the following list of courses meet this requirement.

In addition, some sections of additional courses taught by specified approved instructors may be designated as After Mary Washington (AMW) courses in a particular semester. Students can view which sections are designated as AMW in the online schedule of courses.