Curriculum Overview

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete a total of 6 credit hours in this area, of which at least 3 credits will be chosen from the statewide core course list here (or courses that include these as a direct prerequisite). Additionally, at least 3 of the 6 total credits must be taken from within the Department of Mathematics (courses with a course prefix of either MAC or MGF). This coursework must be completed in the first two years of undergraduate study, initiating in the first semester. Students must earn a “C-” or higher to fulfill this requirement.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become critical analysts of quantitative and logical claims. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Select and apply appropriate methods (i.e., mathematical, statistical, logical, and/or computational models or principles) to solve real-world problems.
2. Use a variety of forms to represent problems and their solutions.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete a total of 6 credit hours in the area, of which 3 will be ENC1101: Freshman Composition and Rhetoric, and 3 will be ENC2135: Research, Genre, and Context. Courses in this area meet the College-level Writing Competency. Students must earn a “C-” or higher to fulfill this requirement. In order to receive a “C-” or better in the course, the student must earn at least a “C-” on the required writing assignments for the course. If the student does not earn a “C-” or better on the required writing assignments for the course, the student will not earn an overall grade of “C-” or better in the course, no matter how well the student performs in the remaining portion of the course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become critical readers and clear, creative, and convincing communicators. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Compose for a specific purpose, occasion, and audience.
2. Compose as a process, including drafts, revision, and editing.
3. Incorporate sources from a variety of text types.
4. Convey ideas clearly, coherently, and effectively, utilizing the conventions of standard American English where relevant.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete 6 credit hours in the combined area of Social Sciences / History, of which at least 3 credits will be chosen from the combined statewide core course list here. Students must complete at least one Social Sciences course and one History course, i.e., the student's second course must be drawn from whichever area was not represented by the Statewide Core course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become critical analysts of theories and evidence about social forces and social experience and historical events and forces. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Discuss the role of social or historical factors in contemporary problems or personal experiences.
2. Analyze claims about social or historical phenomena.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete 3 credit hours in this area. Students require only a single course from the statewide core list between the combined Humanities and Cultural Practice / Ethics area. Students who take PHI2010 in the Ethics area fulfill the statewide core requirement for the combined area and are free to take any Humanities and Cultural Practice course to meet FSU's CoreFSU requirements.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become thoughtful patrons of and participants in cultural practices. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Interpret intellectual or artistic works within a cultural context.
2. Use a cultural, artistic, or philosophical approach to analyze some aspect of human experience.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete 3 credit hours in this area. Students require only a single course from the statewide core list between the combined Humanities and Cultural Practice / Ethics area. Students who take a statewide core course from the Humanities and Cultural Practice area fulfill the statewide core requirement for the combined area and are free to take any Ethics course to meet FSU's CoreFSU requirements.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become ethically engaged citizens and logical thinkers. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Evaluate various ethical positions.
2. Describe the ways in which historical, social, or cultural contexts shape ethical perspectives.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete 6 credit hours in this area, of which at least 3 credits will be chosen from the statewide core course list here (or courses that include these as a direct prerequisite).

Additionally, as a graduation requirement, students must complete 1 credit hour of Natural Science Laboratory, either as separate laboratory course taken concurrently with the corresponding lecture class designated by the course suffix “L” (e.g., CHM1020L along with CHM1020) or as a combined lecture/lab class designated by the course suffix “C” (e.g., CHM1020C). In order to fulfill FSU's Natural Sciences Laboratory requirement, the student must earn a “C-” or better in the laboratory or combined course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become effective interpreters of scientific results and critical analysts of claims about the natural world. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Pose questions or hypotheses based on scientific principles.
2. Use appropriate scientific methods and evidence to evaluate claims or theoretical arguments about the natural world.
3. Analyze and interpret research results using appropriate methods.

To complete the general education requirement, students must complete an additional six hours of CoreFSU electives drawn from any of the following general education categories:

• Social Sciences
• History
• Humanities and Cultural Practice
• Ethics
• Natural Sciences
• Quantitative and Logical Thinking

Because both courses approved for English Composition (ENC1101 and ENC2135) are required for graduation, they may not be used to fulfill the additional general education hours requirement.

Skill in writing is not something that can be cultivated in a single pair of courses. Recognizing this, the State of Florida mandates that all undergraduates complete an additional six credit hours of coursework that emphasize college-level English language writing skills. Florida State University addresses this need through the E-Series courses and the “W” (State-Mandated Writing) courses.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

To satisfy the State writing mandates, students must complete 6 credit hours of E-Series or "W" (State-Mandated Writing) coursework. To fulfill the college-level writing requirement, students must earn a grade of at least a “C–” in the course, and also earn at least a “C–” average on the required writing assignments. If a student does not earn a “C–” average or higher on the required writing assignments, the student will not earn an overall grade of “C–” or higher in the course, no matter how well the student performs in the remaining portion of the course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become creative, and convincing communicators. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Compose for a specific purpose, occasion, and audience.
2. Convey ideas in clear, coherent prose that utilizes the conventions of a standard language.

Scholarship in Practice (SIP) courses provide students with the opportunity to apply scholarship to produce an original analysis, project, or creative work that reflects a body of knowledge relevant to the course. Students must complete one Scholarship in Practice course. A grade of “C-” or higher must be earned.

The courses provide students with direct experience of what it means to be, for example, an historian, biologist, or filmmaker by engaging in a wide variety of experiences relevant to the discipline. Scholarship in Practice courses engage students in the authentic work of a particular field of study and also allow fields that do not typically have a liberal studies presence, such as engineering and business, to offer hands-on opportunities to non-majors.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become critical thinkers, creative users of knowledge, and independent learners. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Apply relevant areas of scholarship to produce an original project.

Formative Experiences (FE) engage students in applied learning through “hands-on” experiences outside of the classroom in which they explore issues in a field. Students must complete one FE. A grade of “C-” or higher must be earned (or an “S” for FE if taken on an “S/U” basis). An additional SIP course may be substituted for the FE.

Formative Experiences involve “hands-on” experiences outside of the classroom that reflect, enhance, or give meaning to important issues in a field. Examples of FE include faculty-supervised creative or artistic works; studying abroad; participating in faculty-supervised research; participating in a faculty-supervised internship or service work; or by completing Honors in the Major thesis credit. Students may also complete a FE through the Career Center’s Experience Recognition Program (ERP). For more information on the Experience Recognition Program, please visit the Career Center’s website: https://www.career.fsu.edu/ERP

Whether by choice or by circumstance, a society is an association of persons, and as such, differences within a society are inescapable and essential features. Functional members of any society must be able to read the social differences between each other within the context of the society of which they are members. Diversity courses focus on diversity on a regional scale by examining the nature of relations among groups within a society, exploring topics such as race, class, gender, or ethnicity. They should help students become culturally literate members of society.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

All students who enter the University with fewer than sixty semester hours must complete two Diversity courses. Students transferring to the University with sixty credits or more must complete one Diversity course. These courses may be taken as part of the CoreFSU requirement, as electives, or as part of a student's major. The Diversity requirement must be completed with the grade of “C-” or higher prior to the receipt of the baccalaureate degree.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, students will:

1. Analyze some aspect of human experience within a culture, focusing on at least one source of diversity (e.g., age, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, social class, or other).
2. Explore one’s own cultural norms or values in relation those of a different cultural group.

Note: In order to help students meet these objectives, all Diversity courses require that students complete some form of substantial assignment (e.g., a paper, a presentation, a multimedia project) that accounts for a significant portion of the final grade (at least 25%) and that requires the student to demonstrate having achieved the course competencies.

Competence in oral communication is shown through one's ability to clearly transmit ideas and information orally in a way that is appropriate to the topic, purpose, and audience. A competent communicator must also discuss ideas clearly with others, hear and respond to questions, and assess critical response appropriately. This competency cannot be accomplished through a single speaking experience but requires multiple practice opportunities throughout a course. Courses satisfying the oral communication competency requirement enable the student to develop the requisite skills through application of theoretical concepts and analytical structures basic to successful oral communication. Thus, instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication are an intrinsic part of the course, as evidenced in course objectives, course readings, activities, and evaluation.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Oral Communication Competency Requirement with a grade of “C-” or higher (or an “S” in an S/U course). Students may satisfy this requirement with an approved OCC course of either of the following course types:

1. A 0- (or more) credit hour course in which the oral communication component is a significant portion of the course work and final grade and includes the requisite instruction and critiques noted above; or
2. A 0- (or more) credit hour course that has, as a prerequisite, a 0- (or more) or no-credit companion course that provides students with instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication. In the subsequent course, students apply principles of oral communication and are evaluated by an approved instructor to determine whether they meet the requisite oral communication learning objectives. Examples might include undergraduate FIG Instructorships or undergraduate Teaching Assistantships (again, if tied to a course for credit).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become flexible and proficient oral communicators for professional purposes. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Deliver original oral messages for a specific purpose, occasion, and type of audience.
2. Make effective use of both verbal and non-verbal delivery in presentations.

CoreFSU Digital Literacy courses prepare students to critically understand and use digital resources and technologies in personal, professional, and societal contexts.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

In order to meet the Digital Literacy requirement, students must earn a grade of at least a "C-" in an approved Digital Literacy course accepted by their department and also earn at least a "C-" average on the digital literacy component(s) of the course.

If the student does not earn a “C–” average or better on the digital literacy component(s), the student will not earn an overall grade of “C–” or better in the course, no matter how well the student performs in the remaining portion of the course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Digital Literacy courses must have a minimum of 3 of the below objectives, but more may be included.

1. Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
2. Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
3. Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
4. Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
5. Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
6. Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Skill in professional writing is critical to the long-term success of all FSU graduates. Professional writing requires the ability to write clearly and effectively, as well as the ability to draw upon a variety of material, and forms, and writing conventions to convey information for different audiences and a variety of purposes. That is, competent professional writers are flexible and can write to meet the demands of a specific task or context. Thus, all students are required to demonstrate competence in professional writing by taking an Upper-Division Writing (UDW) course, which must include at least two substantial writing assignments. Multiple opportunities for feedback are required and instructors will provide opportunities for revision. This coursework may be completed outside or within a student's major course of study.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete one CoreFSU-approved Upper-Division Writing course prior to the receipt of the baccalaureate degree. Honors in the Major undergraduate thesis credit may also count towards the Upper-Division Writing requirement. In order to fulfill FSU's Upper-Division Writing requirement, the student must earn a “C-” or higher in the course, and earn at least a “C-” average on the required writing assignments. If the student does not earn a “C-” average or better on the required writing assignments, the student will not earn an overall grade of “C-” or better in the course, no matter how well the student performs in the remaining portion of the course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become flexible and proficient writers for professional purposes. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Use appropriate evidence from multiple sources to illustrate how a chosen topic is relevant to a particular field.
2. Convey ideas clearly, coherently, and effectively for a particular purpose, occasion, or audience representative as appropriate for the field.

FSU undergraduate students must complete the State of Florida’s Civic Literacy Requirement prior to receiving their bachelor’s degree. See Civic Literacy Requirement for more information.

Additionally, as a graduation requirement, students must complete 1 credit hour of Natural Science Laboratory, either as separate laboratory course designated by the course suffix “L” (e.g., CHM1020L) or as a combined lecture/lab class designated by the course suffix “C” (e.g., CHM1020C). Students are required to observe all pre- and co-requisite requirements for laboratory courses. In order to fulfill FSU's Natural Sciences Laboratory requirement, the student must earn a “C-” or better in the laboratory or combined course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These courses are designed to help students become effective interpreters of scientific results and critical analysts of claims about the natural world. By the end of the course, students will:

1. Pose questions or hypotheses based on scientific principles.
2. Use appropriate scientific methods and evidence to evaluate claims or theoretical arguments about the natural world.
3. Analyze and interpret research results using appropriate methods.