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Program Director
 | James Magyar Professor of Chemistry and Physical Sciences Department Chair Physical Sciences Department (401) 456-8049 jmagyar@ric.edu |
General Education at Rhode Island College provides a common foundation for all the majors and concentrations at the College. It enhances each student’s ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and communicate in various academic discourses. General Education promotes students’ understanding and appreciation of cultural, multicultural, social, and political issues and of scientifi c, technological, aesthetic, and philosophical ideas. It promotes informed citizenship and individual growth by providing all students with common intellectual experiences and a fund of general knowledge. In addition, General Education may contribute both directly and indirectly to students’ study in their majors by offering required, recommended, and cognate courses at the introductory level. General Education is collaborative; students and faculty work together so that students graduate with enhanced skills and with a foundation for more specialized learning.
Students who achieve the goals of General Education speak persuasively, listen receptively, write clearly and rhetorically, critically analyze and synthesize information and perspectives, engage in critical reading, and explore and apply technology.
General Education consists of a Core Curriculum and Distribution Requirements. In the Core, students take a set of four related courses that provide an understanding of cultural and historical traditions that have shaped the world in which we live and that provide a critical appreciation of values, ideas, and practices that have emerged from these traditions. Courses in the Core are writing intensive, with emphasis on critical thinking and oral communication; and Distribution courses enlarge students’ learning through experience with writing and rhetoric, social and behavioral sciences, visual and performing arts, and natural sciences andmathematical systems.
Program Requirements: There are two components to General Education: (1) Core courses and (2)
Distribution courses. Once enrolled, students must complete English 161 and History 161 at Rhode Island
College. For special substitutions, see Program Substitutions below. This is a limited guide for monitoring completion of General Education. For more information, including prerequisites, see the current Rhode Island College Catalogor consult your advisor.
I. Core Requirements: Cultural Legacies and Critical Thinking | ||
| Core One | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Western Literature | 4 | |
Core Two | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Western History | 4 | |
Core Three | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Non-Western Worlds | 4 | |
| Non-Western Worlds | 4 | |
| Music Cultures of Non-Western Worlds | 4 | |
| Perspectives on Asian Art | 4 | |
| East Asian Popular Cinema | 4 | |
| Introduction to Non-Western Literary Cultures | 4 | |
| The Afro-Brazilian Experience and Brazilian Cinema | 4 | |
| Perspectives on East Asia | 4 | |
| Perspectives on Africa | 4 | |
| Perspectives on Muslim History and Civilization | 4 | |
| Amerindian Peasants in Latin American History | 4 | |
| Latin American Mestizo Cultures | 4 | |
| Music Cultures of Non-Western Worlds | 4 | |
| The Heritage of Asian Philosophy | 4 | |
| Native American Philosophy | 4 | |
| Politics and Culture in Southeast Asia | 4 | |
| Contemporary China and Social Control | 4 | |
| The Individual and Society in Japan | 4 | |
| Women in Japan | 4 | |
Core Four | ||
Students must complete Gen. Ed. Cores 1, 2, and 3 prior to enrolling in a Gen. Ed. Core 4 course. Select One Course From: | ||
| Bebop: African and African American Cultures and Aesthetics | 4 | |
| Cultural Issues in Contemporary Africa | 4 | |
| Intercultural Encounters | 4 | |
| Indigenous Rights and the Global Environment | 4 | |
| Hunters and Gatherers: Designs for Living | 4 | |
| Writing and Culture: Papyrus to Cyberspace | 4 | |
| Anthropological Perspectives on Childhood | 4 | |
| Picturing Ourselves: The Art of Japan and the West | 4 | |
| The World's Forests | 4 | |
| Critical Inquiry into Free Speech | 4 | |
| Disability Viewed through Cross-Cultural Lenses | 4 | |
| Northern Exposures: Arctic Imagination, Postcolonial Context | 4 | |
| Women, Crime, and Representation | 4 | |
| Zen and the Literary Experience | 4 | |
| Writing and Culture: Papyrus to Cyberspace | 4 | |
| Women’s Stories Across Cultures | 4 | |
| Film and Representation: Cross-Cultural Projections | 4 | |
| Intercultural Encounters: Judaism, Christianity, Islam | 4 | |
| The Global Development Debate and Hunger | 4 | |
| The Holocaust and Other Genocides | 4 | |
| The New Global Village: The Future of the World’s Great Cities | 4 | |
| Human Response to Natural Disasters | 3 | |
| Russian Identity: Between East and West | 4 | |
| Social Issues in Technology | 4 | |
| Christianity in Global Perspective | 4 | |
| Religious Resurgence and Democratic Politics | 4 | |
| Confict Resolution: Africa and the World | 4 | |
| Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Childbearing and Mothering | 4 | |
| Substance Abuse as a Global Issue | 4 | |
| Dying, Loss, and Grief: Cross-Cultural Perspectives | 4 | |
| The State of the World’s Children | 4 | |
| Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Healing Practices | 4 | |
| Ethical Issues in Health Care | 4 | |
| Freedom | 4 | |
| God(s) | 4 | |
| The Great Ethical Traditions | 4 | |
| Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective | 4 | |
| Global Competition: The United States and Its Trading Partners | 4 | |
| Power and Community | 4 | |
| Citizenship, National Identity, and Immigration | 4 | |
| Federalism and Nation Building | 4 | |
| Politics and Popular Culture: Global Perspectives | 4 | |
| Fountain of Age | 4 | |
| The Sociology of Money and Economic Exchange | 4 | |
| Unequal Sisters: How Race/Ethnicity, Class, Age, and Sexual Orientation Shape Women’s Work and Relationships | 4 | |
| Where in the World Is Gender Inequality? | 4 | |
| Changing the World: Social Movements/Activism | 4 | |
| Globalization and Childhood | 4 | |
| Contemporary Black Theatre: Cultural Perspectives | 4 | |
II. Distribution Requirements | ||
| Social and Behavioral Sciences | ||
Two Courses From Two Different Disciplines: | ||
| You may take a modern language course numbered 110 or 113 to satisfy one of these requirements. | ||
| Perspectives on African and African American Cultures | 3 | |
| Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 | |
| Introduction to Archaeology | 3 | |
| Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics | 3 | |
| Art, Society, and Culture | 3 | |
| The Anthropology of Race and Racism | 3 | |
| Oral Traditions | 3 | |
| Introduction to Economics | 3 | |
| Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 | |
| Introduction to Geography | 3 | |
| Introduction to Political Science | 3 | |
| American Government | 3 | |
| Global Politics | 3 | |
| Introduction to Political Thought | 3 | |
| Introduction to Psychology | 3 | |
| Social Psychology | 3 | |
| Society and Social Behavior | 3 | |
| The Family | 3 | |
| Urban Sociology | 3 | |
| Crime and Criminal Justice | 3 | |
| Minority Group Relations | 3 | |
| Aging and Society | 3 | |
| Gender in Society | 3 | |
Writing | ||
| Writing and Rhetoric | 4 | |
Visual and Performing Arts | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Drawing I: General Drawing | 3 | |
| Design I: Two-Dimensional Design | 3 | |
| Visual Arts in Society | 3 | |
| A Survey of Far Eastern Art | 3 | |
| Prehistoric to Renaissance Art | 3 | |
| Renaissance to Modern Art | 3 | |
| Introduction to Film and Video | 3 | |
| Contemporary Dance and Culture | 3 | |
| Approaches to Drama | 3 | |
| Approaches to Film and Film Criticism | 3 | |
| Large Ensembles | 0.5 | |
| Chamber Ensembles | 1 | |
| Survey of Music | 3 | |
| Elementary Music Theory | 3 | |
| The Symphony | 3 | |
| Opera | 3 | |
| American Popular Music | 3 | |
| History of Jazz | 3 | |
| Experiencing the Performing Arts | 3 | |
| Aesthetics | 3 | |
| Appreciation and Enjoyment of the Theatre | 3 | |
Laboratory Science | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Basic Principles of Biology | 4 | |
| Fundamental Concepts of Biology | 4 | |
| Introductory Biology I | 4 | |
| Introductory Biology II | 4 | |
| General Chemistry I | 4 | |
| General Chemistry II | 4 | |
| General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry I | 4 | |
| General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry II | 4 | |
| General Physics I | 4 | |
| General Physics II | 4 | |
| Mechanics | 4 | |
| Physical Science | 4 | |
| Introduction to Geology | 4 | |
| Introduction to Oceanography | 4 | |
Mathematics | ||
Select One Course From: | ||
| Prior completion of the College Mathematics Requirement expected. The General Education Mathematical Systems Requirement builds upon the understandings demonstrated by fulfilling the College Mathematics Requirement. These are separate requirements; completing one does not complete the other. | ||
| Contemporary Topics in Mathematics | 3 | |
| Quantitative Business Analysis I | 3 | |
| Applied Basic Mathematics | 3 | |
| Calculus I | 4 | |
| Statistical Methods I | 3 | |
| Calculus: A Short Course | 3 | |
Additional Science or Mathematics | ||
Select One Additional Course from the Laboratory Science (LS) area, the Mathematical Systems (M) area, or from the courses listed below: | ||
| Prior completion of the College Mathematics Requirement expected for | ||
| Introduction to Biological Anthropology | 3 | |
| Human Biology | 3 | |
| Introduction to Computers | 3 | |
| Earth's Physical Environments | 3 | |
| Introduction to Logic | 3 | |
| Earth's Physical Environments | 3 | |
| Introduction to Forensic Science | 3 | |
| Introduction to Astronomy | 3 | |
| Introduction to Meteorology | 3 | |
Program Substitutions
(For students in particular programs)- Students in the elementary education curriculum may count: (a) Mathematics 144 to fulfill Area M (prerequisite of Mathematics 143), and (b) Political Science 201 to fulfill one Area SB requirement (second course may not be in political science).
- Accounting, computer information systems, economics, fi nance, management, or marketing students may count Mathematics 248 to fulfill Area SM. Students cannot receive credit for both Mathematics 240 and 248.
- Students in the dance performance or physical education curriculum may count Biology 231 to fulfill Area SM.
- Students in the College Honors Program fulfill the Core Requirements by taking Honors 161, 162, 163, and 264.
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