West Texas A&M University: 1997-1998 Academic Year

University Core Curriculum

Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree

Unless otherwise noted, a minimum of 130 semester hours of credit.
At least 36 hours of advanced work (courses numbered 300-400). At least 30 of these hours must be earned at WTAMU. Of those 30, 12 may be earned in extension courses including up to six hours in corresondence courses.
At least 33 hours earned in residence at WTAMU, including at least 24 of the last 30 hours counted toward a degree.
Completion of all requirements for a major as specified by the student's academic department.
Achievement of at least a "C" (2.0) average in all course work offered toward a degree, including a "C" average in the student's major.

University Core Curriculum Requirements
(50 hours total)
University core curriculum requirements apply to all baccalaureate degrees. They are intended to provide students with the basis for establishing broad and multiple perspectives of the individual in relation to the larger society and world in which he or she lives. They are predicated on the belief that basic intellectual competencies in reading, writing, speaking and critical thinking are essential to the learning process in any discipline.

Freshman-sophomore requirements outlined below should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

The Natural World (11 hours)

Laboratory science (choose two courses, with parallel labs) (8 hours)

BIOL 101 or 121; 102 or 122
CHEM 101 or 121; 102 or 122
GEOL 101 or GESC 111; GEOL 102
GESC 111 or GEOL 101; GESC 112
NSCI 101; 102
PHYS 101 or 210; 102 or 211

Mathematics (3 hours)

MATH 101, 110 or 115 (or any mathematics course for which one of these courses is a prerequisite)

Communication Skills (15 hours)

Written communication (6 hours)

ENG 101 and 102

Oral communication (3 hours)

SCOM 101 or 201

Computer literacy (3 hours)

CIS 105

Foundations and applications of communication (3 hours)

PHIL 203, PSY 201, GBUS 215 or ENG 270

United States Experience (12 hours)

History (choose two courses) (6 hours)

HIST 201, 202, 203

Political Science (6 hours)

POSC 101 and 102

Cultures and Expressions (12 hours; 15-17 hours for students choosing language option)

Cross-cultural studies (6 hours)

ANTH 201, ECO 201, GEOG 202 or SOCI 201
ENG 203, HIST 210 or two semesters of one foreign language (Student who chooses the language option thereby satisfies the language portion of the bachelor of arts degree requirements.)

Literature of the western world (3 hours)

ENG 201 or 202

Visual and performing arts (3 hours)

FA 101, ART 151, ART 152, MUS 101, or THRE 105

In addition to the academic core curriculum, WTAMU requires two hours, two activity courses from:

Sports and exercise sciences
ANSC/SES 158, 164, 165 (one credit hour each)
DNCE 110, 210 (one credit hour each)
Fall semester band (one credit hour each semester)

Six semester hours of sports and exercise sciences activity courses may be counted toward minimum degree requirements of 130 hours. Students 24 years of age or older, and other students upon advice of the University physician and approval of the Department of Sports and Exercise Sciences, are exempt from this requirement and will complete two semester hours of elective work in lieu of activity courses.
Science Core Curriculum Requirement Applicable to Interdiciplinary Majors (elementary education major)

Any transfer students who select an interdisciplinary major must take all four of the sciences courses (NSCI 101, 102, 201, 202), regardless of their transfer credits in science.
Any interdisciplinary major who changes to another major after successfully completing one of these courses must complete two other science courses (from the list of approved university core curriculum science courses listed above) in order to satisfy the core curriculum requirements in laboratory science.
Any interdisciplinary major who successfully completes two of these courses will have satisfied the core curriculum sequence in laboratory science.

Transferred Credits
Six hours of approved transfer credit in science may be used to satisfy the laboratory science requirement in the core curriculum. Transfer students should contact their academic dean with questions concerning applying transfer credits toward general education requirements. No more than 66 hours earned at community colleges can be counted toward a degree at WTAMU.

Credit by Examination
Credit by examination may satisfy parts of core curriculum requirements. Six hours of appropriate science credit by examination may be used to satisfy the laboratory science requirement.

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