Uniform Certificate of General Studies

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More information: Uniform Certificate of General Studies

PURPOSE

The Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS) is a one-year college program in which all courses are transferable and satisfy lower-division general education requirements at any Virginia public institution of higher education.

The Passport is a component of the UCGS and is therefore a subset of courses in the UCGS. The UCGS consists of seven course blocks. To satisfy the UCGS students are required to complete the appropriate number of courses in each block as described below.

Student course selection should be carefully considered since the UCGS program is not designed to capture the complexities of individual programs of study at the four-year institutions. Students are advised to take the UCGS course that best suits their intended program of study at the four-year institution.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Quantitative Reasoning
Ability to perform accurate calculations, interpret quantitative information, apply and analyze relevant numerical data, and use results to support conclusions. Degree graduates will calculate, interpret, and use numerical and quantitative information in a variety of settings.
Critical Thinking
Ability to use information, ideas, and arguments from relevant perspectives to make sense of complex issues and solve problems.
Scientific Literacy
Ability to apply the scientific method and related concepts and principles to make informed decisions and engage with issues related to the natural, physical, and social world. Degree graduates will recognize and know how to use the scientific method, and to evaluate empirical information.
Professional Readiness
Ability to work well with others and display situationally and culturally appropriate demeanor and behavior.
Written Communication
Ability to develop, convey, and exchange ideas in writing, as appropriate to a given context and audience. Degree graduates will express themselves effectively in a variety of written forms.
Civic Engagement
Ability to contribute to the civic life and well-being of local, national, and global communities as both a social responsibility and a life-long learning process.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

General college curricular admission

Curriculum:

Courses should be taken in the order listed.

Block I (Written Communication)

Select ENG 111 plus one other course.

ENG 111 - College Composition I Credit Hours: 3
ENG 112 - College Composition II Credit Hours: 3
ENG 113 - Technical-Professional Writing Credit Hours: 3

Block II (Art/Humanities/Literature)

Select two courses chosen from different categories (the two courses cannot be from the same category).

A. ART
ART 100 - Art Appreciation Credit Hours: 3
ART 101 - History of Art: Prehistoric to Gothic Credit Hours: 3
ART 102 - History of Art: Renaissance to Modern Credit Hours: 3
CST 130 - Introduction to the Theatre Credit Hours: 3
CST 151 - Film Appreciation I Credit Hours: 3
MUS 121 - Music in Society Credit Hours: 3
MUS 221 - History of Western Music Prior to 1750 Credit Hours: 3
MUS 222 - History of Western Music 1750 to Present Credit Hours: 3
MUS 226 - World Music Credit Hours: 3
B. HUMANITIES
HUM 201 - Early Humanities Credit Hours: 3
HUM 202 - Modern Humanities Credit Hours: 3
HUM 210 - Introduction to Women and Gender Studies Credit Hours: 3
HUM 216 - Introduction to Non-Western Cultures Credit Hours: 3
HUM 220 - Introduction to African American Studies Credit Hours: 3
HUM 256 - Comparative Mythology Credit Hours: 3
HUM 259 - The Greek and Roman Tradition Credit Hours: 3
PHI 100 - Introduction to Philosophy I Credit Hours: 3
PHI 111 - Logic I Credit Hours: 3
PHI 220 - Ethics Credit Hours: 3
REL 100 - Introduction to the Study of Religion Credit Hours: 3
REL 230 - Religions of the World Credit Hours: 3
REL 237 - Religions of the East Credit Hours: 3
REL 238 - Religions of the West Credit Hours: 3
REL 240 - Religions in America Credit Hours: 3
C. LITERATURE
ENG 225 - Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas Credit Hours: 3
ENG 245 - British Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENG 246 - American Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENG 250 - Children’s Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENG 255 - World Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENG 258 - African American Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENG 275 - Women’s Literature Credit Hours: 3

Block III (Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Select one course.

ECO 150 - Economic Essentials: Theory and Application Credit Hours: 3
ECO 201 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credit Hours: 3
ECO 202 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit Hours: 3
GEO 210 - People and the Land: Introduction to Cultural Geography Credit Hours: 3
GEO 220 - World Regional Geography Credit Hours: 3
PLS 135 - U.S. Government and Politics Credit Hours: 3
PLS 140 - Introduction to Comparative Politics Credit Hours: 3
PLS 241 - Introduction to International Relations Credit Hours: 3
PSY 200 - Principles of Psychology Credit Hours: 3
SOC 200 - Principles of Sociology Credit Hours: 3
SOC 211 - Cultural Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
SOC 268 - Social Problems Credit Hours: 3

Block IV (Natural Sciences)

Select one course.

BIO 101 - General Biology I Credit Hours: 4
BIO 102 - General Biology II Credit Hours: 4
BIO 106 - Life Science Credit Hours: 4
CHM 101 - Introductory Chemistry Credit Hours: 4
CHM 111 - General Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
CHM 112 - General Chemistry II Credit Hours: 4
ENV 121 - Foundations of Environmental Science Credit Hours: 4
ENV 122 - Applications in Environmental Science Credit Hours: 4
GOL 105 - Physical Geology Credit Hours: 4
GOL 106 - Historical Geology Credit Hours: 4
GOL 110 - Earth Systems: An Environmental Geology Perspective Credit Hours: 4
PHY 100 - Elements of Physics Credit Hours: 4
PHY 201 - General College Physics I Credit Hours: 4
PHY 202 - General College Physics II Credit Hours: 4
PHY 241 - University Physics I Credit Hours: 4
PHY 242 - University Physics II Credit Hours: 4

Block V (Mathematics)

Select one course.

A. QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICS PATHWAY
MTH 154 - Quantitative Reasoning Credit Hours: 3
MTH 155 - Statistical Reasoning Credit Hours: 3
MTH 245 - Statistics I Credit Hours: 3
B. CALCULUS PATHWAY
MTH 161 - Precalculus I Credit Hours: 3 *
MTH 162 - Precalculus II Credit Hours: 3 *
MTH 167 - Precalculus with Trigonometry Credit Hours: 5 *
MTH 261 - Applied Calculus I Credit Hours: 3
MTH 263 - Calculus I Credit Hours: 4
MTH 264 - Calculus II Credit Hours: 4
*MTH 161, 162, or 167 should only be taken by students preparing for calculus or for four-year degree programs that require study in College Algebra/Precalculus. Precalculus may not satisfy a general education requirement and not earn transfer credit.

Block VI (History)

Select one course.

HIS 101 - Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE Credit Hours: 3
HIS 102 - Western Civilizations Post 1600 CE Credit Hours: 3
HIS 111 - World Civilizations Pre-1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HIS 112 - World Civilizations post-1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HIS 121 - United States History to 1877 Credit Hours: 3
HIS 122 - United States History since 1865 Credit Hours: 3

Block VII (Specialized General Education Requirements)

Select two courses.

NOTE: For Block VII, student may complete courses from Blocks I - VI above or any additional course below. Students should align their Block VII course selection with their intended transfer destination’s specific general education or programmatic requirements.

ART 121 - Foundations of Drawing Credit Hours: 3
ART 131 - Two-Dimensional Design Credit Hours: 3
ART 132 - Three-Dimensional Design Credit Hours: 3
ART 223 - Life Drawing Credit Hours: 3
ASL 101 - Beginning American Sign Language I Credit Hours: 4
ASL 102 - Beginning American Sign Language II Credit Hours: 4
ASL 201 - Intermediate American Sign Language I Credit Hours: 3
ASL 202 - Intermediate American Sign Language II Credit Hours: 3
CSC 110 - Principles of Computer Science Credit Hours: 3
CST 100 - Principles of Public Speaking Credit Hours: 3
CST 110 - Introduction to Human Communication Credit Hours: 3
FRE 101 - Beginning French I Credit Hours: 4
FRE 102 - Beginning French II Credit Hours: 4
FRE 201 - Intermediate French I Credit Hours: 3
SPA 101 - Beginning Spanish I Credit Hours: 4
SPA 102 - Beginning Spanish II Credit Hours: 4
SPA 201 - Intermediate Spanish Credit Hours: 3
SPA 202 - Intermediate Spanish Credit Hours: 3
ITE 152 - Introduction to Digital Literacy Credit Hours: 3
MUS 101 - Fundamentals of Music Credit Hours: 3

Planning Tools

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