General Education Requirements

Candidates for either the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees must satisfy the general education requirements of the degree. These courses are designed to provide a broad liberal arts background and skills specific to the particular degree program. A brief description of the course categories follows the listing of the requirements.

Honors students are required to complete the specific requirements for the Honors Program diploma as described in the undergraduate catalog. View the Honors Bachelor of Arts /Bachelor of Science General Education requirements.

All candidates for the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Music degrees must complete the following courses:

  • FYE 100, First-Year Seminar, exemption for transfer students with 24 or more hours and student whose primary campus is Arrowhead Park
  • One course from the group designated as 300 level COR courses, Exploring the Liberal Arts
  • A senior capstone experience in one of the student’s majors
  • COM 100
  • ENG 101
  • Junior level discipline specific communication requirement
  • At least 2 hours and not more than 3 hours in Health and Physical Education
  • selected from “Strategies for Fitness” and designated activity classes
  • Additional requirements for each of the degree programs are:

Bachelor of Art Requirements

  • At least 2 semester hours from the Arts
  • 3 Courses from the Humanities (three different prefixes)
  • 2 Social Science courses (two different prefixes)
  • 2 Natural Sciences (two different prefixes), one course must have a lab component (min. 6.1 sem. hrs.)
  • One additional Arts course of two semester hours or more (different prefix than thatof the Arts course listed above) or one additional Humanities course of two or more semester hours (any prefix).
  • 1 Other Cultures course (may not be used to fulfill part of humanities or social sciences)
  • 1 Mathematics course
  • 1 Foreign language course at the second semester level (may not be used to fulfill part of the three-course humanities requirement)

Bachelor of Science Requirements

  • At least 2 semester hours from the Arts
  • 2 Courses from the Humanities (two different prefixes)
  • 3 Social Science courses (three different prefixes)
  • 3 Natural Sciences (three different prefixes), one course must have a lab component
  • (min. 9.1 sem. hrs.)
  • 1 Other Cultures course (may not be used to fulfill part of humanities or social sciences)
  • 2 Mathematics courses

Bachelor of Music Requirements

  • 2 Courses from the Arts and/or Humanities (except MUS)
  • 1 Course from Natural Sciences or Mathematics (includes CPS)
  • 1 Course from Social Sciences
  • 1 Other Cultures course (any prefix)
  • Additional elective courses  (except MUS). Total hours for electives and required courses varies from 30 to 36 hours. Please consult the degree grids for specific requirements.

Category and Course Descriptions

FYE 100, First-Year Seminar: An interdisciplinary general education course for first-year
students based on common objectives. Offered in the Fall semester, individual sections present students with a wide array of perspectives on these common objectives, but all sections provide first-year students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, writing and reading abilities, and to engage in the academic life of the University. As a graduation requirement, students are not permitted to withdraw from the course and those failing the class will be re-registered for a section of FYE 100 during the following semester. The Seminar is to be taken within the first 24 hours of work at Heidelberg. Arrowhead Park students are exempt from the FYE 100 requirement. Those entering the University with 24 or more hours of transfer credit are neither required nor permitted to take the course. This course cannot be substituted for any major or minor requirements.

300 Level COR Courses, Exploring the Liberal Arts: Upper-level interdisciplinary classes that provide an opportunity for students to make connections between the methods and subject fields of different academic disciplines utilizing the personal and intellectual insights they have acquired during the first half of their university experience. Each course utilizes the characteristic modes of inquiry of more than one traditional academic discipline in addressing current issues and concerns. These courses are intended to continue at the junior level the interdisciplinary approach to education that was introduced in FYE100 courses. These courses do not satisfy general education requirements in any discipline specific area. The successful completion of one COR 300 course is a graduation requirement. Prerequisite: Junior status or higher.

Senior Capstone Experience: The capstone requirement provides an experience which connects learning and doing. It requires the student to synthesize theory, knowledge and experience. Students have the opportunity to reflect upon their learning experiences while at Heidelberg.
 
Arts: Courses in this category help the student develop an awareness and appreciation of the artistic expression and creative processes inherent in the arts. A total of at least 2 semester hours is required to fulfill this category. Courses in this category are from the areas of creative and performing arts.

English Composition: This course provides students with the opportunity to enhance their written communications skills and develop competence in composing various forms of exposition, the mode central to academic and most career writing. Students also become more experienced critical readers of expository prose selections. All students except those who have Advanced Placement status, or who have been exempted from English 101 by the English Department, will complete English 101, Expository Writing.

Junior Level Discipline Specific Communication Requirement: This requirement will be determined separately for each major. Students must fulfill this requirement through courses taken at Heidelberg University. Students are introduced to the conventions of writing and speaking within their discipline, on the rhetorical, stylistic, and documentational levels.

Humanities: Courses in history, language, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and religion that investigate human constructs and concerns. Prefixes in this category are: CHI, ENG literature and linguistics, HIS, FRN, GER, SPA, JPN, GRK, REL and PHI.

Language: During orientation, and before spring registration, a placement test is administered in French, German, and Spanish. If a student scores high enough to enter French 201, German 201, or Spanish 201, the Bachelor of Arts language requirement is considered fulfilled. Students who score high enough to be placed in 300-level language may earn credit for 201 and 202 (6 hours) in the appropriate language.

Mathematics: It is the goal of the Department of Mathematics to ensure that students possess the quantitative skills necessary to read, comprehend and interpret the information that will be presented to them in our increasingly technical society. Students may satisfy the mathematics requirement of their degree program by obtaining a proficiency exemption from the Department of Mathematics. (Neither MTH 090 nor MTH 117 fulfill this requirement.)

Natural Sciences: Courses in this category provide an opportunity for students to have some fundamental understanding of the natural sciences: theories, experimentations and applications; and be able to make informed judgments concerning scientific matters affecting their lives. Prefixes in this category are: BIO, CHM, CPS, ENS, FSC, GEO, and PHY with the exception of BIO 120, CPS 100, PHY 104.

Other Cultures: Courses in this category introduce students to cultures different from their own. These courses are interdisciplinary, relate to a specific culture or regional tradition which is significantly different from current U.S. culture, have a specific content issue as the focus, compare how common human issues are addressed in diverse ways, explore the concept of ethnocentrism, and consider the importance of understanding one’s own and other cultures. Degree-seeking international students must fulfill this requirement.

Public Speaking: COM 100, Oral Communication I, enables the student to listen critically, arrive at intelligent decisions and speak effectively. The public speaking course helps the student to identify and appeal to different audiences, stimulate understanding by skillful presentation of information and support claims with appropriate evidence. The requirement may be met by examination, unless a CTA major.

Social Sciences: The social sciences study individual behavior, whole cultures, and the organized ways in which human beings live together and solve problems. Using specialized concepts, theories, methods and perspectives, social scientists offer useful insights into human institutions and behavior. Prefixes offered in this category are: ANT, BAE (but not ACC), ECO, POL and PSY.

Special Exemptions: While the University is committed to the General Education requirements as the foundation of a broad liberal arts education, it is also recognized that in a few extraordinary situations (for example, a student with two majors with foreign study and/or internship requirements) a student may have difficulty scheduling the completion of the General Education requirements. In such cases, a student may petition the Dean of the University for special exemptions from not more than two courses in the General Education requirements. Petitioning students must have a minimum 3.00 grade point average and have completed not more than 60 semester hours of university credit. All exemptions will be reviewed on an individual basis and do not reduce the 120 hours required for graduation. Bachelor of Arts degree-seeking international students whose Native language is not English are exempt from the foreign language requirement.