General Education
Institutions of higher education in the US are in agreement with many sectors of society that people need to develop a broad base of knowledge and skills in order to function effectively and creatively in a democratic society. UMB shares this belief and has adopted a set of requirements aimed at helping students develop various skills and kinds of knowledge. These requirements are called General Education.
The University of Massachusetts at Boston has adopted the set of principles shown below as the foundation on which its general education program for undergraduates has been built. :
- Critical Analysis and Logical Thought (see Objectives 1 and 2 below)
- Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning (see Objective 3 below)
- Human Diversity (see Objective 4 below)
- Principal Approaches to Knowledge (see Objectives 5-8 below)
These four major goals of general education give rise to a set of eight objectives, encompassing critical analysis and logical thought, verbal and quantitative reasoning, human diversity, and four principal approaches to knowledge -- natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, arts and humanities, and world languages and cultures. The new general education program, comprising one-third of a student's total curriculum, is designed to meet these objectives.
The first goal of the General Education Program is to give students, at the beginning of their college careers, a strong foundation for success in courses they will take later on. More specifically, it will help students to develop the following capabilities:
- engage in critical reading and analysis
- understand and respect human diversity
- explore the principal approaches to knowledge
- learn in depth
- speak, listen, and write effectively
- reason logically and quantitatively
- use technology to further education
- work independently and collaboratively
(Please note that as the University continues to expand and modify its offerings, various new general education and distribution requirements have been phased in over the past several years. The specific course and distribution requirements that apply to a particular student depend on the semester in which that student matriculated at UMass Boston and how many (if any) transfer credits that student brought in when matriculating. See the official University Catalog for a detailed explanation. The objectives and requirements stated below are the most recent ones and assume a student matriculating in Fall 2002 or later with fewer than 30 transfer credits.)
Each undergraduate college has its own set of requirements related to the objectives of general education. The five undergraduate colleges at the University of Massachusetts Boston are:
- the College of Liberal Arts (CLA)
- the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM)
- the College of Management (CM)
- the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS)
- the College of Public and Community Service (CPCS)
Objective 1: Students will learn about the procedures of critical analysis and logical thought, with emphasis on disciplined inquiry, including the development of appropriate questions, the evaluation of evidence, and the formation of a reasoned conclusion or judgement.
This objective is achieved by the First-Year Seminar and the Intermediate Seminar. Students in CLA and CSM choose from a slate of G100 (FYS) and G200 (IS) courses. Students in CNHS are encouraged to take Nursing G107 (but can take any G100 course) and are required to take Nursing 212. Students in CM can take any G100 course, and are required to take MGT 330. CPCS students take the Critical Learning Seminar and complete the Community Portraits competency.
Objective 2: Students will demonstrate the ability to read and listen critically, and to speak and write effectively.
All CLA, CSM, CM, and CNHS students must complete one year of Freshman Composition (English 101 and 102, or the equivalent), unless they are granted a waiver by the English Department. CPCS students must successfully complete the Level I and Level II Portfolios.
CLA, CSM, and CNHS students must also satisfy the Writing Proficiency Requirement. Students in CM must take ACM 299.
Objective 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to reason quantitatively and use formal systems to solve problems of quantitative relationships involving numbers, formal symbols, patterns, data, and graphs.
The quantitative reasoning requirement is designed to enhance students' capacity to (1) pose problems that involve quantitative relationships in real-world data by means of numerical, symbolic, and visual representations; (2) solve problems, deducing consequences, formulating alternatives, and making predictions; (3) apply appropriate technologies; and (4) communicate and critique quantitative arguments orally and in writing.
Students may meet this requirement in various ways, but most will do so by taking specially designed courses (such as Math Q114). Students seeking a BA in CLA or CSM will most likely take Math Q114. Students seeking a BS in CLA or CSM will fulfill this requirement when they take Math 140 (Calculus I). Students in CNHS are required to take a statistics course. Management students satisfy the QR requirement by taking Math 134 (Managerial Calculus). Students in CPCS complete the Understanding Arguments and Quantitative Reasoning competencies.
Objective 4: Students will learn about human diversity, including how different patterns of behavior and thought evolve and how development of cultures is influenced by interactions among different social groups.
To fulfill the diversity requirement, each student takes courses that touch on a range of human diversity, including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, culture (including national origin, ethnicity, and religion), age, and disability.
Students in CLA and CSM must take two diversity courses, one with an international focus and one with a focus on diversity within the United States. Students in CNHS meet the University's diversity requirement through the integration of diversity concepts and practices into many required nursing courses. Students in CM must take one diversity course, either with an international or a US focus. CPCS students complete the Social Difference competency.
Objective 5 (Natural Sciences): Students will learn how the laws of the physical and biological world are derived through observation, theory, and experiment. In this age of expanding scientific knowledge and powerful technologies, an educated person should understand the importance of falsifiable hypotheses, the nature of scientific "truth", and the impact of science on society.
Students seeking a BA degree in CLA or CSM must take three courses in mathematics (identified as "MT" courses) and/or natural sciences (identified as "NS" courses). At least one course must be in the natural sciences. Any mathematics course must be Math 125 or higher (and identified as an "MT" course). Students seeking a BS degree in CLA or CSM must take four courses in mathematics and/or natural sciences. At least one course must be in the natural sciences. Any mathematics course must be Math 141 or higher (and identified as an "MT" course).
Students in CM must take two courses in the natural sciences and/or mathematics.
Students in CNHS have a series of required courses in the natural sciences as part of the required nursing curriculum.
CPCS students must complete either the Scientific Awareness or the Statistical Reasoning competency.
Objective 6 (Social and Behavioral Sciences): Students will learn about the nature and development of human behavior and institutions through time, in order to become aware of the complex and ambiguous nature of changing human experience.
Students seeking a BA degree in CLA or CSM must take three courses in the social and behavioral sciences (identified as "SB" courses). Students seeking a BS degree in CLA or CSM must take two courses in the social and behavioral sciences.
Students in CM must take two courses in the social and behavioral sciences.
Students in CNHS are required to take Sociology 101 (Introduction to Sociology).
CPCS students must complete the Participation in Governance and Social Research competencies, and then may choose one more from a long list of options.
Objective 7 (Arts and Humanities): Students will develop an informed appreciation of the arts and humanities, which encompass philosophy, literature, the fine arts, and the performing arts. Students will learn how people have come to understand and express artistic, aesthetic, moral, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions of the human condition.
Students seeking a BA degree in CLA or CSM must take three courses in the arts (identified as "AR" courses) and humanities (identified as "HU" courses), with at least one course in each of the two areas. Students seeking a BS degree in CLA or CSM must take one course in the arts and one in the humanities.
Students in CM must take two courses in the arts and/or humanities.
Students in CNHS must take two courses in the arts and/or humanities.
CPCS students must complete the Historical Change in the US and Value Conflicts competencies, and then may choose another from a list of options.
Objective 8 (World Languages and Cultures): Students will learn how language and culture impose their own structurings of knowledge. This may be achieved through intensive study of unfamiliar cultures, or by the study of a foreign language or foreign literature in translation.
Students seeking a BA degree in CLA or CSM must show elementary proficiency in a language other than English, and take two courses in world languages, world cultures, or both. (Taking two semesters of a foreign language will both show elementary proficiency and fulfill the WL/WC requirement.) Students seeking a BS degree in CLA or CSM must take either one world cultures or one world languages course (if taking a WL course, it must be at the 102 level or higher).
Students in CM must take one world cultures or world languages course. Please note that students in CM must also take two additional distribution courses in the areas of their own choice, for a total of ten distribution courses.
Students in CNHS must take two courses in world cultures or world languages.
CPCS students must complete the Social Difference competency, and are given the opportunity to develop an understanding and appreciation of cultural differences throughout the CPCS curriculum.
The five undergraduate colleges at UMass Boston use different courses to satisfy these basic graduation requirements. See the pages linked below for details.