UNC Charlotte General Education Requirements as Required by the Department of Engineering Technology

All UNC Charlotte students must meet the General Education Requirements for graduation.  Those requirements are described in the following paragraphs. 

Some transfer students are exempt from the lower division General Education requirements. The following groups of transfer students who enter the University in the fall of 2003 or thereafter will have met the University's lower division general education requirements:

Students with AAS degrees in a transferable or 2 + 2 program
Note: Students must major in the program in which their AAS degree is transferable (e.g., AAS in Architectural, Civil or Construction into BSET Civil Engineering Technology; AAS in Mechanical, Drafting, Manufacturing into BSET Mechanical Engineering Technology; AAS in Electronics, Electrical, Computer, Telecommunications into BSET in Electrical Engineering Technology).  If students change major, then they will lose the exemption benefit.

I. Development of Fundamental Skills of Inquiry (9-12 semester hours)

First-year writing courses: Students take two courses, ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102.

Mathematical and logical reasoning: One course in mathematics (MATH) and a second course selected from mathematics (MATH), statistics (STAT), or deductive logic (PHIL 2105). This requirement is met by taking Math 1103 and Stat 1220.

Basic skills of information literacy and technology: Entering students are expected to have already developed the basic computer skills necessary to use word processing, email, and the internet. By the end of their first semester at UNC Charlotte, students are expected to have developed the basic information literacy necessary to find and evaluate information from the internet and bibliographic and database sources in Atkins Library. These skills are developed in English 1101 and help with bibliographical and database search skills is available in the information commons of the Library. Basic tutorial help is also available at campus computer labs. Students are expected to exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computers. More advanced information literacy and technology skills are required by individual departments and majors.

II. Inquiry in the Sciences (11 semester hours)

Two courses, one of which must be taken with a laboratory, in the life sciences and/or the physical sciences. These courses introduce students to the various methods of life sciences and physical sciences. They provide an understanding of the current scientific knowledge of the world, how that knowledge is secured, and how scientific knowledge changes over time. Each Engineering Technology program has defined the specific science courses required, selected from the following:

Chemistry (CHEM 1111, 1251)
Geology (GEOL 1200)
Physics (PHYS 1101, 1102, 2101, 2102)
Psychology (PSYC 1101)

One course in the social sciences. These courses introduce students to the methods of the social sciences and to the applications of these methods for gaining a scientific understanding of the social world. Check your specific program requirements.  Selected from:

Anthropology (ANTH 1101)
Geography (GEOG 1105)
Economics (ECON 1101 or 2101)
Political Science (POLS 1110)
Sociology (SOCY 1101)

III. Themes of Liberal Education for Private and Public Life (12 semester hours)

The UNC Charlotte faculty has selected eight themes of a liberal arts education around which to offer a core of Liberal Studies courses. These courses examine the arts, literature, the western historical and cultural tradition, global understanding, citizenship, ethics, issues of health, and issues of science, technology, and society. Liberal Studies courses, which are taught by faculty members from departments across the University, are dedicated exclusively to general education. All these courses include a consideration of the diversity of perspectives afforded by gender, race/ethnicity, and class, as appropriate for understanding the individual themes of these courses.
 
Each student must take four of these courses as follows:

One course in the arts and society. Art is indispensable to the structure and fabric of all societies, and each course examines this fundamental connection from the perspective a specific art form. Selected from:

LBST 1101 The Arts and Society: Dance
LBST 1102 The Arts and Society: Film
LBST 1103 The Arts and Society: Music
LBST 1104 The Arts and Society: Theater
LBST 1105 The Arts and Society: Visual Arts

One course in the western tradition. Each section of this course examines a major aspect of western culture through the process of analyzing the present in terms of the past.

LBST 2101 Western Cultural and Historical Awareness

One course in global understanding. All liberally educated people need to have the ability to understand the world from the point of view of more than one culture and be able to analyze issues from a global perspective.

LBST 2102 Global and Intercultural Connections

One course dealing with ethical issues and cultural critique. Each of these courses deals with an important contemporary issue, and each one gives significant attention to ethical analysis and cultural critique in the liberal arts. Selected from:

LBST 2211 Ethical Issues in Personal, Professional, and Public Life
LBST 2212 Literature and Culture
LBST 2213 Science, Technology, and Society
LBST 2214 Issues of Health and Quality of Life
LBST 2215 Citizenship

IV. Communication skills

Writing in the discipline: Six semester hours, including at least three semester hours in the major. These courses are spread throughout the curriculum and are indicated with a (W) after the course title. These courses assume that students have already developed the basic grammatical and compositional skills needed to write college-level English, and they build on these skills to develop writing strategies appropriate to the discipline of the department offering the course.  For Engineering Technology students, each program meets this requirement in a different way.  Check respective program requirements for details in your discipline.

Oral communication: At least one course designated as an oral communication course. These courses are spread throughout the curriculum and are indicated with an (O) after the course title. If a course is designated as both a writing in the discipline course (W) and an oral communication course (O), a student may apply that course to both requirements.  Check respective program requirements for details in your discipline.