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    Dec 03, 2024  
2023-2024 UMaine Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2023-2024 UMaine Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education Requirements

General Education

Every University of Maine academic program is based upon a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. The University’s goal is to ensure that all of its graduates, regardless of the academic major they pursued, are broadly educated persons who can appreciate the achievements of civilization, understand the tensions within it, and contribute to resolving them. This component of every program is called general education, and it amounts to about one third of every program. The design of general education at the University of Maine is meant to be flexible within the broad goals it seeks to achieve. It affords each student many ways of meeting its requirements, which fall under the six broad categories outlined below.

Students who have completed the UMS General Education Transfer Block at any other UMS institution currently accredited by NECHE will be regarded as having completed all of their General Education requirements except for the following, which must be taken at the University of Maine:

  • A minimum of three additional course credits in any of the UMaine Human Values and Social Context subcategory areas
  • A Writing Intensive course in the Major Degree
  • A Capstone Experience course
  • Any specific General Education courses required by the major

A student (completing more than one academic major or baccalaureate degree) need complete only one set of UMaine General Education Requirements. For example, a student completing a double major need complete the “writing intensive course in the major” and the capstone experience only for the designated primary major. Exception: some departments may specifically require their writing intensive and capstone courses as part of the major, aside from their role in general education. In this case the double-major student must complete them, not because of general education policy, but because the major program requires them.

Students who have previously earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution do not have to meet General Education requirements to earn a degree from UMaine except specific courses required by the major (i.e. writing in the major and capstone). A student must meet the requirements of the major (assuming sufficient credits are accepted by transfer to total 120 credits or more, depending on the major) with at least 30 credits courses from UMaine.

Note: The student elected Pass/Fail option is not allowed for courses used to fulfill program requirements for the major, for the minor, for the college, or for general education.

Science

Students must complete two courses in the physical or biological sciences. This may be accomplished in two ways:

  1. By completing two courses with laboratories in the basic or applied sciences;
  2. By completing one course in the applications of scientific knowledge, plus one course with a laboratory in the basic or applied sciences.

Applications of Scientific Knowledge

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

Laboratory in the Basic or Applied Sciences

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

Human Values and Social Contexts

Students must complete 18 credits in this broad area, selected from lists of approved courses to satisfy each of five sub-categories. (Courses that satisfy requirements in more than one sub-category may be counted in each appropriate sub-category, but credits may be counted only once.)

  1. Western cultural tradition
  2. Social contexts and institutions
  3. Cultural diversity and international perspectives
  4. Population and the environment
  5. Artistic and creative expression

Completion of any of these courses (HON 111, 112, 211 or 212) satisfies either the General Education Western Cultural Tradition or the Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives requirement. Completion of any two satisfies the Western Cultural Tradition, Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives, and Ethics requirements. Completion of three satisfies the Western Cultural Tradition, Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives, Social Context and Institutions, and Ethics requirements. Completion of all four satisfies the Ethics requirement and all areas of the Human Values and Social Context requirements for 16 of the total 18 credits required in those areas.

1. Western Cultural Tradition

2. Social Context and Institutions

3. Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives

4. Population and the Environment

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

5. Artistic and Creative Expression

Quantitative Literacy

Students must complete at least six credit hours in Quantitative Literacy courses.  Quantitative literacy is the ability to formulate, evaluate, and communicate conclusions and inferences from quantitative information through problems and analysis inside and outside the major.
 

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

Writing Competency

The ability to write well is one of the most important attributes of an educated person. To help ensure this outcome the University requires its students to write throughout their academic careers, focusing both on general-purpose writing and professional writing within their majors. Students must complete:

  1. ENG 101, College Composition: All students must complete this course with a grade of C or better, or be excused from this course on the basis of a placement exam or completion of HON 111 and HON 112 with a grade of C or better in each or completion of ENG 100 and ENG 106 with a grade of C or better in each
  2. At least two courses designated as writing-intensive, at least one of which must be within the academic major.

Writing Intensive

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

Ethics

Students must complete at least one approved course or series of courses placing substantial emphasis on the discussion of ethical issues.

Important Note: Students taking any of the courses listed below with an asterisk must meet specific requirements to earn this General Education Requirement.  View the full course descriptions to learn specifically how these courses award this General Education Requirement.

Capstone Experience (3 Credits Minimum)

Students must complete a capstone experience. The goal is to draw together the various threads of the undergraduate program that bear directly upon the academic major in an experience that typifies the work of professionals within the discipline. Normally, the Capstone would conclude at the end of the student’s senior year. Students should consult closely with their academic advisor to explore the range of options available for meeting this requirement.

   
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