General Education Requirements for the B.A. and B.S. Degrees (HCAS)

First-Year Seminar (3 credits)

• FYS 100P  

Note: the FYS requirement will be waived for transfer students entering the college with more than 24 credits.

Forms of Citizenship (3-9 credits)

Students must take one course in each of the following three areas: Information Citizenship, Global Citizenship, and Community Citizenship. A list of college approved citizenship courses can be found here . 

• Information citizenship 3 credits
• Global Citizenship 0-3 credits
• Community Citizenship 0-3 credits

Note: the global and community citizenship requirements can also count toward one of the other general education categories such as social sciences or humanities.

Note: transfer students entering the college with more than 24 credits are only required to take one Forms of Citizenship course from any of the three areas.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) (0-3 credits)

Any course offered by the College of Arts and Sciences that is designated by a “D” following the course number fulfills the DEIJ requirement. Courses that fulfill the diversity requirement can be found here .

This requirement can be satisfied by a course in one of the other general education categories.

Mathematics (3 credits)

• Select one course from university approved list found here .

Participatory Arts (3 credits)

• Select one course from university approved list found here .

Interdisciplinary (3 credits)

• Select one course from university approved list found here.

Humanities (9 credits)

• Select three courses from three different disciplines on the university approved list found here.

Social Science (6 credits)

• Select two courses from two different disciplines on the university approved list found here.

For social science majors, the two social science courses may not be satisfied by courses within the student’s major.

Laboratory Science (4 credits)

• One 4-credit laboratory course from university approved list found here.

Writing Courses (6 credits)

• WRT 110W - Academic Writing I 3 credit(s) (first year, first semester)
• WRT 210W - Foundations of Argument 3 credit(s) (first year, second semester)

Writing-Intensive Courses (0 or 3 credits)

In addition to WRT 110W  and WRT 210W , students must take two writing-intensive courses, one of which must be taken in the major. Writing-intensive courses are indicated by a W following a course code (e.g., CMM 250W ).

A writing-intensive course is one in which students do some writing for most class meetings, in addition to the writing they do for examinations and term projects. The nature of the writing varies from course to course; it may include journals, laboratory reports, short essays, or substantial research projects. Besides covering the usual content, a writing-intensive course devotes class time to the writing process: planning, drafting, revising, or editing. While each discipline has its own research methods and distinctive scholarly style, writing-intensive courses stress the common denominators of academic discourse. Writing-intensive courses have met the guidelines approved by the faculty.

Note: transfer students entering the college with more than 24 credits are only required to take one writing intensive course.

Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) (0-3 credits)

To enhance career preparation and independent critical thinking skills, undergraduate students in the college will complete a Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) experience.

The LBC experience requires that students achieve a minimum of four of the following learning objectives:

Mandatory:

• Independent learning
• Higher-order skill development (e.g., research, applied writing, leadership, critical and creative thinking, etc.)
• Problem solving and resourcefulness

At least one of the following:

• Professional development (e.g., learning about the world of work, professional behavior etc.)
• Personal development (e.g., self-awareness, ethical values, resilience, social relationship skills)
• Developing professional contacts and networking

There are two ways to fulfill the LBC requirement:

1. Most students fulfill the Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) requirement through a pre-approved course involving significant independent learning activities. A list of those courses may be found here .
2. Students may also satisfy this requirement by choosing an alternative Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) option. Those options include:

• Completing an internship, practicum, student teaching placement, or independent research course that is not on the list of ore-approved courses. Such a course must be under the supervision of a faculty member.
• Completing a short-term or long-term Study Abroad course of study, signified in the Course Catalog and arranged by the University of Hartford Study Abroad Office.
• Completing a Teaching Assistantship (e.g., teaching a laboratory section of CH 110 - College Chemistry ).
• Completing a Service Learning/Civic or Community Engagement project (e.g., substantial involvement in organized activities related to serving the community, such as working to develop and/or advocate for public policy).

Students selecting this second, alternative LBC option must complete the electronic LBC Approval Form from the Dean’s Office before beginning the project, describing in detail the project proposed, explaining how it satisfies the learning objectives listed above, and including the name, title, email address, and phone number of the supervising faculty member. Once that form is submitted to the A&S Dean’s Office (lbc@hartford.edu), the student will be registered for LBC 400 - Learning Beyond the Classroom  so that they receive credit for the LBC experience. NOTE: Students will also be expected to complete and submit a midterm progress report and a final summary of the Learning Beyond the Classroom experience, both signed by the approved supervising faculty member.

Career Preparation (1 credit)

Students must take one course from the following list:

• CRD 200 - Career Preparation 1 credit(s)
• PPS 200 - Premedical Professions Studies II 1 credit(s)
• PPS 300 - Premedical Professions Studies III 1 credit(s)
• PL 100 - Pre-Law Studies I 1 credit(s)
• PL 200 - Pre-Law Studies II (The Atwood Collins II Pre-Law Seminar) 1 credit(s)

Note:

1. No more than 2 credits of Physical Education (PE) courses and no more than 2 credits of Peer Support Workshop (PSW) courses may be applied to the 120 total credits required for graduation.
2. At least one course from the Participatory Arts, Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences, Humanities, Math, or Laboratory Science must be taken in a college other than the Hillyer College of Arts and Sciences.
3. Transfer students who have previously earned an Associate’s degree (A.A. or A.S.) will have all general education requirements waived.

General Education Requirements (43-45 credits)

• FYS 100P - First-Year Seminar  (3 credits)
• WRT 110W - Academic Writing I  (3 credits)
• WRT 210W - Foundations of Argument  (3 credits)
• 3 Humanities courses (9 credits)
• 2 Social Science courses (6 credits)
• 1 Natural Science/Technology course, with Lab (4 credits) 
• 1 Math course (3-4 credits)
• 1 Participatory Arts course (3 credits)
• 1 Interdisciplinary course (3 credits)
• 1 Diversity course (0-3 credits)*

*Could be satisfied via a range of courses, so it is not necessarily credit bearing.

Graduation Requirements (1-10 credits)

Old General Education Requirements

Students in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs are required to fulfill the general education requirements described below.

First-Year Seminar

(first year, fall semester)

Foundations of Citizenship

• One citizenship/community course
• One diversity course

Exploration and Breadth

• One mathematics course
• One arts course
• Three humanities courses
• Two social sciences courses
• Two 4-credit lab sciences courses

Foundational Competencies

• Two writing courses (first year, spring semester, and second year, fall semester)
• One information technology literacy course
• Two writing-intensive courses

Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC)

• One LBC 400  
• One career preparation or independent critical thinking activity outside the regular classroom

Career Preparation

• One career preparation class