General Education

Preamble

The University of Montana-Missoula's General Education Program provides a broad academic base that supports both undergraduate learning at the University of Montana-Missoula and continued learning following graduation. While the General Education Program offers students considerable flexibility in selecting courses, it has a set of common educational objectives for all students.

In accordance with the mission of the University of Montana- Missoula, these objectives are to develop competent and humane individuals who are informed, ethical, literate, and engaged citizens of local and global communities. Students should become acquainted with issues facing contemporary society, participate in the creative arts, develop an understanding of science and technology, cultivate an appreciation of the humanities, and examine the history of different American and global cultures. Upon completion of the general education requirements students should be able to articulate ideas orally and in writing, understand and critically evaluate tangible and abstract concepts, and employ mathematical and other related skills appropriate to a technologically focused society.

In summary, the General Education Program is designed to provide a high quality intellectual foundation that accommodates all UM students whether in liberal arts or professional programs. This foundation will be reinforced, expanded, and refined as students continue through their course of study. Students are encouraged to prepare for productive roles in their chosen fields by cultivating civic awareness vital to the greater community and a democratic society. The acquired skills will allow students to examine critically the human experience and achieve genuine confidence in their knowledge and abilities. For the General Education Program to accomplish its goals, students must assume primary responsibility for their growth and education.

General Education Requirements

To earn a baccalaureate degree, all students must complete successfully, in addition to any other requirements, the following General Education Requirements. (Students who have completed an approved lower-division general education program at an approved Montana institution of higher education should refer to the catalog section on General Education for Transfer Students.

All General Education courses must be at least 3 credits, must be introductory and foundational, and have no more than one pre-requisite.  The General Education Committee may allow exceptions for upper-division courses, courses fewer than three credits, and for courses with more than one pre-requisite, if the proposing unit can justify such an exception.

Some courses may satisfy both the "Writing Course" requirement (1.2) and one of the Groups IV through XI.

Some courses may satisfy both Group II and Group III Symbolic Systems.

Some courses may satisfy both Group IX and one of the Groups IV through VIII.

Some courses may satisfy both Group X and one of the Groups IV through VIII. No course may satisfy both Group IX and Group X.

NOTE!  ***All courses taken to satisfy General Education Requirements must be taken for a traditional letter grade and must be passed with a grade of C- or better***.

Students are cautioned that approved courses may change from year to year. To be used for General Education credit, a course must be listed as approved in the Class Schedule for the semester a student registers for it.

  *Some courses satisfy more than one group (see list at the end of this section).

Group I:  English Writing Skills

The ability to write effectively is fundamental to success in academic, professional, and civic endeavors. Specifically, a student should be able to:

Use writing to learn and synthesize new concepts;

Produce focused writing that is developed, logical, and organized;

Compose written documents that are appropriate for a given audience, purpose, and context;

Revise written documents based on constructive feedback;

Develop competence in information literacy, information technology and digital literacy;

Use discipline-specific style and citation conventions;

Demonstrate appropriate English language usage. 

Students must satisfy the following four three requirements in order:

1. Composition course WRIT 101 or 201 ( ENEX 101, WTS 101, ENEX 200) or an equivalent;
2. One approved writing course;
3. The upper-division writing requirement for the major.  

Composition Course  

All students must complete WRIT 101 or 201 (ENEX 101, WTS 101, ENEX 200), or an equivalent composition course with a grade of C-minus or better.  Students with Language and Composition AP scores of 4 or better are exempted from this requirement.

Entering students are placed into WRIT 095, WRIT 101 or WRIT 201 (WTS 100D, WTS or ENEX 101, or ENEX 200) based on their standardized test scores.  Students placed into WTS 100D are provided an opportunity to challenge their placement with specific scores.  Students placing into WRIT 201 (ENEX 200) may choose to take WRIT 101 (ENEX 101) instead.

One Approved Writing Course 

All students, unless exempted, must pass an approved writing course (chosen from the following list of approved courses). Students are exempted from this requirement by transferring more than 27 semester credits at the time of their initial registration at the University. Transfer students need to petition the Writing Committee to have transferred writing courses from other institutions accepted for this requirement. View details regarding this process on the transfer student admission page of the catalog.

Upper-Division Writing Requirement 

All students must meet the approved upper-division writing requirements specified by their majors. Students should seek specific information about the upper-division writing requirements in their major in the section of the catalog where information about their chosen major is given. 

Students cannot use the same writing course to meet both the approved writing course requirement and the upper-division writing requirement.

Approved Writing Courses

The following courses are designated as approved writing courses for 2014-2015. Students are cautioned that approved courses may change from year to year. To be used for General Education, a course must be listed as approved in the catalog and in the Class Schedule for the semester a student registers for it.

Upper-Division Writing Courses

The following courses are approved as meeting the criteria for the upper-division writing requirement.  Students should consult with their advisor regarding the requirement specified by their major.

Group II Mathematics

Mathematical literacy implies an appreciation of the beauty of mathematics, an ability to apply mathematical reasoning, and an understanding of how mathematics and statistics are used in many arenas. Mathematical literacy may be attained through the study of the properties of numbers, mathematical modeling, geometry, data analysis and probability, with the overarching goal of learning mathematical reasoning and problem solving.

Mathematical literacy cannot be achieved in a single course.  However, for the purposes of general education, the mathematical literacy requirement can be met by any one of the following:

1. achieving a grade of C-or better in one of the following courses which address different aspects of mathematical literacy: M 104, 105, 115, 118, 121, 122, 135, 151, 162; or a mathematics course of 3 or more credits for which one of these is a prerequisite. M 191 Fairness and Social Justice:Quantifying the Unquantifiable - (one time only GLI designation for autumn 2014)
2. achieving a score of 50 or better on the CLEP College Algebra Test, the CLEP College Precalculus Test, or the CLEP College Mathematics Test.
3. passing the Mathematical Literacy Examination administered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences. To qualify to take the Mathematical Literacy Examination, a student must have achieved a score of 630 or better on the SAT Math exam or a score of 28 or better on the ACT Math exam. A student may take the Mathematical Literacy Examination only once. Further details are available from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Students must complete the mathematical literacy requirement by the time they have earned 30 credits; if not, they must register for a mathematical sciences course every semester until they have completed the requirement. Because many other courses at the university assume some mathematical literacy, it is strongly recommended that all students complete their mathematical literacy requirement as soon as possible.

Upon completion of the mathematical literacy requirement, a student will be able to effectively apply mathematical or statistical reasoning to a variety of applied or theoretical problems.

Group III:  Modern and Classical Language

Students must complete successfully the second semester of a Modern and Classical Language at the University of Montana.  Courses encompass the comprehensive study of a natural language other than written or spoken contemporary English.

Upon completion of the Modern and Classical Languages sequence, students will have a basic functional knowledge of a second natural language sufficient to:

1. read and write if the language is classical, such as Latin;
2. speak and aurally comprehend, if the language does not have a written tradition, such as Salish;
3. perform all four skills (speaking, aural comprehension, reading, and writing) if the language is modern and has a written tradition, such as Japanese or French.
4. demonstrate both receptive (visual comprehension) and expressive (manual production) proficiency if the language is American Sign Language. 

• * Three 3 credit courses of Irish are required to fulfill the general education requirement
• Students may satisfy the requirement by demonstrating equivalent skill in any of these or other languages in testing administered by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures.

• International students from non English speaking countries may satisfy this requirement by presenting a TOEFL score of 580 or greater, or by successful completion of ESL/LING 250 or 450, or by presenting a department approved application for degree.

Group III: Exceptions to the Modern and Classical Language requirement - Symbolic Systems 

The majors listed below have been granted exceptions to the Modern and Classical Language requirement. Students graduating in any one of these majors may substitute the symbolic system course or courses designated by the major.

Each of these courses presents the foundations of a symbolic system, defined as a relationship that maps real-world objects, principles and doctrines with abstractions of the real-world. 

Symbolic systems facilitate communication in specialized ways but do not comprise a spoken or written language by which members of a culture typically communicate with each other.

 Upon completion of a symbolic systems course or courses, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of the symbols and the transformations of the system;
2. relay and interpret information in terms of the given symbolic system;
3. apply creative thinking using the symbolic system in order to solve problems and communicate ideas;

Group IV: Expressive Arts (A)

Expressive Arts courses are activity-based and emphasize the value of learning by doing in an artistic context.  Upon completion of an Expressive Arts course, students will be able to express themselves in the making of an original work or creative performance; understand the genres and/or forms that have shaped the medium; and critique the quality of their own work and that of others.

Group V: Literary and Artistic Studies (L)

In these courses, students develop familiarity with significant works of artistic representation, including literature, music, visual art, and/or performing arts.  Through this experience, students enhance their analytical skills and explore the historical, aesthetic, philosophical, and cultural features of these works.

Upon completion of a Literary and Artistic Studies course, students will be able to:

1. analyze works of art with respect to structure and significance within literary and artistic traditions, including emergent movements and forms; and
2. develop coherent arguments that critique these works from a variety of approaches, such as historical, aesthetic, cultural, psychological, political, and philosophical.

Group VI:  Historical and Cultural Studies (H)

These courses present the historical or cultural contexts of ideas and institutions, and examine cultural development or differentiation in the human past. They are foundational in that they are wide-ranging in chronological, geographical, or topical focus, or in that they introduce students to methods of inquiry specific to a particular discipline.

Upon completion of a Historical and Cultural Studies course, students will be able to:

1. synthesize ideas and information with a view to understanding the causes and consequences of historical developments and events;
2. evaluate texts or artifacts within their historical and/or cultural contexts;
3. analyze human behavior, ideas, and institutions within their respective historical and/or cultural contexts.

 Group VII: Social Sciences (S)

Social science courses describe and analyze human social organization and interaction, employing social data at a broad scale with statistical relevance, experimental data on individuals or groups, or qualitative data based on observation and discourse. 

Upon completion of a Social Sciences course, students will be able to: 

1. Describe the nature, structure, and historical development of human behavior, organizations, social phenomena, and/or relationships;
2. use theory in explaining these individual, group, or social phenomena; and/or
3. understand, assess, and evaluate how conclusions and generalizations are justified based on data

 Group VIII: Ethics and Human Values (E)

Ethics and Human Values courses familiarize students with one or more traditions of ethical thought. These courses rigorously present the basic concepts and forms of reasoning that define and distinguish each tradition. The focus of these courses may be on one or more of these traditions, or on a concept such as justice or the good life as conceptualized within one or more of these traditions, or on a professional practice within a particular tradition.

Upon completion of an Ethics and Human Values course, students will be able to:

1. correctly apply the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied to ethical issues that arise within those traditions or practices;
2. analyze and critically evaluate the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied.

 Group IX: American and European Perspectives (Y)

These courses present a critical introduction to the antecedents, principles, institutions, cultures, traditions and legacies of the United States and Europe.

Upon completion of an American and European Perspective course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate informed and reasoned understanding of American and/or European historical and contemporary behavior, ideas, institutions, and culture; and
2. Analyze and evaluate what is distinctive and significant about the American and/or European experience and legacy.

Group X: Indigenous and Global Perspectives (X)

This perspective instills knowledge of diverse cultures in comparative and thematic frameworks. Students are encouraged to cultivate ways of thinking that foster an understanding of the complexities of indigenous cultures and global issues, past and present. Students will learn how geographically and culturally separate parts of the world are linked by various, multiple interactions.

Indigenous studies focus upon "first peoples" and their descendants who derive their cultural communal identities from their long-standing and/or historical habitation of particular places. These courses foster an appreciation for indigenous peoples, their histories and cultures, and their struggles both to maintain their ways of life and gain equal positions in world spheres of power and change.

Global studies investigate how societies and nations interact through human endeavor and /or natural processes. These courses encourage students to relate their knowledge of particular parts of the world, with their individual identities, and to larger trends and issues that affect multiple societies and environments. These include regional, national, and even transnational cultural flows, as well as a multiplicity of environmental processes and economic relationships.

Upon completion of an Indigenous and Global Perspective course, students will be able to:

1. place human behavior and cultural ideas into a wider (global/indigenous) framework, and enhance their understanding of the complex interdependence of nations and societies and their physical environments;
2. demonstrate an awareness of the diverse ways humans structure their social, political, and cultural lives; and 
3. analyze and compare the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the 21^st century including those of their own societies and cultures.

Group XI: Natural Science

These courses present scientific conclusions about the structure and function of the natural world, and demonstrate or exemplify scientific questioning and validation of findings.

Upon completion of a Natural Science course, a student will be able to:

1. understand the general principles associated with the discipline(s) studied; 
2. understand the methodology and activities scientists use to gather, validate and interpret data related to natural processes; 
3. detect patterns, draw conclusions, develop conjectures and hypotheses, and test them by appropriate means and experiments; 
4. understand how scientific laws and theories are verified by quantitative measurement, scientific observation, and logical/critical reasoning; 
5. and understand the means by which analytic uncertainty is quantified and expressed in the natural sciences

Natural Science courses without a laboratory experience

Natural Science courses with a laboratory experience:

Courses that satisfy more than one Group are listed below:

General Education for Transfer Students

Students transferring credits from other institutions must meet all requirements by transfer, by examination, or by completing courses at the University of Montana-Missoula.

According to Board of Regents policy, students who can demonstrate that they have completed an approved lower-division general education requirement at an approved Montana institution of higher education will be deemed to have completed general education requirements except for the upper-division writing proficiency assessment and the upper-division writing requirements in their majors.

Transfer students who believe they have completed an approved lower-division general education requirement at another Montana school should request that the registrar of the other school send a letter to the University Registrar’s Office certifying that the requirement has been met.

If students transfer 20 or more approved Montana University System core course credits with their initial registration at UM-Missoula, they may choose to complete the MUS General Education rather than the UM-Missoula General Education requirement

Students governed by the 2006-2007 catalog or later catalogs must earn a traditional letter grade of C- or better in courses used to satisfy General Education (except English composition and the Mathematical Literacy course must be a C or better). Students enrolled in a post-secondary institution prior to autumn 2006 may be eligible to choose an earlier governing catalog. Refer to the Governing Catalog information in the previous section. See index.

Students who have completed a bachelor degree at the University or elsewhere will be presumed to have completed the General Education Requirement.

Admissions & New Student Services will evaluate all transfer credits for General Education credit. Students who wish to appeal that evaluation may petition the Graduation Appeals Subcommittee of the Academic Standards and Curriculum Review Committee, but such petitions must be initiated during the first semester of the student's attendance following that evaluation.

Major and Minor Requirements

Major Requirements

Declaring a Major and Changing a Major

Students indicate on the application for admission the major or majors in which they are interested. Students undecided as to a field of interest may elect to be Undeclared while making program and career decisions. Students must declare a major in a degree granting program prior to completion of 45 credits or after three semesters, whichever occurs first.

Students must complete a major in order to earn a degree or certificate.

Students may change their majors or minors by obtaining the proper approval on a change of major or minor form available from the Registration Counter in Griz Central in the Lommasson Center. Because of enrollment limitations, students must request a change to a program in the Missoula College by completing an application for admission and submitting it to the College. Students whose initial admission was to the Missoula College may change to a major outside the College by submitting an application for admission to Enrollment Services-Admissions & New Student Services in the Lommasson Center.

Credits Required for a Major

Students in a bachelor degree program must complete a minimum of 30 credits in their major. Most majors require more.

Students may elect to earn a single degree with more than one major. Students may complete a double major (two majors) or any number of majors. All requirements for the majors must be completed even though students will receive a single degree such as a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Psychology and Sociology. It is only necessary to complete the total credit requirement for a single bachelor degree.

Courses completed to satisfy the requirements of a major also may be applied toward the General Education Requirement if they appear on the list of approved courses at the time they are taken.

Students in programs in the Missoula College complete requirements as listed in the College section of this catalog. See index.

Credit Limitations in a Major

A maximum of 60 credits in the student's major may be counted toward the baccalaureate degree, except some options in Health and Human Performance and Education, majors in Computer Science, and majors in the Schools of Business Administration, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Journalism, Law, The College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences and the College of Forestry and Conservation are allowed more. Students with combined majors, as opposed to two majors, are allowed to apply 75 credits in the major.

Grade Requirement

Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

A minimum grade average of 2.00 in all work attempted in the major at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation.

Options

Groups of courses have been identified which lead to a specialization within one major or between two or more majors. These specializations are called options. The names of approved options will be recorded on the permanent records of those students who have satisfactorily completed the requirements as given in the catalog governing their graduation. A student desiring a particular option must satisfy the requirements of the major offering it. If one option is offered within two or more majors, the student must satisfy the requirements of only one.

Only courses listed within the supporting major count toward the 60 credit limitation in the major. Courses in other fields do not count toward the maximum of 60 credits in the major even though they may be required or elected for the options.

If one major has two or more options, a student may satisfy the requirements for more than one option so long as the maximum credit limitations are observed.

Minor Requirements

Baccalaureate students may elect to complete one or more minors in fields outside their majors. Minors may be in fields unrelated to students' majors or they may be complementary or supportive of majors. A student may not take a minor in the same field of study as his or her major.

A student will not be required to satisfy the requirements of a minor in order to graduate unless that minor is required by the student's major department or school.

Courses completed to satisfy the requirements of a minor also may be applied toward the General Education Requirement if they appear on the list of approved courses at the time they are taken.

Credits Required for a Minor

To complete a minor, students must earn at least 18 credits in an approved minor listed in this catalog and complete a baccalaureate degree.

Students possessing a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university may earn a minor if they have been accepted by the University as an undergraduate degree student. In addition to meeting minor requirements, students must earn from the University of Montana-Missoula a minimum of 9 credits in the minor field and 15 credits overall.

Grade Requirement

Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the major and the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better.  Some majors require a C or higher grade for some of the required courses.  Specific information regarding the major requirements can be found in the majors individual section of the catalog.   

A minimum grade average of 2.00 in all work attempted in the minor at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation with the minor.

Teaching Minors

Teaching minors are separate entities from degree minors as described in this section. Teaching minors are identified and requirements listed in the College of Education section of this catalog.