CSUB's General Education program

At the core of CSUB's program are thirteen (13) goals. Each represents an area of knowledge or basic skill. Our general education program is not designed or intended to be completed during your first two years at CSUB. To ensure general education extends throughout the university years our program requires three upper division general education courses (courses numbered 300 or higher) These cannot be taken before the quarter an undergraduate becomes a major.

Upper Division General
Education Requirement

You must take three upper division general education courses at CSUB to round out the 72 quarter units program. In completing this requirement, you must take one course to satisfy Goal XIII and two other approved general education courses from two of the following three sets of goals.

1. Goals IV - VI (Physical/Life Sciences) - Area B
2. Goals VII - IX (Behavioral Science) Area D
3. Goals X - XII (Humanities) - Area C

Applicable courses are CAPITALIZED. These courses can be used to satisfy particular goals and to complete the upper division general education requirement. You can only begin completing the requirement for three upper division courses in the quarter you achieve junior status. Upper division general education courses taken before that quarter will satisfy a goal but not count toward this requirement. All upper division general education courses have a prerequisite of English 110 or equivalent.

The following is a list of courses which meet General Education approval as of Fall Quarter 1998. The program requires a minimum of 72 quarter units. These are accumulated as you satisfy the 13 Goals and the upper division general education course requirement. You are also allowed to count 5 units earned in satisfying the American Institutions Requirement.

Goal I - Writing and Reading Competency in the English Language (Must be passed with a grade of "C" or better)

Engl 110 Writing and Research

Goal II - Speaking, Listening, & Reading Competency in the English Language

Comm 108 Strategies of Public Communication
Engl 272 Reading and Writing Poetry
Theat 232 Acting I

Goal III - Logical Reasoning Competency

Anth 120 Critical Thinking in Anthropology
Hum 102 Critical Thinking and Writing
Phil 102 Logical Reasoning
Soc 120 Critical Thinking and Contemporary Social Problems

Goal IV - Mathematical Reasoning Competency (Must be passed with a grade of "C" or better)

Math 101 Finite Mathematics
Math 140 Elementary Statistics
Psych 200 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Psychological Research
(Math 192 or higher level mathematics courses satisfy the goal and earn a maximum of 5 quarter units toward the general education program. Math 220, 320, 321, and 477 do not satisfy Goal IV. Upper division math courses that satisfy Goal IV are not treated as one of the three upper division general education courses.)

Goal V - Understanding the Basic Principles & Concepts of Contemporary Physical Science

Chem 150 Introduction to Chemical Principles
Geol 100 Perspectives in Geology
Geol 205 Environmental Geology
Geol 308 GEOMORPHOLOGY
Geol 321 GEOPHYSIOLOGY
Geol 330 GEOLOGY OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
Phys 110 Introduction to Astronomy

Goal VI - Theoretical & Practical Experience in the Life Sciences

Anth 102 Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Biol 100 Perspectives in Biology
Biol 103 Principles of Ecology
Sci 370A HUMAN BIOLOGY (formerly Biol 300)

Goal VII - Theoretical & Practical Understanding of the Social Sciences

Anth 100 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Anth 104 Introduction to Archaeology
Econ 100 The Economic Way of Thinking
Econ 201/202 Essentials Micro/Macroeconomics (Both must be completed to satisfy goal, only five quarter units of credit earned)
InSt 205 Perspectives on Women in Society
PlSci 218 Politics in the Novel and Film
Psych 100 Explorations in Psychology
Psych 312 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Soc 100 Introduction to Sociology
Soc 312 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Soc 323 SOCIOLOGY OF POWER

Goal VIII - To Study Western Civilization

Hist 102 The Making of the Modern World, 1750 to the Present
Hist 325 HISTORY OF EUROPEAN COLONIALISM, 1500-1970
InSt 312 PLAGUES AND PEOPLE: A BIOHISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF HUMANS AND DISEASE
PlSci 102 World Politics
RSt 110 Religion in Western Civilization
RSt 401 RELIGION AND ANCIENT WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Span 320 HISPANIC-AMERICAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION
Span 321 HISPANIC-AMERICAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

Goal IX - To Study at Least One Extant Non-Western Culture

Anth 250 Peoples of Africa
Anth 251 Peoples of South America
Anth 252 Native Peoples of North America
Anth 370 THIRD WORLD COMMUNITIES
Econ 311 THE PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIES
Econ 312 ECONOMIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Hist 222 Modern Pacific Asia
Hist 268 The History of Native Americans
Hist 372 CALIFORNIA INDIANS
PlSci 208 The Politics of Change in Asian Societies
PlSci 308 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF CHINA
PlSci 322 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF JAPAN
RSt 111 Religion in Asian Cultures
RSt 338 ISLAM
RSt 345 INDIA
RSt 348 CHINA AND JAPAN

Goal X - To Gain a Critical Understanding of Significant Philosophical Ideas

Econ 305 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PRE-MODERN WEST: PLATO TO ADAM SMITH
Phil 100 Introduction to Philosophy
Phil 201 Contemporary Moral Problems
Phil 302 HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY I
Phil 311 MARX, MARXISM AND POST-MARXISM
Phil 333 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHT
Plsi 333 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHT
Soc 350 SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE

Goal XI - Experience & Appreciation of Fine Arts

Art 101 The Practice and Appreciation of the Visual Arts
Art 201 A Survey of Art, Pre-History to C.E. 1400
Art 202 A Survey of Art, CE 1400 to Present
Art 212 Basic Two-Dimensional Design
Art 384 THE ART OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Art 483 MODERN ART C. 1865-1970
Comm 240 Media Arts
Comm/Engl 460 HISTORY OF FILM
Music 101 Understanding and Appreciation of Music
Music 380 OPERA
Theat 101 Introduction to the Study of Theatre
Theat 271 Survey of Theatre History I: the Greeks to Shakespeare
Theat 272 Theatre History II: the Golden Age of Spain to the 20th Century
Theat 379 THE AMERICAN THEATRE
Theat 385 MODERN DRAMA

Goal XII - Experience & Appreciation of Literature

Engl 101 Introduction to Literature: Text and Contexts
Engl 205 Introduction to the Study of American Literature
Engl 207 Ethnic-Minority American Literature
Engl 208 Major British Writers
Engl 235 Shakespeare's World
Engl 294 Masterpieces of Early Western World Literature: The Greeks to the Renaissance
Engl 362 LITERATURE AS MIRROR OF SOCIETY: STUDIES IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Engl 364 STUDIES IN FICTION: THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Engl 373 WOMEN IN LITERATURE AND FILM
French 380 THE HUMAN CONDITION - FRENCH LITERATURE THROUGH THE AGES
Hist 364 YOUTH AND THE JOURNEY TO AWARENESS
PlSci 218 Politics in the Novel and Film
Span 425 CHICANO LITERATURE

Goal XIII - Background and Perspectives for Dealing with the Complexities of the Modern World

BA 374 BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
Comm 407 MEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
InSt 363 PERSONHOOD (other 5 units can be counted in Social Science or Humanities)
Phil 315 PHILOSOPHY, TECHNOLOGY AND OUR FUTURE
RS 465 THE MEANING OF DEATH
SCI 350B COMPUTER AND SOCIETY (formerly Cmps 310)
SCI 360A ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY (formerly Phys 360)
SCI 310 THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN A MODERN SOCIETY
Soc 405 TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

 

American Institutions Requirement

The California Education Code requires that each student qualifying for graduation with a bachelors degree shall demonstrate competence in the areas of United States History and national, state and local government, including the rights and obligations of citizens.

Satisfaction of this requirement shall be met by no less than one course in United States History and one course in United States Government or by examinations administered respectively by the History and Political Science Departments. The course in United States Government must focus on both the United State Constitution and the state and the local government of California. Students who have completed their US Government course at a non-California institution will not have satisfied the state and local government requirement and will be required to take an additional course or pass the waiver examination.

Courses that satisfy the United States History requirement include

Courses that satisfy the United State and the state and local government requirement include:

Double Counting Upper Division General Education Courses

For Students who matriculate under the 1981-97 and subsequent CSUB Catalogs, only one upper division general education course can be double counted toward the major or minor degree requirements.

Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement

The Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) is a CSU mandated assessment of the composition skills of both undergraduate and graduate students. All CSU campuses require students to demonstrate such competence prior to graduation, although students cannot begin to do so until junior status is achieved (i.e. must have 90 quarter units before attempting to satisfy the requirement). Graduates who are pursuing a credential or a master's degree must demonstrate competence before acquiring the credential or degree.

The GWAR can be satisfied in one of two ways:

1. By earning a "C" (CR) or better in one of the following courses:

2. By passing the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement Examination (GWAR) with a score of 8 or above. The exam is administered three times a year (once every quarter) and is composed of one 1-1/2 hour essay. To register for the exam, contact the Testing Office, and complete a registration form by the deadline date.
Information about the exam and test dates is available in the Testing Office and in the Department of English.

Women or American Ethnic/Racial

Students who establish or reestablish their enrollment with the CSU in Fall 1998 through catalog Spring 1997 are required to complete a course that focuses on women or American ethnic/racial minorities. The following CSUB courses satisfy that requirement: