General Education Program

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Mission and Competencies

The General Education program is foundational to the University’s mission to “prepare 21^st century learners to become innovative problem-solvers and high-tech professionals in STEM fields.” As such, the program’s mission is to prepare students for their majors and beyond. It is designed to foster a solid foundation in mathematical and scientific reasoning essential to STEM programs. At the same time, through exposure to methods of inquiry and expression in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, the program fosters intellectual curiosity and life-long learning in preparation for engagement in professional and civic life. The University recognizes that tomorrow’s leaders must be technically proficient, ethically-minded, and possess effective communication skills to affect positive and lasting change in the world.

The University faculty has developed student learning outcomes that support the following General Education competencies:

1) Communication Skills - Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively and to analyze communication critically in both oral and written mediums.

2) Critical Thinking Skills - Students will demonstrate the ability to formulate problems and comprehensively explore and evaluate issues, ideas, artifacts, and information before reaching a conclusion.

3) Ways of Knowing in the Arts and Humanities - Students will understand how questions are posed and how insights and creative responses to them are formulated in the Arts and Humanities.

4) Ways of Knowing in the Social and Behavioral Sciences - Students will understand how questions about individuals and social groups are posed and addressed through research, experimentation, and analysis in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

5) Mathematical Reasoning - Students will develop mathematical skills that are crucial to success in all STEM fields.

6) Scientific Reasoning - Students will demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and use it to explain the natural world.

Requirements

Each undergraduate degree program requires the successful completion of a general education component at the collegiate level. The University’s general education courses support and enhance the core STEM learning and competencies at the institution, providing students with breadth of knowledge, critical thinking and writing skills, and other proficiencies.

In accordance with Section 1007.25 of the Florida Statutes and the recommendations of the General Education Steering and Faculty Committees, Florida Polytechnic University students complete 36 credit hours of General Education Program coursework within the subject areas of communication, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and natural sciences. Each student must complete at least one approved course in each subject area.

Approved courses for each area are listed below. Where applicable, courses taken to meet state common prerequisites for a program also may be used to fulfill General Education requirements. All first-time-in-college students are expected to take ENC 1101 (Composition I) during their first semester at Florida Polytechnic.

In compliance with State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.024, a transfer student who has successfully completed the General Education requirements for any public university or community college in Florida prior to enrolling as a degree-seeking student at Florida Polytechnic University, and has this completion noted on the official transcript, shall be considered to have satisfied the General Education requirements at Florida Polytechnic. All other transfer students are expected to complete the Florida Polytechnic General Education Program. Transfer students’ transcripts will be evaluated to determine course equivalencies and fulfillment of Florida Polytechnic’s General Education requirements.

All courses listed are approved for meeting General Education requirements. Courses marked with (W) can be used to satisfy a portion of the Florida college-level writing requirement, and all mathematics courses can be used to satisfy a portion of the computation requirement (State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.030).

Communication

Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively and to analyze communication critically in both oral and written mediums. Students who complete the communication skills requirement will be able to:

Analyze, interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information to support an argument or conclusion.
Choose a topic and develop it for a specific audience, purpose, and context.
Employ the conventions of standard American English.
Identify and apply standards of academic integrity, including the use, attribution, and documentation of source material in an appropriate style.

ENC 1101 - English Composition 1: Expository and Argumentative Writing Credits: 3 (W)
ENC 2210 - Technical Writing Credits: 3 (W)

Note:

Any student who completes a course with an ENC prefix for which ENC x101 is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the communication core.

Arts and Humanities

Students will understand how questions are posed and how insights and creative responses to them are formulated in the Arts and Humanities. Whether through philosophical (legal, ethical), literary, artistic, or cultural studies, students who complete the ways of knowing requirement in the Arts and Humanities will be able to:

Reflect critically on the human condition.
Interpret and explain theories and methods behind forms of human expression.
Consider the multidirectional impacts of the relationships between individuals, cultures, and the institutions, and technologies they create.

Required State General Education Core (select one)
ARH 2000 - Art Appreciation Credits: 3 (W)
HUM 2020 - Introduction to the Humanities Credits: 3 (W)
PHI 2010 - Introduction to Philosophy Credits: 3 (W)
Optional to fulfill Arts & Humanities requirement (select one or two - see appropriate program plan of study):
HUM 2022 - Explorations in the Humanities Credits: 3 (W)
IDS 2144 - Legal, Ethical, and Management Issues in Technology Credits: 3

Social Sciences

Students will understand how questions about individuals and social groups are posed and addressed through research, experimentation, and analysis in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Students who complete the ways of knowing requirement in the Social and Behavioral Sciences will be able to:

Apply appropriate disciplinary methods and theories to the analysis of psychological, social, cultural, political, and economic issues or problems.
Describe how political, social, cultural, and economic institutions influence human behavior.
Describe how individuals interact and behave in political, social, economic, and psychological environments.

Required State General Education Core (select one)
AMH 2020 - American History Since 1877 Credits: 3 (W) Fullfills Civics Literacy Requirement
ECO 2013 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credits: 3 (W)
PSY 2012 - General Psychology Credits: 3 (W)
Optional to fulfill Social Sciences requirement (select one or two - see appropriate program plan of study):
AMH 2010 - American History to 1877 Credits: 3
AMH 2930 - Special Topics Credits: 1-3
ECO 2023 - Principles of Microeconomics Credits: 3 (W)

Mathematics

Students will develop mathematical skills that are crucial to success in all STEM fields. Students who complete the Mathematical Reasoning requirement will be able to:

Demonstrate fluency in mathematical concepts.
Interpret quantitative data to derive logical conclusions.
Apply appropriate mathematical techniques and problem-solving strategies to produce valid results.

MAC 2311 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1 Credits: 4
MAC 2312 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2 Credits: 4
MAC 2313 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3 Credits: 4
MAD 2104 - Discrete Mathematics Credits: 3
MAP 2302 - Differential Equations Credits: 3
STA 2023 - Statistics 1 Credits: 3
MAC 1147 - Pre-calculus Algebra and Trigonometry Credits: 4

Note:

If a student completes a mathematics course for which one of the General Education course options in mathematics is a prerequisite, that student will be considered to have completed the portion of the mathematics core. In some instances, there may be mathematics courses similar in content in the General Education Program that are at a more advanced level, but do not include a mathematics core course as a prerequisite; in these instances the more advanced, similar courses will be considered to have completed the portion of the mathematics core.

Natural Sciences

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and use it to explain the natural world. Students who complete the Scientific Reasoning Requirement will be able to:

Critically examine and evaluate scientific observation, hypothesis, and model construction.
Apply appropriate scientific models and methods in problem solving.
Use the scientific method to explain the natural world.

BSC 1010 - Biology 1 Credits: 3
BSC 1010L - Biology 1 Laboratory Credits: 1 (W)
CHM 2045 - Chemistry 1 Credits: 3
CHM 2045L - Chemistry 1 Laboratory Credits: 1 (W)
PHY 2048 - Physics 1 Credits: 3
PHY 2048L - Physics 1 Laboratory Credits: 1
PHY 2049 - Physics 2 Credits: 3
PHY 2049L - Physics 2 Laboratory Credits: 1

Note:

Any student who successfully completes a natural science course for which one of the General Education course options in Natural Sciences is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the Natural Sciences requirement.