Dec 14, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

2022-2023 Undergraduate Core Curriculum


 

The General Education Core Curriculum was established to serve the long-term educational needs of ULM students; it provides students with broad-based knowledge and transferrable skills applicable to all majors and careers, teaches students to understand and value learning, and encourages students to recognize their ability to affect change in their communities and a diverse world. To these ends, courses have been selected for inclusion in the Core Curriculum based on their development of competencies in at least three of five learning domains identified by the University:
 
  • Quantitative literacy and scientific reasoning (applying mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills; supporting arguments with quantitative evidence; understanding and applying statistical information; understanding the scientific method, laboratory techniques, and experimental design)
  • Communication (creating written, oral, and visual presentations of ideas to inform or persuade using text, data, and/or images as appropriate to audience and purpose)
  • Critical thinking (recognizing ambiguity, exploring assumptions, and understanding context to create a reasoned, logical analysis)
  • Independent and collaborative problem-solving (demonstrating personal effectiveness skills including managing time and resources, focusing through distractions, and contributing positively to team efforts where applicable)
  • Civic and ethical awareness (considering multiple perspectives and beliefs; evaluating various consequences of actions; and understanding the individual’s role as a member of local, national, and global societies)
 
This strong educational foundation was adapted from and adheres to the Louisiana Board of Regents Statewide General Education Requirements, which stipulate that a minimum of 39 hours of credit in certain areas of English composition, mathematics, the natural sciences, the humanities, the fine arts, the social/behavioral sciences, and computer literacy must be earned by students pursuing a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts), B.S. (Bachelor of Science), or a Bachelor’s (non-designated) degree. (A complete list of the Louisiana Board of Regents Statewide General Education Requirements can be found here). ULM’s Core Curriculum ensures that undergraduate students will be intellectually well-equipped to complete their chosen programs of study, as well as to find a meaningful place in today’s integrated world.
 

ULM Common Core Curriculum

Foundation Courses

It is imperative that undergraduate students entering ULM are provided with a strong academic foundation upon which to build their future college careers. Ultimately, this structure, which follows many national trends, brings a much needed breadth and commonality to the ULM academic experience and makes it easier for students to transfer between majors.

  1. UNIVERSITY SEMINAR - UNIV 1001  (1 hour)
  1. ENGLISH COMPOSITION - 6 hours
    ENGL 1001 - Composition I    
    ENGL 1002 - Composition II  
    ENGL 1010 - Honors Composition  *

    *Participants in the ULM Honors Program will take ENGL 1010  in place of ENGL 1002 
  1. MATHEMATICS - 6 hours​ 

*Note: Students with a MATH ACT score of 16-18 must concurrently enroll in the corresponding recitation course. (MATH 1007 & MATH 1002); (MATH 1009 & MATH 1000); (MATH 1011 & MATH 1001)

IV. NATURAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCES - 9 hours

*Six hours must be from a single subject area of biological or physical science. Three hours must be from the other area (i.e., both physical and biological sciences must be taken). Students may receive credit toward degree in only one of PHYS 1001, PHYS 2003, and PHYS 2007.

PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Atmospheric Sciences
ATMS 1001 - Introduction to the Atmosphere  
ATMS 1002 - Introduction to Severe Weather  
ATMS 1006 - Introduction to Climate Change  

Chemistry
CHEM 1001 - Introductory Chemistry I  
CHEM 1002 - Introductory Chemistry II  

CHEM 1007 - General Chemistry I  
CHEM 1008 - General Chemistry II  
CHEM 1050 - Integrated Chemistry for Education Majors  

Geosciences
GEOS 1001 - Earth Science   
GEOS 1002 - Natural Disasters and Hazards   
GEOS 1050 - Integrated Geosciences for Education Majors   
GEOS 2001 - Environmental Science   
GEOS 2080 - Oceanography   

Physics

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Biology
BIOL 1001 - The Living World  
BIOL 1010 - Human Biology  

BIOL 1014 - Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology I  
BIOL 1015 - Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology II  

BIOL 1020 - Principles of Biology I  
BIOL 1022 - Principles of Biology II  

 
  1. HUMANITIES - 9 hours
    At least 3 hours must be a Literature course in the discipline of English. Acceptable Literature courses are identified in the list below with an asterisk(*).

Chinese
CHIN 1001 - Elementary Chinese  
CHIN 1002 - Elementary Chinese  

Communication
COMM 1001 - Fundamentals of Communication  
COMM 1010 - Honors Communication Studies  
COMM 1018 - Interpersonal Communication  
COMM 2001 - Public Speaking  
COMM 2060 - Small Group Communication  

French
FRNH 1001 - Elementary French I  
FRNH 1002 - Elementary French II  
FRNH 1003 - French Study Abroad  
FRNH 1005 - Elementary French I and II  
FRNH 2001 - Intermediate French I  
FRNH 2002 - Intermediate French II  

History
 
 
VI.     FINE ARTS - 3 hours
Students must take one 3 hour fine arts course to fulfill this requirement.
 
Art
 
Arts
 
Dance
 
Music
 
Theatre

VII.  SOCIAL/BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - 6 hours
       Students must take at least three hours of social/behavioral sciences at the 2000 level or above. These courses are indicated with an asterisk(*) in the list below.
 

Economics
 

 

 

Core Curriculum Guidelines

  1. The student’s work in a major or minor may count toward meeting the University Core.
  2. Transfer students can apply equivalent hours earned at other universities to meet ULM core requirements (equivalency to be determined by the appropriate department head and the Board of Regents’ Statewide Student Transfer Guide and General Education Articulation Matrix).
  3. All freshman students are required to take the University Seminar for one credit hour (the course will not count toward any degree program and will be nontransferable).
  4. In the absence of a compelling reason, degree programs should refrain from defining or limiting student choices within the menu of prescribed general education courses.

Core Curriculum Abbreviations Used in Degree Plans or Programs of Study

Some degree plans specified that certain courses must be taken from within a menu of the sets of courses in the core curriculum. For those that did so, first the specific course will be listed in the degree plan, followed by the appropriate abbreviation which indicates which requirement is being fulfilled by the specified required core curriculum course. For example, if MATH 1013  and MATH 1031  must be taken by Computer Science majors, then the requirement will be listed as “MATH 1013 cm, MATH 1031 cm”. The core curriculum abbreviations which have been used are as follows:

  ce Core English Composition
  ch Core Humanities
  cf Core Fine Arts
  cm Core Mathematics
  cnp Core Natural/Physical Science
  cs Core Social Science