Core Curriculum

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The Fairmont State core curriculum ensures that students possess a wide range of skills and knowledge to enhance their lives after graduation. The knowledge, skills, and abilities obtained through the core curriculum transcend specific disciplines and are valued by employers at all levels and by society in general. Fairmont State supports a core curriculum so that our students appreciate the diversity of disciplines as they discover possibilities in their interdependence. The skills and knowledge obtained by completing core curriculum courses provide students with the necessary tools to be productive employees, leaders, and citizens. The categories were designed to incorporate the foundational knowledge and skills that have enduring societal value and to prepare students to survive and thrive in a complex, diverse, and dramatically changing world. A large portion of the skills and knowledge Fairmont State expects its students to have when they graduate comes from core curriculum courses.

Learning Outcomes

Basic Skills

• First Year Seminar: Apply academic tools, utilize campus resources, and actively participate in order to successfully transition into and through the first year of college.
• Written Communication: Read critically and reflectively, and be able to use writing to communicate effectively with an audience.
• Oral Communication: Demonstrate communication skills in argument and reasoning, the analysis and use of evidence, persuasion, and oral presentations.
• Mathematics: Use appropriate symbolic manipulation skills and problem-solving methods to model problems and reach logical conclusions, and correctly use the language of mathematics to communicate conclusions and solutions.

Critical Reasoning in the Disciplines

• Humanities: Understand the basic elements of the humanities and the role that language, literature, and/or history plays in their daily lives.
• Fine Arts: Demonstrate the ability to analyze or interpret works of fine art using the language of criticism relevant to the form of study or to create works of fine art using the appropriate processes.
• Natural Science: Demonstrate proficiency with scientific content and data analysis to address real world problems, and recognize the limitations of the scientific process.
• Social Science: Apply concepts and prevailing theories within the social and behavioral sciences.

Personal Development

• Citizenship: Explain the responsibilities of citizens, how to participate in the democratic process, and how to contribute to civil society.
• Global Awareness: Develop the awareness and knowledge to understand the complexity of intercultural connections and to live and work in a global society.
• Fitness and Wellbeing: Identify the behaviors and skills that lead to physical and psychological health and well-being.
• Technology: Demonstrate technology skills that will help them in problem solving or decision making.

Fairmont State Core Requirements

The Fairmont State Core Curriculum is a minimum of 30 credits and satisfies the Higher Learning Commission minimum credit requirements for a general education core. Some departments and/or programs may have additional requirements to meet their respective accreditation standards.

Core Course Menu

Students should choose courses to fulfill categories by using DegreeWorks in concert with program requirements and course prerequisites. Students are encouraged to ALWAYS check with their assigned advisor before registering for courses. 

First Year Seminar (1-3 credits)

BSBA 1100     Business On-boarding

HONR 1100    Honors Seminar

NURS 1025   Introduction to Nursing

SOAR 1100    First Year Seminar

Written Communication (6 credits)
Complete 6 hours of Written English with a grade of “C” or higher.

ENGL 1101   Written English I

ENGL 1102  Written English II

ENGL 1103  Technical Report Writing

Oral Communication (3 credits)

COMM 2200  Introduction to Human Communication

COMM 2201  Introduction to Group Discussion

COMM 2202   Introduction to Communication in the World of Work

Mathematics (3-4 credits)

Humanities with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

ENGL 2220  World Literature I: Origins to 1650

ENGL 2221  World Literature II: 1650 to the Present

ENGL 2240  Introduction to Literature: Prose, Poetry, and Drama

FOLK 2200    Introduction to Folklore

HIST 2211     World Civilization I

HIST 2212     World Civilization II

HIST 2213     World Civilization III

PHIL 2200     Introduction to Philosophy

PHIL 2250     Great Philosophers

PHIL 2275    Intro to Logic & Critical Reasoning

Fine Arts with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

ART 1141   Design II: 3D

MUSI 2279     Advanced Percussion Ensemble

Natural Science with Critical Thinking (3-5 credits)

BIOL 1104    Biosphere

BIOL 1105    Biological Principles I

BIOL 1106    Biological Principles II

BIOL 1180   & BIOL 1181    Human Anatomy and Physiology I

CHEM 1101   General Chemistry I

CHEM 1105   Chemical Principles

GEOL 1101   Physical Geology I 

GEOL 1102   Historical Geology

PHYS 1101   Introduction to Physics I

PHYS 1105   Principles of Physics I

SCIE 1100    Human Biology

SCIE 1103    Science that Matters

SCIE 1105   Environmental Science

SCIE 1107   Geographic Information Systems

SCIE 1115    Earth and Sky

SCIE 1120   Introduction to Meteorology

SCIE 1130   The Science of Disasters

SCIE 1210   Science in the heart of Appalachia

SCIE 1250   Life in The Cosmos

SCIE 2200   Ocean Issues & Society

Social Science with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

BSBA 2200   Economics

BSBA 2211   Principles of Macroeconomics

CRIM 1100   Introduction to Criminal Justice

GEOG 2210   Introduction to Geography

MANF 2205   Engineering Economy

POLI 2200   Introduction to Political Science

PSYC 1101   Introduction to Psychology

SOCY 1110   Introductory Sociology

SOCY 2205   Principles of Race, Class, and Gender

TECH 1100   Technology and Society

Citizenship (3 credits)

HIST 1107    US History I

HIST 1108    US History II

POLI 1100    American Government

RECR 1141    Foundations of Outdoor Recreation

Global Awareness, Fitness & Wellbeing, or Technology (2-3 credits)

Global Awareness

FREN 2202    Intermediate French II

SPAN 2202    Intermediate Spanish II

LANG 1110   Introduction to Global Perspectives

POLI 2210    Principles of International Relations

POLI 2220    Comparative Government

Fitness & Wellbeing

CRIM 2212    Deviant Behavior

CHEP 1100  Health Promotion

CHEP 1110  Nutrition & Health Promotion

HLTA 1100    Personal Health

HLTA 2203    Contemporary Drug and Behavior Issues

NUTR 1110   Nutrition  

PHED 1100    Fitness and Wellness

Technology

ART 2245    E. Foundations

BISM 1200   Introduction to Computing

CIVL 2210    Light Construction

EDUC 2201    Instructional Technology

MATH 1550    Applied Statistics

MANF 2250    Total Quality & SPC

MUSM 1100    Introduction to Museums

TECH 1101    Introduction to Technology

Core Policies

Core Curriculum Credit Hours

Students must complete a minimum of 30 hours in the core curriculum program for bachelor’s degrees. Students are responsible for all course pre-requisites.

English Grade Requirements

Students must complete 6 hours of Written English (ENGL 1101 and ENG 1102 OR 1103) with a grade of “C” or higher as a graduation requirement for all degrees.