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 and solve problems, interpret the solution to reach a valid conclusion, and correctly use the language of mathematics to describe relationships or patterns.
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 laboratory activity/process skills, recognize the limitations of science, and apply quantitative analysis in the investigation of relevant natural science issues.
- 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 Curriculum Area |
Core Outcome |
Credits |
First Year Seminar |
Basic Skills |
1-3 |
Written Communication |
Basic Skills |
6-7 |
Oral Communication |
Basic Skills |
3 |
Mathematics |
Basic Skills |
3-4 |
Humanties |
Critical Thinking |
3 |
Fine Arts |
Critical Thinking |
2-3 |
Natural Science |
Critical Thinking |
4-5 |
Social Science |
Critical Thinking |
3 |
Citizenship |
Personal Development |
3 |
Global Awareness, Fitness & Wellbeing, or Technology |
Personal Development |
2-3 |
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 (Program Requirement)
HONR 1100 Honors Seminar
NURS 1025 Introduction to Nursing (Program requirement)
SOAR 1100 First Year Seminar
Written Communication (6-7 credits)
Complete 6-7 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)
Fundamental Concepts of Math with Support
MATH 1410 Applied Mathematics I-Enhanced
Fundamental Concepts of Math
College Algebra with Support
College Algebra
Trigonometry & Elem Functions
Calculus I
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 (2-3 credits)
Art Appreciation
ART 1141 Design II: 3D
MUSI 1106 Guitar Class
Music Appreciation
MUSI 1167 Collegiate Singers
MUSI 1168 Marching Band
MUSI 1169 Wind Ensemble
MUSI 2247 Jazz Ensemble
MUSI 2277 Chamber Choir
MUSI 2279 Advanced Percussion Ensemble
Theatre Appreciation
Natural Science with Critical Thinking (4-5 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
Principles of Criminal Law
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.
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