General Education Curriculum

Develop Breadth in General Education Courses

General education courses in the Charlotte Core introduce students to the competencies in different disciplinary contexts and provide opportunities to practice them. This provides students with breadth.

Students are introduced to the communication, critical thinking, engagement across perspectives, and quantitative/data competencies in select general education courses and practice them in others so that each competency appears in at least two general education courses. This ensures that responsibility for teaching the competencies is shared throughout the curriculum.

While general education courses will emphasize particular competencies to ensure students are explicitly taught each, all four competencies can be in any course, and courses are not limited to only these competencies. The overall goal is to make the teaching and learning of the Charlotte Core competencies intentional and visible across the general education curriculum.

General Education Requirements

Beginning Fall 2023, the general education curriculum requires students to complete ten (10) courses (31-32 credits total). Students admitted prior to Fall 2023 should consult the Undergraduate University Catalog for their catalog year to view their general education requirements.

First-Year Writing (3 or 4 Credits)
Students will be explicitly introduced to and taught the communication competency and practice the critical thinking competency in their first-year writing course.

Critical Thinking and Communication (3 Credits)
Students will be explicitly introduced to and taught the critical thinking competency and practice the communication competency in CTCM 2530.

Quantitative and Data (6 Credits)
Students will be explicitly introduced to and taught the quantitative/data competency and practice the critical thinking competency in their math, statistics, and/or deductive reasoning courses.

Natural Sciences (7-8 credits)
Students will practice the quantitative/data and critical thinking competencies in their science courses.

Themes (12 credits)
Students will be explicitly introduced to and taught the engagement across perspectives competency and practice the critical thinking competency in their two Global (1501 and 1502) and two Local (1511 and 1512) Theme courses.