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General Education (GE) Requirements

 

The General Education curriculum at Dominican fosters the development of the skills, knowledge, and moral character essential to lifelong learning and a rich, satisfying life by: (1) providing students with essential foundations in the main areas of human knowledge (i.e., sciences, arts, and humanities); (2) engaging them in the persistent practice of logical thinking, persuasive writing, and effective speaking; (3) enhancing their self-understanding as citizens of diverse communities in an ecologically imperiled world; and (4) in light of Dominican's Catholic heritage, offering them the guidance--and freedom--needed for developing their own awareness of the moral and spiritual dimensions of existence.

What are the GE expectations for freshmen at Dominican?

First Year Experience (FYE) (6 units)

Must be taken at Dominican

  • FYE 1000 Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present (3 units, to be taken in the student's first semester): Drawing on disciplines such as biology, sociology, anthropology, geology, economics, political science, astronomy, literature, and more, this course tells the universe story. This places humankind within a universal narrative and promotes an exploration of humans' roles and effects within that narrative. Having exposed students to this grand sweep of natural and human history, this course will end with a look to the future and an overview of the crises our global civilization faces.

  • In their second semester, first-year students choose one 3-unit course from an array of six. These courses examine the common history of human ventures in specific areas of knowledge, creativity, or inquiry, with implications for working together in a global society. It re-examines Big History with a literary eye, a musical eye, or an eye to trade, religion, social order, or art's place in those sweeping tides of human history. These courses too end with a look to the future.

Engl 1004 Expository Writing (3 units)

Must be taken at Dominican and passed with a grade of 'C' or better

Can be waived by the following:

  • SAT Critical Reading score of 600 or higher,
  • ACT English score of 26 or higher, or
  • AP exam score of 4 or 5 in English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition.

Engl 3200 Advanced Writing and Research (3 units)

Must be taken at Dominican and passed with a grade of 'C' or better.

Comm 1200 Elements of Speech (3 units)

Mathematical Thinking and Quantitative Reasoning (3 or 4 units)

  • Math 1400 College Algebra (3),
  • Math 1450 Mathematical Thinking and Quantitative Reasoning (4),
  • Psy 3187 Statistics for the Health and Behavioral Sciences (4)--for Nursing, OT, and Psych majors only,
  • AP exam score of 4 or 5 in Calculus or Statistics, or
  • A passing CLEP exam score in College Mathematics, College Algebra, Pre-calculus, or Calculus.

Social Science (3 units)

  • Bus 1000 Macro-Economics, 
  • Hist 1776 U.S. History: Columbus to Clinton,
  • Pol 1100 Introduction to American Politics,
  • Psy 1100 Introduction to Psychology,
  • SCS 1001 Introduction to Sociology, or
  • SCS 1002 Cultural Anthropology.