General Education Requirements for Bachelor's DegreesTo earn a bachelor's degree in a program administered by the School of Biological Sciences, students must satisfy requirements in each of the areas listed below:
A. Communicating (9 credit hours)To develop students' effective use of the English language and quantitative and other symbolic systems essential to their success in school and in the world. Students should be able to read and listen critically, and to write and speak with thoughtfulness, clarity, coherence and persuasiveness.
B. Higher Order Thinking, Managing Information, and Valuing (6 credit hours)To develop students' ability to distinguish among opinions, facts, and inferences; to identify underlying or implicit assumptions; to make informed judgments; and to solve problems by applying evaluative standards. To develop students' abilities to locate, organize, store, retrieve, evaluate, synthesize, and annotate information from print, electronic, and other sources in preparation for solving problems and making informed decisions. To develop students' abilities to understand the moral and ethical values of a diverse society and to understand that many courses of action are guided by value judgments about the way things ought to be. Students should be able to make informed decisions through identifying personal values and the values of others and through understanding how such values develop. They should be able to analyze the ethical implications of choices made on the basis of these values. Students must successfully complete 6 hours from at least two different fields, chosen from the following list:
C. Social and Behavioral Sciences (9 credit hours)To develop students' understanding of themselves and the world around them through study of content and the processes used by historians and social and behavioral scientists to discover, describe, explain and predict human behavior and social systems. Students must understand the diversities and complexities of the cultural and social world, past and present, and come to an informed sense of self and others. (Students must fulfill the state statute requirements for the United States and Missouri constitutions.)
D. Humanities and Fine Arts (6 credit hours)To develop students' understanding of the ways in which humans have addressed their condition through imaginative work in the humanities and fine arts; to deepen their understanding of how that imaginative process is informed and limited by social, cultural, linguistic, and historical circumstances; and to appreciate the world of the creative imagination as a form of knowledge.
E. Mathematics (3 credit hours)To develop students' understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts and applications. Students should develop a level of quantitative literacy that would enable them to make decisions and solve problems, and which could serve as a basis for continued learning. (The mathematics requirement for general education should have the same prerequisite(s) and level of rigor as college algebra.)
F. Life and Physical Sciences (8 credit hours)To develop students' understanding of the principles and laboratory procedures of life and physical sciences and to cultivate their abilities to apply the empirical methods of scientific inquiry. Students should understand how scientific discovery changes theoretical views of the world, informs our imaginations, and shapes human history. Students should also understand that science is shaped by historical and social contexts.
G. Total Credit HoursIn addition to the specific area requirements listed above, students must meet other University graduation requirements including, but not limited to, 120 total credit hours, 60 credit hours from a four-year institution if coursework is transferred from a non-Missouri institution, unless described otherwise in a specific articulation agreement with the School of Biological Sciences; 36 junior/senior level credit hours, taking the Test of General Education and the MFAT, residency requirements, minimum GPA standards, and other requirements that may be specified. |
UMKC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution; Part of the University of Missouri System; Reporting Possible Copyright Infringement.
