General Education Requirements for BA/BS Students

The General Education Program was put into effect starting in Fall 2020 for all new first-year and transfer students.

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General Education Requirements:

FOUNDATIONS

DESCRIPTION 

First-Year Seminar One course designated as a first-year seminar.
Written Communication Three courses designated Writing Intensive.
Oral Communication One course designated Speaking Intensive.
Language Intermediate competency in a second language, defined as the completion of any 201 language course. (Other options for satisfying this requirement can be found below this chart).

METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

DESCRIPTION

Arts and Literature One course focusing on visual art, performing art, and/or literature.
Humanities One course in the humanities (includes history).
Natural Science One course in the natural sciences that includes a laboratory.
Quantitative Reasoning  One course focusing on quantitative information.
Social Science One course in the social sciences.
Two additional courses from two different Methods of Investigation. A non-lab Natural Science course may apply.

*** No transfer credit from any institution or UMW courses that were taken at UMW prior to the Fall 2020 semester may be used to fulfill the Digital Intensive, Diverse & Global Perspectives, and After Mary Washington requirements. ***

CONNECTIONS

DESCRIPTION

Digital Intensive  One across-the-curriculum course designated Digital Intensive.
Diverse and Global Perspectives One across-the-curriculum course focusing on diverse and/or global communities.
Beyond the Classroom One faculty supervised experience involving a significant experiential learning component designed to challenge students to go outside of the bounds of the typical classroom.
After Mary Washington One experience focused on translating the liberal arts for life after Mary Washington.
Writing in the Major All students are required to complete one additional course designated Writing Intensive in their major(s).
Speaking in the Major All students are required to complete one additional course designated Speaking Intensive in their major(s).

 

Intermediate competency in a second language may be demonstrated by: (1) completion of 201 or higher in a language including ASL; (2) completion of a Level IV course in high school as verified by high school transcript; (3) a score of 620 or higher on any language SAT II subject test; (4) a score of 3 or higher on any modern language or language and literature AP Exam or a score of 4 or higher on a Latin AP Exam; (5) a score of 5 or higher on any group 2 (second language) higher-level IB Exam [Additional scores on HL and SL IB exams may also satisfy the requirement. Check the equivalency chart carefully.]; (6) a passing score on the University of Mary Washington language competency exam; (7) a rating of “Intermediate” on the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI); (8) the submission of pertinent documents which verify that a student has had a high school education conducted in a language other than English or has lived extensively in and become fluent in the language of a non-English speaking country; or (9) a rating equivalent to “Intermediate-Low Competency” on the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale on an approved third-party exam. Students are responsible for the payment of all required testing fees.