General Education Requirements

Ohio University believes that, as an educated person, you need certain intellectual skills in order to participate effectively in society. These include the following:

• The ability to communicate effectively through the written word and the ability to use quantitative or symbolic reasoning.
• Broad knowledge of the major fields of learning.
• A capacity for evaluation and synthesis.

To help you meet these objectives, Ohio University has instituted a three–tiered General Education requirement that all baccalaureate degree students (except those in Honors Tutorial College) must fulfill. Tier I course requirements build your quantitative and English composition skills; Tier II course requirements increase your breadth of knowledge; and the Tier III course requirement develops your ability to interrelate, synthesize, and integrate knowledge from different academic disciplines.

Tier I Requirements

Quantitative Skills. You must demonstrate or acquire an acceptable level of quantitative skills to satisfy graduation requirements. The University uses your ACT or SAT (see chart below) math score to determine your skill level for placement or exemption unless the Tier I quantitative skills requirement has been satisfied by transfer or advanced placement credit. Students in some majors are required to have a math placement regardless of transfer or advanced placement credit in order to meet prerequisite requirements. The choice of the course in which you enroll might depend on your major and math placement and should be discussed with your advisor.

Students without ACT scores, SAT scores, advanced placement, or a transferable math course must take an online math placement test. Direct questions to the placement testing coordinator, University College, 740.593.1935. Regional campus students should contact their student services offices.

Any Ohio University MATH course numbered 109 or above, PHIL 120, PSY 120, or PSY 221 satisfies the Tier I quantitative skills requirement (1M). To enroll in any MATH or other quantitative skills course, you must either place at the specific level required for that course or satisfy the appropriate prerequisites.

Placement levels are:

DV1 (Developmental): Placement at this level indicates inadequate preparation to enroll in a Tier I quantitative skills course. You must complete MATH 101 before enrolling in MATH 102. Students receiving this recommendation who plan to major in an area requiring advanced math (e.g. engineering, or business majors) should discuss their choices with the faculty or professional advisors.

DV2 (Developmental): This level indicates inadequate preparation to enroll in a Tier I quantitative skills course. You must complete MATH 102 before enrolling in a Tier I quantitative skills course.

PL1 (Placement Level 1): Placement at this level indicates preparation for any of the following Tier I–fulfilling courses: MATH 109, 113, 117, 118 (available only at regional campuses and through correspondence), 120 (early childhood, middle childhood, and intervention specialist education majors only), 147, PHIL 120, PSY 120.

PL2 (Placement Level 2): Placement at this level indicates preparation for Level 1 courses as well as these additional Tier I–fulfilling courses: MATH 115 (recommended only for students who plan to enroll in MATH 263A or 266A), 150, 163A, 250, PSY 221.

PL3 (Placement Level 3): Placement at this level demonstrates quantitative skill competence sufficient to fulfill the Tier I quantitative skills requirement. If your major requires that you enroll in a quantitative skills course, placement at Level 3 indicates preparation for MATH 263A (or MATH 266A for natural science majors) and any course in Levels 1 or 2.

English Composition. A first–year composition course and an advanced junior–level composition course are required. Any English 151, 151A, 152, 153, 153A, or 153B will satisfy the University’s General Education first–year writing requirement (1E). These courses are alternative, not sequential, courses in writing. You should select your course by looking at the descriptions and choosing the one that appeals to you. (All regional campus students are given a placement test.)

In your junior year, you must take an approved advanced writing course unless you demonstrate advanced writing proficiency by passing the junior–level exemption exam. The following courses fulfill the junior–level composition requirement:

Art 300J

Business Administration 325J

Classics and World Religions 385J

Communication, Introduction to Professional 325J

Economics 310J

Engineering and Technology 385J

English 305J, 306J, 307J, 308J, 309J, 384J

Environmental and Plant Biology 418J

Film 344J

Health Sciences – Health 370J

History 301J, 396J

Human and Consumer Sciences — General Education 345J

Industrial Technology 370J

Interdisciplinary Arts 360J

Journalism 441J

Modern Languages 321J, 370J

Political Science 305J

Recreation and Sport Sciences — Recreation 370J

Social Work 370J

These courses are marked in this catalog with the designation (1J) as the general education code.

If you are a transfer student, your requirements are determined by when you enroll and the number and type of credit hours transferred.

Tier II Requirements

You are required to complete a total of 32 credit hours from an approved list of courses in the following six distribution areas:

Applied Science and Mathematics (2AS)
Cross–Cultural Perspectives (2CP)
Fine Arts (2FA)
Humanities and Literature (2HL)
Natural Sciences (2NS)
Social Sciences (2SS)

You are required to take at least three credit hours in each of the six areas and may satisfy no more than two of the required six areas with courses from the same department/school. You may satisfy no more than 12 of the 32 hours with courses from the same department/school.

You may apply no more than two approved Tier II courses in your major department/school or area of concentration (for B.S.S. students) toward partial fulfillment of the Tier II requirement.

Approved courses are marked in the Course Descriptions section with 2AS, 2CP, 2FA, 2HL, 2NS, or 2SS as the general education code. The following courses fulfill the Tier II breadth of knowledge requirement:

Applied Science and Mathematics (2AS)

Biological Sciences 205, 220, 221, 222, 225, 235

Chemical Engineering 231

Chemistry and Biochemistry 101

Computer Science 230

Electrical Engineering 101

Engineering and Technology 280, 320, 350, 470

Environmental and Plant Biology 103, 160

Environmental Health 260

Geography 201, 260, 268

Geological Sciences 135, 170, 215, 231

Health Sciences 202

Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences 108

Human and Consumer Sciences–Food and Nutrition 128

Industrial and Systems Engineering 200

Industrial Technology 110

Information and Telecommunication Systems 101, 201

Mathematics 163AB, 263ABC, 266AB

Mechanical Engineering 100

Physical Science 135

Cross–Cultural Perspectives (2CP)

Anthropology 101, 202

Art History 214, 330, 331

Classics and World Religions 311, 321, 331

Dance 351, 451

English 331, 332, 333

Foreign Languages and Literatures

Arabic 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Chinese 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

French 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

German 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Greek 111, 112, 113

Indonesian/Malaysian 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Italian 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Japanese 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213, 252, 253

Japanese Culture 250

Latin, 111, 112, 113

Russian 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Spanish 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213, 349

Swahili 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213

Geography 131

History 132, 133, 246, 323ABC, 337C, 341ABC, 345ABC

International Studies 103, 113, 118, 121

Music 121

Political Science 340

Fine Arts (2FA)

Art 110

Art History 211, 212, 213

Dance 170, 171, 270, 271, 471, 472, 473, 474, 476

Film 201, 202

Fine Arts 150

Human and Consumer Sciences — Interior Architecture 185

Interdisciplinary Arts 117, 118, 211, 212, 213, 270, 271, 272

Music 100, 120, 124, 125

Theater 113, 151, 170, 171, 172, 270, 271, 272

Humanities and Literature (2HL)

African American Studies 110, 150, 210, 211, 250, 350

Classics and World Religions 181, 222, 301, 302

College of Arts and Sciences 111, 112

Communication Studies 101

English 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 250

Film 203

Foreign Languages and Literatures

Classics in English 127, 231, 234, 235, 236, 237, 252, 253, 254, 255

Greek 211, 212, 213

International Literature: Modern Languages 335A–Z, 336A–Z, 337A–Z, 338A–Z

Latin 211, 212, 213

History 121, 122, 122A, 123

Human and Consumer Sciences — Interior Architecture 391

Humanities 107, 108, 109, 117

Philosophy 101, 130, 216, 232, 240, 260, 310, 311, 312, 314

Visual Communication 140

Women’s and Gender Studies 100

Natural Sciences (2NS)

Anthropology 201

Astronomy 100, 100BD, 140

Biological Sciences 100, 103, 130, 131, 170, 171, 172, 173, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 210, 275, 385

Biology 101

Chemistry and Biochemistry 121, 122, 123, 151, 152, 153

Environmental and Plant Biology 100, 100L, 102, 109, 111, 114, 115, 209

Geography 101, 202

Geological Sciences 101, 120, 130, 208, 211, 221

Physical Science 100, 100D, 101, 101L, 105, 105L, 121, 121L, 122, 122L, 123, 123L, 131, 140, 200, 205

Physics 201, 202, 203, 251, 252, 253, 262

Social Sciences (2SS)

African American Studies 101, 202

Classical Archaeology 211, 212, 213

College of Arts and Sciences 113

Communication Studies 351, 352, 353

Economics 103, 104, 105, 106, 240

Geography 121, 132

History 101, 102, 103, 200, 201, 315A

Human and Consumer Sciences—Child and Family Studies 160

Human and Consumer Sciences—Retail Merchandising 250

Journalism 105

Linguistics 270

Management 202

Media Arts and Studies 105

Political Science 101, 102, 103, 150, 210, 230, 250, 270, 331

Psychology 101

Social Work 102

Sociology 101, 201

Tier III Requirement

You are required to complete at least 4 hours in Tier III or Tier III–equivalent course(s). At least 2 of the 4 hours must be taken at senior rank (135 hours). This catalog contains a complete list of Tier III and equivalent courses, available by going to course descriptions and searching for the keyword “T3”. Approved courses are marked in the Course Descriptions section with T3 as the general education code. You may fulfill this requirement by taking at least 4 hours in Tier III–equivalent course(s) in your major; you should see your major advisor for information as to whether your discipline offers such a course or courses.