Mar 19, 2024  
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2019-20 
    
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2019-20 [Archived Catalog]

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 requisite requirements. The choice of the course in which you should enroll, if any, depends on your major, catalog of entry, and math placement, and it should be discussed with your academic advisor.

Athens Campus and eCampus students without ACT scores, SAT scores, advanced placement, or a transferable math course must take a math placement test which is available through the ALEKS placement system. Athens Campus and eCampus students who would benefit academically from beginning in a higher math class than their original placement indicates are also welcome to use the ALEKS placement system. Athens Campus and eCampus students should direct questions to the Mathematics Department   at 740.593.1254. Regional and eCampus students should contact their student services offices for math placement information.

Math Placement Level Minimum ACT Math Score Needed Minimum SAT Math Score Needed (Test taken before March 2016) Minimum SAT Math Score Needed (Test taken March 2016 or later)
DV 0 0 0
PL1 20 480 510
PL2 24 560 570
PL3 30 680 690

To enroll in any mathematics (MATH) or other quantitative skills course, you must either place at the specific level required for that course or satisfy the appropriate requisites.

Placement levels are:

DV (Developmental): Placement at this level indicates the need for further preparation before enrolling in a Tier I quantitative skills course. You must complete MATH D004  or MATH D005  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 1060 1090 1101   or 1102  (certain education majors only), 1200 , 1250 , 1260 , 1321 , PHIL 1200 POLS 2800 ,  PSY 1110 .

Note: Students who need MATH 1350  (Survey of Calculus) should enroll first in MATH 1200  and then take MATH 1350 . Students who need MATH 2301  should begin with MATH 1350  (B or better) or 1300  (C or better) or 1322  (C or better) and then MATH 2301 . Students cannot earn credit for both MATH 1350  and 2301 .

PL2 (Placement Level 2): Placement at this level indicates preparation for Level 1 courses as well as these additional Tier I–fulfilling courses: MATH 1300 , 1322 , 1350 , 2500 , PSY 2110 .

Note: MATH 1300  is the requisite course for MATH 2301 . MATH 1300  is not recommended unless you plan on enrolling in MATH 2301 . Students cannot earn credit for both MATH 1350  and 2301  .

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 2301  and any course in Level 1 or 2. A Level 3 placement does not guarantee a waiver of college or major requirements in mathematics. Contact your college student services office to see if a college waiver is in effect for your major.

English Composition. A first–year composition course and an advanced junior–level composition course are required. Either ENG 1510  or 1610  (for non-native English speakers only) will satisfy the University’s General Education first–year writing requirement (1E).

You can complete the university’s junior-level composition requirement by passing an approved junior composition (J) course, by passing two junior composition equivalency (JE) courses within your program of study, or by passing one JE course within your program of study and one JE course outside your program of study, as approved by your department or school. You may use two JE courses outside your program of study, providing both courses are approved by your department or school. You may also demonstrate advanced writing proficiency by passing the junior–level exemption exam.

The following courses fulfill the junior–level composition requirement and are marked in this catalog with the designation (1J) as the general education code:

Art: ART 3000J  

Aviation: AVN 3250J  

Classics and World Religions: CLWR 3850J  

Communication Studies: COMM 3260J  

Economics: ECON 3100J  

Education - Honors Program: EDHP 3930J  

English:ENG 3030J 3050J , 3060J , 3070J , 3080J , 3090J , 3100J  

Engineering and Technology: ET 3800J  

Engineering Technology and Management: ETM 3700J  

Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 4180J , 4181J  

Film: FILM 3440J  

Geological Sciences: GEOL 3092J  

Honors College: HC 3000J  

History: HIST 3111J  

Health: HLTH 3400J  

Human and Consumer Sciences: CONS 3450J  

Interdisciplinary Arts: IART 3600J  

Interdisciplinary Health Studies: IHS 3700J  

Journalism: JOUR 4410J  

Management: 4800J  

Modern Language: ML 3210J , 3270J , 3280J  

Nursing, Baccalaureate Program: NRSE 3700J  

Philosophy: PHIL 3010J  

Political Science: POLS 3050J  

Professional Communication: PRCM 3250J  

Recreation: REC 3700J  

Science in Applied Management: SAM 3250J  

Sociology: SOC 3560J  

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: WGSS 3810J  

The following courses are eligible to help fulfill the junior-level composition requirement as JE courses and are marked in this catalog with the designation (1JE) as the general education code:

Civil Engineering: CE 4001 , 4280  

Chemical Engineering: CHE 2010 , 4110  

Communication Studies: COMS 3400 , 3500 , 3600  

Education - Early Childhood: EDEC 3120 4200  

Geography: GEOG 4560  

Geological Sciences: GEOL 3500 , 4460 , 4520 4660  

Industrial and Systems Engineering: ISE 2100 , 3340  

Journalism: JOUR 3310 3500 , 3630 , 3700 , 4650   4700  

Mechanical Engineering: ME 3510 , 4880  

Media Arts and Studies: MDIA 3110 , 3201 , 3202 , 4201  

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 21 credit hours from an approved list of courses in the following six distribution areas:

 
 
 
 
 
  
 

You are required to take at least two 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 8 of the 21 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)

Athletic Training: AT 1001 3690 , 3693  

Biological Sciences: BIOS 2050 , 2200 , 2210 , 2225  , 2250 , 2350  

Chemistry and Biochemistry: CHEM 1010  

College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 2405  

Computer Science: CS 2300  

Communication Sciences and Disorders: CSD 1080  

Communication Studies: COMM 1200  

Electrical Engineering: EE 1014  

Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 1030 , 2010 2050 , 2060 , 2140 , 2180 , 3140  

Environmental Health: EH 2000  

Engineering and Technology: ET 2300 , 2800  

Engineering Technology and Management: ETM 1100  

Exercise Physiology: EXPH 1001  

Geography: GEOG 2400 2680  

Geological Sciences: GEOL 1350 , 1700 , 2150 2170 , 2310  

Health Sciences - Health: HLTH 2000 , 2020 2020C   

Industrial and Systems Engineering: ISE 1100 , 3040  

Information and Telecommunication Systems: ITS 1010 , 2010  

Mathematics: MATH 1350 , 2301 , 2302  

Nursing: NRSE 2420  

Nutrition: NUTR 1000 , 1100  

Physical Science: PSC 1350  

Cross-Cultural Perspectives (2CP)

Anthropology: ANTH 1010 , 2020 3590  

Art: ART 2501  

Art History: AH 2130 , 3310 , 3400  

Classical Archeology: CLAR 1110  

Classics and World Religions: CLWR 2300 3330 , 3340 , 3350 3470 3480  

Classics in English: CLAS 2510  

College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 2410  

Communication Studies: COMS 1100 1100C   

Dance: DANC 4550  

Education - Critical Studies: EDCS 1011  

Education - Early Childhood: EDEC 2600  

Education - Teacher Education: EDTE 2500  

English: ENG 3310 , 3320  

English Language Improvement: ELIP 1300  

Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 2170  

Foreign Languages and Literatures:

Arabic: ARAB 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Chinese: CHIN 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

French: FR 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

German: GER 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Greek: GK 1110 , 1120  

Hindi-Urdu: HIND 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Indonesian Malaysian: INDO 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Italian: ITAL 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Japanese: JPN 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Japanese Culture: JPC 2500  

Khmer: KHMR 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Kikuyu:KIKU 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Latin: LAT 1110 , 1120  

Malay: MALA 1120 , 3110 , 3120 , 3930  

Portuguese: PORT 3110 , 3120 , 3180 , 3190  

Russian: RUS 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Setswana: SETS 1110  

Somali: SOMA 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Spanish: SPAN 2110 , 2120 , 3349  

Sudanese: SUDN 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Swahili: SWAH 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Thai: THAI 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120 , 3110 , 3120  

Twi: AKAN 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Vietnamese: VIET 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Wolof: WOL 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Zulu: ZULU 1110 , 1120 , 2110 , 2120  

Geography: GEOG 1310  

History: HIST 1222 , 1320 , 1330 2270 2460 , 2540 , 3230 , 3231 3293 3410 , 3411 , 3450 , 3451 , 3452 , 3520  

Humanities: HUM 2170  

Interdisciplinary Health Studies: IHS 2190 2210 2220 ,2230 , 2235 3010  

International Literature - Linguistics: ILL 3890  

International Studies: INST 1100 1114 , 1400 , 1600 2222C  

Law Enforcement Technology: LET 2600  

Linguistics: LING 2750  

Management: MGT 2640 3600  

Media Arts and Studies: MDIA 3175  

Modern Languages: ML 2300 2400  

Music: MUS 1210  

Physical Education Teacher Education: PETE 2000  

Political Science: POLS 4400  

Retail Merchandising and Fashion Product Development: RFPD 1100  

Restaurant, Hotel and Tourism: RHT 1200  

Fine Arts (2FA)

Art: ART 1100 , 1120 , 1600  

Art History: AH 2110 , 2120  

Dance: DANC 1700 , 2700 , 2710 , 3550 , 4710 , 4711 , 4750  

Fine Arts: FAR 1500  

Film: FILM 2010 , 2020  

Interdisciplinary Arts: IART 1170  , 1180  

Interdisciplinary Health Studies: IHS 2290  

Media Arts and Studies: MDIA 2701  

Music: MUS 1000 , 1200 , 1240 , 1250 3625  

Theater: THAR 1130 , 1710 , 1720 , 1730 , 2140C , 2710 , 2711  

Humanities and Literature (2HL)

African American Studies: AAS 1100 , 1500 , 2100 , 2110 , 2500 , 3500  

College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 1110 , 1120  

Classical Archaeology: CLAR 3660  

Classics and World Religions: CLWR 1810 , 2210 , 2220 2230 , 3310 , 3320  

Classics in English: CLAS 2300 2310 2340 , 2360 , 2520 2530 2540 2550  

Communication Studies: COMS 1010 , 1030  

English: ENG 1600 , 2010 , 2020 , 2820 , 3350 , 3570 3850  

Film: FILM 2030  

Foreign Languages and Literatures:

Greek: GK 2110 , 2120  

International Literature - Modern Languages: ILML 2901 , 2902 , 2903 , 2904 , 2905 , 2906 2907  

Latin: LAT 2110 , 2120  

History: HIST 1210 , 1220 2530  

Humanities: HUM 2070 , 2080  

Interdisciplinary Health Studies: IHS 2215 3600   

Jewish Studies: JS 1000 , 2100  

Modern Languages: ML 2338  

Philosophy: PHIL 1010 , 1300 , 2160 , 2320 , 2400 , 2600 , 3100 , 3110 , 3120 , 3140  

Visual Communication: VICO 1000  

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: WGSS 1000 2800  

Natural Sciences (2NS)

Anthropology: ANTH 2010 , 3600  

Astronomy: ASTR 1000 , 1001 , 1400  

Biology: BIOL 1010  

Biological Sciences: BIOS 1000 , 1030 , 1300 , 1310 , 1700 , 1705 , 1710 , 2010 , 2020 , 2030 , 2035 , 2060 , 2100 , 2500  , 2750  

Chemistry and Biochemistry: CHEM 1210 , 1220 , 1510 , 1520  

Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 1000 , 1000L 1020 1090  1140 , 1150 2090 , 2470  

Geography: GEOG 1100   

Geological Sciences: GEOL 1010 , 1200 , 1300 , 1400 , 2080 2090 , 2110 , 2210 , 2710  

Physics: PHYS 2001 , 2002 , 2051 , 2052 , 2301  

Physical Science: PSC 1000 , 1001 , 1010 , 1011 , 1050 , 1051 , 1310 , 1400 , 2050  

Social Sciences (2SS)

African American Studies: AAS 1010 , 2020  

Child and Family Studies: CFS 2700 , 2710 2720  

Classical Archeology: CLAR 2110 , 2120 , 2130 , 3650  

College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 1425 , 2500  

Communication Studies: COMS 3601 , 3602 3603  

Economics: ECON 1000 , 1030 , 1040 2020   

Education - Early Childhood: EDEC 1600  

Finance: FIN 2010  

Geography: GEOG 1200 , 1300 2500  

History: HIST 2000 , 2010 , 2200 2220 , 2300 2905 3500  

Human and Consumer Sciences: CONS 2500  

Journalism: JOUR 1050 , 2050  

Law Enforcement Technology: LET 1050  

Linguistics:LING 2700  

Management: MGT 2000  

Media Arts and Studies: MDIA 1091 , 2012 , 2113  , 2132  , 2305  

Physical Education Teacher Education: PETE 2100  

Political Science: POLS 1010 , 1500 1600 2000 , 2200 , 2300 2500 2700 , 4300  

Psychology: PSY 1010 2540  

Recreation: REC 2010  

Sociology: SOC 1000 , 2000  

Social Work: SW 1000  

Sports Administration/Sports Management: SASM 1001   

Tier III Requirement

You are required to complete at least three hours in Tier III or Tier III–equivalent course(s). At least two of the three hours must be taken at senior rank (90 hours). This catalog contains a complete list of Tier III and equivalent courses available by going to Course Descriptions  and placing T3 in the keyword or phrase search or by clicking here. 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 3 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.