Liberal Education
Fort Hays State University general-education programs enable the University to ensure that all students achieve a common set of learning outcomes that address the core skills essential for successful careers as well as the broad range of knowledge and ability required for success as twenty-first-century global citizen leaders.
GENERAL EDUCATION
Effective Fall 2022, general education requirements will change. New requirements can be found here.
Current Requirements
Students holding an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree or transferring 45 or more credit hours from any regionally-accredited institutions are required to complete the Transfer Agreement General Education program found here.
Bachelor of General Studies students are required to complete the BGS degree program found here.
All other students are required to complete this 55-hour General Education program below. This program has two components: Foundation Studies and Liberal Arts. The Foundation Studies has two divisions: A) Analysis and Communication and B) Personal Wellness, and the Liberal Arts having three divisions: A) International Studies, B) Distribution and C) Upper-Division Integrative Courses. A downloadable guide to this program can be found here.
I. FOUNDATION STUDIES (18 HOURS REQUIRED)
A) COMMUNICATION (9 HOURS REQUIRED)
A student is required to take the following courses:
- ENG 101 English Composition I
- ENG 102 English Composition II
- COMM 100 Fundamentals of Oral Communication
B) QUANTITATIVE LITERACY (3 HOURS REQUIRED)
A student must complete one of these courses.
- MATH 101 Contemporary Mathematics or
- MATH 105 College Algebra with Review or
- MATH 110 College Algebra or
- MATH 130 Pre-Calculus Mathematics
C) COMPUTING LITERACY(3 HOURS REQUIRED)
A student must complete this course.
- INF 101 Introduction to Computer Systems
D) PERSONAL WELL-BEING (3 HRS REQUIRED)
A student must complete this courses.
- HHP 200 Personal Wellness
II. LIBERAL ARTS (37 HOURS REQUIRED)
A) INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (6 HOURS REQUIRED)
A student must complete 2 of the 3 courses.
- ENG 125 World Literature and the Human Experience
- GSCI 110 World Geography
- HIST 111 Modern World Civilization
B) DISTRIBUTION (28 HOURS REQUIRED)
Course areas used to complete requirements under International Studies allow a student to take only 1 additional course in that area under distribution for General Education credit.
HUMANITIES--9 HRS REQUIRED WITH NO MORE THAN 2 COURSES IN 1 AREA
Art and Design
- 180 Fundamentals & Appreciation of Art
- 201 Survey of Art History I
- 202 Survey of Art History II
- 280 Approaches to Creativity
- 125 Introduction to Motion Pictures
- 318 Intro to Organizational Communication
- 125 World Literature and the Human Experience
- 126 Introduction to Literature
- 327 Literature Matters
Interdisciplinary Studies
- 333 Exploration in the Humanities
- 350 Diversity in the United States
- Beginning 1 class in any language. (May not be used as General Education for students earning the B.A. degree)
- 112 Great Works in Translation
- THTR 120 Introduction to Theatre
- MUS 161 Listening to Music
- MUS 391 Jazz
- 100 Critical Thinking
- 120 Introduction to Philosophy
- 340 Introduction to Ethics
- 320 Basic Sign Language
- 420 Advanced Sign Language
MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCES--10 HRS WITH NO MORE THAN 2 COURSES IN 1 AREA; 1 HR MUST BE LABORATORY CREDIT
- 100 Human Biology
- 102 Lab Experience in Biology*
- 200 Humans and The Environment
- 300 Human Heredity
- 100 Chemist's View of the World
- 105 Introduction to the Chemistry Lab*
- 112 General Chemistry I and Lab*
- 114 General Chemistry II and Lab*
- 100 Introduction to Geology
- 101 Elements of Physical Geography
- 102 Introduction to Geology Laboratory*
- 340 Environmental Geology
- 234 Analytic Geometry & Calculus I
- 250 Elements of Statistics
- 331 Calculus Methods
- 102 Physical Science
- 103 Physical Science Laboratory*
- 208 Elementary Meteorology
- 309 Descriptive Astronomy
*Course fulfills 1 hr lab requirement
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES--9 HRS WITH NO MORE THAN 2 COURSES IN 1 AREA
Economics/Finance
- ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics
- ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics
- FIN 205 Theory & Practice of Personal Finance
- 110 World Civilization to 1500
- 130 United States History to 1877
- 131 United States History Since 1877
Interdisciplinary Studies
- 350 Diversity in the United States
- 101 American Government
- 105 Current Political Issues
- 230 Introduction to International Relations
- 100 General Psychology
- 300 Abnormal Psychology
- 340 Social Psychology
- 140 Understanding Society: Introductory Sociology
- 355 Sociology of Death and Dying
- 388 Sociology of the Family in America
C) Upper-Division Integrative Course (3 hours required)
These 3 hours will also count towards fulfilling the university's upper-division requirement.
- IDS 300 Economic Ideas and Current Issues
- IDS 325 Ideal Societies in Fiction
- IDS 326 Literature and the Environment
- IDS 360 Social Justice: Action and Policy
- IDS 390 Technology in Society
- IDS 400 Bioethics
- IDS 401 Ethical Issues in the Professions and Business
- IDS 402 U.S. Human Geography: Issues for the 21st Century
- IDS 405 Heritage: Society, Science and Culture Since 1700
- IDS 407 Global Challenges
- IDS 440 Conceptions of the Mind
- IDS 468 Political Communication
- IDS 499 Global Environmental Issues
Italics denotes general education courses required for the teacher education program.
All courses are 3 credit hours except labs (1 or 2 hours), beginning language 1 courses (5 hours), and IDS 333 (1 hour).