General Education
REQUIRED BASIC AND GENERAL-EDUCATION COURSES
The courses required for the bachelor’s degree at Berry College are designed to assist students in becoming literate, cultured and creative individuals who are also responsible citizens of a democracy in a changing world and who are prepared for lifelong learning. Students will engage in learning that fosters clear and analytical reasoning, effective communication, appreciation of artistic excellence, understanding of scientific and mathematical inquiry, and the ability to make informed and morally responsible choices. They should also acquire that breadth of vision that comes with a historical consciousness and an awareness of cultural and global diversity. The proper cultivation of such a vision emphasizes the best thought and greatest achievements of humankind throughout the course of recorded history.
The courses in the general education curriculum are designed to provide a foundation of liberal learning and to expose students to a breadth of academic disciplines. Students should work with their advisors to select courses that may be needed as prerequisites for advanced work; freshmen are strongly urged to complete ENG 101 and ENG 102 during their first two terms of enrollment.
Students must complete courses as designated in each group.
| Communication (3 courses) |
9 hours |
English 101–102 (6 hours)
Communication 203 (3 hours)
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Behavioral and Social Sciences (3 courses )
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9 hours |
Economics: ECO 110
Government and International Studies: GOV 207, 211 or 217
Psychology: PSY 101
Sociology or Anthropology: SOC 200 or ANT 200
Courses will be selected from three of the above four behavioral- science areas.
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Humanities (5 courses)
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15 hours |
Fine Arts: ART 201, 202; MUS 215; or THE 201
History: HIS 154, 155, 205 or 206
Literature: Any 200-level literature course
Religion or Philosophy: Any 100-level course
One course will be selected from each of the above four humanities areas.
A fifth course will be selected from one of the humanities courses listed above, or students may complete HUM 200. |
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Mathematics and Natural Sciences (3 courses)
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11-12 hours |
Mathematics (3-4 hours)
Any 100- or 200-level mathematics course, as determined by the student’s major.
Science (8 hours)
Two different laboratory-science courses chosen from different sciences—biology (BIO), chemistry (CHM), geology (GEO),
physics/astronomy (PHY or AST), or ANS 105. |
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Health and Physical Education (3 courses)
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3 hours |
| One course from 220, 221, 222 or 223 (221 may count as activity or classroom course, but not both) plus two activity courses. A maximum of four HPE activity courses may be applied toward degree requirements. |
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Electives (2 courses)
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6 hours |
Courses selected outside the student’s major discipline, or the minor, if one is chosen. (Students may use foreign-language courses to fulfill this requirement.) Students with double majors are exempt from this requirement.
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Total General Education (19 courses)
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54 hours |
Cultural-Events Requirement
Full-time students must attend a minimum of 24 events (3 for each semester of full-time enrollment) from a list of officially approved cultural events to qualify for graduation. (See item 15 under Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees.) Students who intend to graduate in a given semester must complete all required cultural events no later than the last class day to withdraw with a W or WF for that semester. A student who has not completed all Cultural Events by this deadline will be removed from the current graduation list for that semester. Students studying abroad during fall or spring semesters are exempt from Cultural Events-credit requirements for each semester spent abroad. A cultural-events calendar is available on the college’s Web site at the beginning of each semester.
Berry College Courses
Berry College Courses are those extending beyond the disciplinary boundaries of any one department and representing educational opportunities made available to students by the college as a whole. In this category are educational-growth offerings and thematic courses.
BCC courses may not be used in satisfaction of general-education requirements, other than electives. Only with the written permission of the appropriate school dean may BCC courses be used in the major or the minor.
The dean of academic services is the director of Berry College Courses, and further information about these offerings may be secured from that office.