General Core Requirements

General education nurtures in students the knowledge, skills, habits of mind, and values that provide a foundation for their baccalaureate program and for lifelong learning. General education fosters intellectual breadth, serves as a context for more specialized study, and is essential to the full development of persons who wish to participate meaningfully in the various communities of which they are a part.

Given these goals, we endorse the following Educational Outcomes in the areas of Knowledge, Skills, and Values. We recognize that certain specific aspects of these outcomes will be discipline-specific, and we expect that the level of competence in each area will be defined and assessed according to the individual disciplines. The recommendations for core courses and other curriculum changes should be informed by these general outcomes. 

Educational Outcomes

Skills

• Communication (oral, written, visual, professional self-presentation).
• Critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and solving problems individually and collaboratively.
• Information technology (locating, retrieving, evaluating, synthesizing).

Knowledge

• The concepts, methodologies, findings, and applications of mathematics and the social and natural sciences, engineering, and technology.
• Concepts, methodologies, and global cultural heritage of the arts and humanities.

Values

• Ethical and personal responsibility.
• Civic responsibility.
• Global and cultural understanding.

General Education

The UA Little Rock Core Curriculum is 35-semester credits and satisfies the Arkansas State Minimum Core. Some colleges, departments, or programs may have additional requirements.

Test-out Option

Every course in the UA Little Rock Core Curriculum must have a test-out option. The test must be reviewed by the appropriate program to ensure that it meets the needs of the UA Little Rock Core Curriculum.

UA Little Rock Core (35 hours)

The UA Little Rock Core is intended to make available to students an introduction to the richness of human thought and creativity that find expression in the areas of the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. Additionally, the Core serves as the starting point for students to achieve the UA Little Rock Educational Goals while providing a maximum of transferable credits among colleges to allow students to explore a variety of disciplines before selecting a major. The Core consists of 6 hours of Communication -Written, 3 hours of Fine Arts, 3 hours of Flex, 3 hours of History of Civilization, 3 hours of Humanities, 3 hours of Mathematics, 8 Hours of Science, 3 hours of Social Sciences, and 3 hours of US. Traditions.

Communication – Spoken (0-3 credits)

Courses in this area focus on developing student knowledge and skills in a variety of spoken communication contexts. All courses in this area also address information technology, critical thinking, a commitment to ethical behavior, and civic and personal responsibility.

Communication – Written (6 credits)

Courses in this area focus on teaching students to develop ideas and express them clearly, adapt language to rhetorical situations, support ideas by integrating research, and build the skills needed to communicate ethically and effectively in their academic, professional, and civic arenas of life. Courses focus on reading and writing. All courses in this area also address information technology, critical thinking, a commitment to ethical behavior, and civic and personal responsibility.

Fine Arts (3 credits)

Courses in this area offer a broad overview of one or more art forms, to teach concepts and methodologies involved in the study of the arts, including formal and stylistic analysis, and the use of technical, discipline-specific vocabulary in their own analyses of artworks. These courses enable students to expand their knowledge of the global diversity of cultures, both contemporary and historical, and their awareness of their own culture/s and private values. These courses also require students to experience arts performances and institutions within the larger community.

In addition to the knowledge domain of the arts, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.

Flex (3 hours) †*

Courses in this area offer students a choice. Students can take any course approved for the core in Humanities, Social Sciences, Communication-Spoken, Interdisciplinary Studies

†Engineering programs replace these 3 credit hours with 3 hours of mathematics and/or science per the State Minimum Core.

*Students in the School of Business are required to take ACOM 1300 for these 3 credit hours.

History of Civilization (3 credits)

Courses in this area are unique in that they bridge the humanities and social sciences. They convey knowledge of key historical people, events, and the contexts in which scientific and humanistic reasoning and discovery take (and have taken) place. These courses explore patterns of social and cultural change and transition over time, make connections between the past and present, and facilitate critical and analytical thinking and writing.

Humanities (3 credits)

Courses in this area emphasize the reading and interpretation of a broad survey of philosophical, literary, and other texts to focus on the examination and representation of human thought and experience. These courses employ humanistic inquiry in order to interrogate the human experience and the meanings and values that individuals and cultures assign to it. In addition to the knowledge domain of the humanities, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.

Interdisciplinary Studies (0-3 credits)

Interdisciplinary core courses focus on at least two disciplines in order to examine how they can collaborate to address a particular issue or problem. They explore the strengths and limitations of the disciplines, as well as possible avenues of integration. Every interdisciplinary course must address the criteria for at least one of the following curricular areas:  Humanities, Social Sciences, or Communications – Spoken. The emphasis on interdisciplinarity should balance the modifications to the content criteria necessitated by the sharing of class time between two or more disciplines.

Mathematics (3 credits)**

Courses in this area focus on teaching students the concepts and methodologies, findings, and applications of mathematics while developing their inquiry and analysis skills.  All courses in this area also address quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and a commitment to ethical behavior.

**Students in the School of Business are required to take Math 1302 or any other math for which Math 1302 is a prerequisite.

Science (8 credits)

Courses in this area focus on teaching students the concepts, methodologies, findings, and applications of science while developing their inquiry and analysis skills. All courses in this area use the scientific method, apply quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, information technology, and foster a commitment to ethical behavior. All courses must include a lecture and a laboratory.

Social Sciences (3 credits)

Courses in this area address broad areas of individual, group, or societal behavior. These courses also focus on the application of theoretical perspectives and emphasize how scientific methods are applied to understanding the behaviors of individuals, groups, or societies.

In addition to the knowledge domain of the social sciences, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.

U. S. History/Government (3 credits)

Courses in this area teach how our government is structured, the history of our nation, and how that history has shaped and is shaping our government.

UA Little Rock Core Requirements

The UA Little Rock Core Curriculum is 35 credits and satisfies the Arkansas State Minimum Core. Some colleges, departments, or programs may have additional requirements. 

Note: Donaghey Scholar courses must be accepted by all programs as meeting the Core; however, the Donaghey Scholars program is not required to accept the university Core courses in lieu of Donaghey Scholar program requirements.

†* Engineering programs must replace these 3 credits with 3 credits of Mathematics or Science. Students in the School of Business are required to take ACOM 1300 .

**Students in the School of Business are required to take MATH 1302  or any other math for which Math 1302 is a prerequisite.

Core Transfer 

1. Students who transfer from a public Arkansas institution with a completed designated transfer degree (Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Arts in Teaching, or any future associate degree program approved by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education that includes a 35-hour state core curriculum have met all of the UA Little Rock core requirements.
2. The core will be transferred according to the core transfer policy and courses will be transferred according to the course transfer policy. Any additional credits that are not assigned by those two policies shall be awarded as general lower-level elective credit up to 60 credit hours.
3. Students who transfer from public Arkansas institutions and transfer a course in the state ACTS system that matches a course in the UA Little Rock core meet the specific core requirement fulfilled by that course.
4. Students who transfer from public Arkansas institutions and transfer a course taken to meet a core curricular requirement at the sending institution meet the specific core requirement fulfilled by that course.
5. Students who transfer between UA Little Rock colleges and have officially declared a major in the sending college, and transfer a course taken to meet a core curricular requirement in the sending UA Little Rock college, meet the specific core requirement fulfilled by that course.
6. Students who transfer from institutionally or regionally accredited out-of-state or private institutions, including those transferring in completed associate degrees, who have completed 35 credit hours of coursework in the following distribution meet the core requirement in that core curricular area and are only required to take coursework from the area(s) they are missing:

• English/Communications: 6-9 hours
• Math: 3 hours
• Science: 8 hours
• Fine Arts/Humanities: 6-9 hours
• Social Sciences: 9-12 hours, including 3 hours of US History or American National Government

General Education Requirements for Associate Degrees

An associate degree must contain the courses from the UA Little Rock Core Curriculum in the following curricular areas:

• Communications – Written (6 credits)
• U. S. Traditions (3 credits)
• Mathematics (3 credits)
• Any associate of arts, associate of science, or associate of science in teaching degree which has been designated as a transfer degree per Act 182 of 2009 will adopt the UA Little Rock Core Curriculum. The Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Arts in Teaching will be designated as transfer degrees per Act 182 of 2009.

U.S. Traditions: United States History or Government Requirement

Arkansas law requires that all students who receive an associate or baccalaureate degree successfully complete a course in U.S. history or U.S. government. This requirement can be met by HIST 2311 - U.S. History to 1877 , HIST 2312 - U.S. History since 1877 , or POLS 1310 - American National Government . Other United States history or government courses may also meet this requirement. However, the student should check with an advisor in the Department of History or the Department of Political Science before choosing to meet the requirement with any other course.

UA Little Rock Core Curriculum Courses (General Education Requirement)

The Faculty Senate Council on Core Curriculum and Policies approves core courses. Every attempt is made to keep this page up to date. Since this is a dynamic process, the catalog page may not have the latest approved courses. Please see the Core Council’s page for the most up-to-date listing.

General Core Requirements