University Studies replaced Basic Studies as UNCW's general education program. The University Studies program encourages students to begin a lifelong journey of engaged inquiry and societal contribution. As a consciously integrated component of each student's overall undergraduate educational experience, the program reflects our institution's fundamental commitment to fostering ethical and intellectual development and to promoting the growth of well-informed, creative, literate members of society.
The University Studies program first establishes the basis of an essential liberal education through a multi-faceted exploration of our diverse intellectual heritage. As it extends through each student's educational career, the University Studies program builds upon this foundation through a course of study designed to cultivate the skills and capacities students require to respond to and anticipate the complexities of modern citizenship in an inclusive and creative manner.
Phase I of University Studies began for students who were in the 2011 - 2012 catalogue year. For this catalogue year, students were held to "The Core Curriculum."
The second phase began for students who were in the 2012 - 2013 catalogue year. This included Phase I and expanded to include First-Year Seminar, Building Competencies, Explorations Beyond the Classroom, Capstone Courses, and Thematic Transdisciplinary Clusters.
In May of 2016 Thematic Transdisciplinary Clusters were eliminated, and starting in fall of 2016 Capstone and Quantitative and Logical Reasoning were removed, and Critical Reasoning was added as a requirement.
The Degree Audit displays the correct University Studies requirements for each student's catalogue year.
The minimum number of hours to complete University Studies is 39. The majority of students will need more than 39 hours. The maximum number of hours varies due to placement scores, transfer credit, the major chosen and other variables. Students should review their degree audit and work closely with their advisors to establish how many hours they need to complete University Studies requirements.
Yes, currently transfer work counts in University Studies requirements, except where indicated on the Degree Audit and in the UNCW Catalogue. Residency requirements affect Building Competencies (three of the six hours in Writing Intensive and Information Literacy - those required in the major must be taken at UNCW) and Explorations Beyond the Classroom requirements.
Courses that double-count in the "Core Curriculum" of University Studies are highlighted on this advising resource. For courses that count in multiple categories of University Studies, talk to your academic advisor.
Only one course from the requirements of Aesthetic, Interpretive and Literary Perspectives through Understanding Human Institutions and Behaviors may count again Living in Our Diverse Nation OR Living in a Global Society. Check the Degree Audit to see if the eligible course has already counted in the other requirement.
No. Students must take courses with different prefixes to fulfill these components. This rule applies to crosslisted courses as well. For example, if a student takes CLA 209, which is crosslisted with ENG 209, to fulfill three hours of the AIL requirement, they cannot take another ENG course to complete the AIL requirement.
First-Year Seminar is a requirement for University Studies that can be fulfilled by taking either UNI 101 or HON 110. This requirement is waived for transfer students and will not display on the Degree Audit. Learn more about the First-Year Seminar requirement
No. Other universities' First-Year Seminar courses transfer in as UNI 001. A UNI 001 course does not satisfy UNCW's First-Year Seminar requirement nor does it satisfy the information literacy competency. If a student transferring in UNI 001 believes their course meets the learning outcomes for information literacy, they can work with their advisor to submit the appropriate petition to have the course reviewed.
Transfer students who transfer in 27 or more credit hours are waived from the First-Year Seminar requirement. The First-Year Seminar requirement will not show up on the Degree Audit for students who do not have to fulfill this requirement.
Approved courses will automatically satisfy the requirement. Additionally, students can complete the following:
This requirement must be fulfilled at UNCW. Certain international experiences may count, with approval. Read more about the Explorations Beyond the Classroom requirement.
When a transfer course articulates as an existing UNCW course, the department chair should receive the request first (in the form of a Substitution Waiver Form) with the transfer university's catalogue course description and/or course syllabus attached.
When a transfer course does NOT articulate as an existing UNCW course, the Substitution Waiver Form should go directly to the associate vice chancellor and dean of Undergraduate Studies with the same materials attached. The advisor's role is simply to help with completing the Substitution Waiver Form and to submit it correctly. The Substitution Waiver form for the Living in our Diverse Nation and Living in a Global Society courses must be submitted with a paper form because there is no direct course match at UNCW.
Yes, with a little preparation. Instructors planning to teach a one-off or special topics course according to the Student Learning Outcomes of any University Studies component should submit a course proposal form to the University Studies Advisory Committee prior to the semester or academic year the course will be offered.
For a one-time circumstance rather than a permanent course approval, the instructor should make sure to indicate that this request is for a one-time situation and is not a request to approve the entire course for the University Studies component as indicated in the catalogue. If the course is approved, then the dean of Undergraduate Studies will process a blanket petition for that section (if it involves competency).
If it involves other components of University Studies, the associate dean of the school/college offering the course will process a substitution waiver. If approved, the instructor and department can then advertise the course as fulfilling specified University Studies requirements.
In extraordinary circumstances, instructors and department chairs can submit requests for courses currently being taught directly to the associate dean of the school/college offering the course for non-competency components, or to the associate vice chancellor and dean of Undergraduate Studies if it is a competency, who will then assess the situation accordingly. In these rare instances, instructors should not advertise that the course fulfills any University Studies requirement until the appropriate associate dean or the dean of Undergraduate Studies reviews the request.
In almost every instance, no.
However, in the rare instance when a student takes a course that may meet the Student Learning Outcomes of a University Studies component, the student's advisor or instructor should contact the associate dean of the school/college offering the course regarding non-competency components or the associate vice chancellor and dean of Undergraduate Studies if it is a competency component, for an assessment of the request.
Yes, students can use a different previously-completed and approved University Studies course to count in a particular category. The student should ask their academic advisor to email the Office of the Registrar to make the change on their degree audit.
Refer to the Faculty Senate minutes online to find a list of newly approved courses. Each new year's Undergraduate Catalogue will also include the updated, final list.
No, double-counting does not apply in this instance. A student can only fulfill one of those component requirements with that course. The same rule applies to CLA/ENG 210 which can fulfill either Historical and Philosophical Approaches OR Aesthetic, Interpretive and Literary.
If a student wants to move ANT 207 from the Historical and Philosophical Approaches category to Understanding Human Institutions and Behaviors, for example, please submit a Substitution Waiver Form.
Such a course is eligible to fulfill either the Living in Our Diverse Nation or Living in a Global Society requirement. Advisors should use the standard Substitution Waiver Form to make this request.
Advisors and Chairs should note the difference in routing a Substitution Waiver Form that requests the use of a transfer course for the LDN and LGS requirements. The form should be routed as follows: Advisor --> Chair --> AVC and Dean of Undergraduate Studies --> Office of the Registrar.
No, freshmen are not granted an exception for University Studies, even if they attended a North Carolina Community College. Only transfer students can receive exceptions for University Studies requirements. The logic behind this exception is that community college students would have been advised as to what transfers to UNCW.
No, re-enrollees are not granted an exception for University Studies, even if they attended a North Carolina Community College. Only transfer students can receive exceptions for University Studies requirements. The logic behind this exception is that community college students would have been advised as to what transfers to UNCW.
This depends on the student's catalogue year. Run a degree audit to view the catalogue year on the top right of the screen. (Find out how to run a degree audit.)
University Studies includes both lower division general education components and graduation requirements related to the major. For those articulation agreements specifying transfer of lower division general education requirements, lower division general education components of University Studies include: Foundations, Approaches & Perspectives (only three credits of Living in a Global Society or Living in Our Diverse Nation may apply as lower division credit), three credits of Critical Reasoning Competency, three credits of Writing Intensive Competency, and three credits of Information Literacy Competency. Note that other credit meeting University Studies requirements may transfer on a course-by-course basis and some courses may be exempted by specific agreements (e.g. lifetime wellness and foreign language requirements by the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement).
The Office of the Registrar could be missing an official transcript that shows the date and type of degree awarded. Contact the Office of the Registrar to see if a new transcript has been received and is not yet posted, or if the transcript has not been received.
For students who already possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university, including UNCW, the dean of Undergraduate Studies, after consultation with the department chair through which the student is pursuing the second degree, will determine the extent to which the previous course work meets the spirit of UNCW's current University Studies requirements and will determine any remaining requirements to be completed.
Students who are transferring to UNCW for a second baccalaureate after having earned a baccalaureate from any UNC institution will be given a waiver for the following University Studies requirements:
For the foreign language requirement, all students should first consult with the dean of the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts.
Students who possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university must appeal to the dean of Undergraduate Studies (or his or her designee). After consultation with the chair(s) of the academic department(s) through which the student is pursuing a second degree, the dean will determine the extent to which the previous course work meets the spirit of UNCW's University Studies requirements and will determine any remaining requirements that need to be completed.
The Substitution Form is used to take a course that is un-used in the General Electives of the Degree Audit and to submit it to be satisfied toward a specific degree requirement.
The Petition Form is only used for courses that are trying to be approved to satisfy a Building Competency (Writing Intensive, Information Literacy, or Critical Reasoning).
Yes. Freshmen are required to meet all components of University Studies, even if they bring in transfer, AP, or IP credit. Contact the Office of the Registrar if you have questions.
UNCW's curricular procedures hold that the University Studies Advisory Committee and Faculty Senate approve all course proposals prior to allowing any course to fulfill University Studies requirements. In exceptional circumstances, instructors and department chairs should contact the associate dean of the school/college offering the course for non-competency components or the associate vice chancellor and the dean of Undergraduate Studies if it is a competency component.
The Degree Audit has been encoded to pick up the high school language a student studied. It will report the language and give the correct requirements to follow. The student can continue to study the same high school language and fulfill the University Studies requirement by completing through the 201-level. Students can also choose to study a new foreign language, as long as it is different from the high school language, and fulfill the University Studies requirement by completing through the 102-level. Learn more about the Foreign Language requirement.
If a student took two high school foreign languages, both will show on the Degree Audit. The student may choose which one to pursue and the audit will close the one that is not followed.
The student should contact the chair of the World Languages and Cultures Department to inquire about the possibility of a waiver.
"None on Record" means the student has no foreign language on record in Banner, so they must complete 201-level in a new foreign language. It is possible that foreign language was not required for admission or it could have been missed in the high school transcript.
Please note: Students need more than one high school semester in the language for it to be recorded as a high school language.
No, it does not. Transfer students should review the Undergraduate Catalogue under Academic Programs for more information.
Building Competencies have date-ranges for when they were approved and are for UNCW courses only. Courses taken prior to these date-ranges do not fulfill the requirement, because the competency was not part of the course.
Any courses added to University Studies during and after a student's catalogue year are eligible to fulfill University Studies requirements. If a student takes a course before its addition to University Studies, the course will not automatically fulfill University Studies Building Competency requirements.
Read the Competency Checklist. If you feel your course meets the requirements of a University Studies Competency, meet with your advisor. The advisor will complete the Petition for Crediting a US Competency Requirement. The advisor initiates and signs the form, then routes it to the department chair of the student's major, then to the director of University Studies for approval. Find out more about the petition form.
The course cannot be repeated here if it has the same content.
Some transfer courses may articulate automatically to fulfill competency requirements. The catalogue may, however, exclude other transfer courses from fulfilling the Building Competency requirements. In those cases, students, in consultation with their advisors, may submit a Petition Form to the associate vice chancellor and dean of Undergraduate Studies. Students in prior catalogue years will not be affected by this change.