In order to acquire the fundamental skills and cultural background that are the marks of an educated person, all undergraduate students at Texas State complete a 42 semester credit hour program of general education core curriculum courses, which serves as the common foundation for all majors and accounts for about 35 percent of the approximately 120 semester credit hours required for a bachelor’s degree.
At the end of the bachelor’s program, the student is prepared not only in a field of study, but also in the general abilities of critical thinking, communication, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibilities that remain universally useful skills in a rapidly changing world. Texas State graduates have the raw materials to build solutions as they fulfill career and civic responsibilities.
A list of courses that fulfill the general education core curriculum at Texas State University is given below. In many cases, the academic degree plans of various Texas State colleges, schools, departments, degrees, majors, and certifications modify or exceed these standards, so students are urged to carefully examine all sections of this catalog, which apply to the academic program of their choice. More information about the Texas State University general education core curriculum may be found at: https://www.provost.txst.edu/gec.html
Students transferring from Texas public institutions of higher education may have to fulfill only those portions of the general education core curriculum not completed at their previous institutions. Students from private or out-of-state institutions or those who took coursework before this core curriculum was put into place (Fall 2014), will have their coursework evaluated to determine if it is equivalent to that required at Texas State.
For all undergraduate students, specific major requirements may override those in the core curriculum. Those who have completed the core requirement for college math, for instance, may have to complete Calculus if such is required by their major. In all cases, the major and core requirements applicable are those in the catalog year to which the student is assigned. A list of general education core requirements at all Texas public institutions of higher education is available online at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/tcc/.
General Education Core Curriculum Components
Communication Component Code 010 (6 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Fundamentals of Human Communication | |
| College Writing I (TCCN: ENGL 1301) | |
| College Writing II (TCCN: ENGL 1302) | |
| Writing for Sustainable Change | |
| Technical Writing | |
| Writing to Change the World | |
| Writing Yourself into Academia: Creating Portraiture | |
Mathematics Component Code 020 (3 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| College Statistics and Algebra (TCCN: MATH 1342) 1 | |
| College Algebra (TCCN: MATH 1314) 1 | |
| Survey of Contemporary Mathematics (TCCN: MATH 1332) 1 | |
| Plane Trigonometry (TCCN: MATH 1316) 1 | |
| Mathematics for Business and Economics I (TCCN: MATH 1324) 1 | |
| Mathematics for Business and Economics II (TCCN: MATH 1325) 1 | |
| Calculus for Life Sciences I (TCCN: MATH 2313) 1 | |
| Pre-Calculus Mathematics (TCCN: MATH 2412) 1 | |
| Calculus I (TCCN: MATH 2413) 1 | |
| Elementary Number Theory | |
| Graph Theory and Applications | |
Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 030 (6 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Biological Anthropology (TCCN: ANTH 2301) | |
| Modern Biology I, Molecules, Cells, and Physiology (TCCN: BIOL 1308) | |
| Ecology, Evolution and Society (TCCN: BIOL 1309) | |
| Functional Biology (TCCN: BIOL 1306) | |
| Organismal Biology (TCCN: BIOL 1307) | |
| Introductory Chemistry for Non-Science Majors (TCCN: CHEM 1305) 2 | |
| Foundations of Chemistry | |
| Chemistry for Non-Science Majors (TCCN: CHEM 1307) | |
| Engineering Chemistry (TCCN: CHEM 1309) | |
| General Chemistry I (TCCN: CHEM 1311) 2 | |
| General Chemistry II (TCCN: CHEM 1312) | |
| Meteorology (TCCN: GEOL 1347) | |
| Physical Geology (TCCN: GEOL 1403) | |
| Historical Geology (TCCN: GEOL 1404) | |
| Life Science Concepts | |
| Elementary Physics I (TCCN: PHYS 1305) | |
| General Physics I (TCCN: PHYS 1301) | |
| Elementary Physics II (TCCN: PHYS 1307) | |
| General Physics II (TCCN: PHYS 1302) | |
| General Physics I for Life Sciences Majors | |
| Astronomy: Solar System (TCCN: PHYS 1312) | |
| General Physics II for Life Science Majors | |
| Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies (TCCN: PHYS 1311) | |
| Physics for Educators | |
| Mechanics (TCCN: PHYS 2325) | |
| Electricity and Magnetism (TCCN: PHYS 2326) | |
| Teaching Physical Science to Children | |
| Astronomy in Art, History, and Literature | |
| Building a Greener Future: One Home at a Time | |
| Everyday Biology | |
Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Code 040 (3 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| British Literature before 1785 | |
| British Literature since 1785 | |
| World Literature before 1600 | |
| World Literature since 1600 | |
| US Literature before 1865 | |
| US Literature since 1865 | |
| U.S. Literature: Writing Identities | |
| Cultures and Literatures of the Hispanic World | |
| Philosophy and Critical Thinking (TCCN: PHIL 1301) | |
| Ethics and Society (TCCN: PHIL 2306) | |
| World Religions | |
| The Meaning of Death | |
| Eating Animals in America: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives | |
| Nonviolence and Sustainable Social Change | |
| Reinventing Utopia | |
Creative Arts Component Code 050 (3 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Introduction to Fine Arts (TCCN: HUMA 1315) | |
| Introduction to Fine Arts (TCCN: HUMA 1315) | |
| Introduction to Fine Arts (TCCN: HUMA 1315) | |
| Introduction to Fine Arts (TCCN: HUMA 1315) | |
| African American Popular Music: Society, Politics, and Culture | |
| Women and Texas Music | |
| Italy and Arts of the Islamic World | |
| Honors Creative Arts | |
American History Component Code 060 (6 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| History of the United States to 1877 (TCCN: HIST 1301) | |
| History of Mexican America to 1865 (TCCN: HIST 2327) | |
| African American History to 1877 (TCCN: HIST 2381) | |
| Witches, Whores, Murderers & Thieves: Capital Crime in Early America | |
| Early American History Through Biography | |
| Rethinking American Exceptionalism | |
| American Countercultures | |
| |
| History of the United States, 1877 to Date (TCCN: HIST 1302) | |
| History of Mexican America from 1865 (TCCN: HIST 2328) | |
| African American History from 1877 | |
| American History Through Memoirs | |
| Baseball and the American Experience | |
| America in the 1960s: A History of Movements and Ideas | |
Government/Political Science Component Code 070 (6 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Principles of American Government (TCCN: GOVT 2306) | |
| Functions of American Government (TCCN: GOVT 2305) | |
| Democracy in America | |
| Contemporary Issues in American Politics | |
Social and Behavioral Sciences Component Code 080 (3 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Cultural Anthropology (TCCN: ANTH 2351) | |
| Behavioral and Personal Financial Management | |
| Principles of Economics (TCCN: ECON 1301) | |
| Principles of Microeconomics (TCCN: ECON 2302) | |
| World Geography (TCCN: GEOG 1303) | |
| Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Physical Fitness and Wellness | |
| Introduction to Psychology (TCCN: PSYC 2301) | |
| Introduction to Sociology (TCCN: SOCI 1301) | |
| Economic Anthropology | |
Component Area Option Codes 090, 091, 092, 093 and 094 (6 semester credit hours)
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| Fundamentals of Human Communication (TCCN: SPCH 1311) | |
| Re-Humanizing Communication | |
| CS Lewis: Chronicles of a Master Communicator | |
| Communication and Consumer Culture | |
| Talking Like TED | |
| Calculus II (TCCN: MATH 2414) | |
| Integral Calculus with Multivariables and Series (TCCN: MATH 2415) | |
| Electricity and Magnetism (TCCN: PHYS 2326) | |
| British Literature before 1785 (TCCN: ENGL 2322) | |
| British Literature since 1785 (TCCN: ENGL 2323) | |
| World Literature before 1600 (TCCN: ENGL 2332) | |
| World Literature since 1600 (TCCN: ENGL 2333) | |
| US Literature before 1865 (TCCN: ENGL 2327) | |
| US Literature since 1865 (TCCN: ENGL 2328) | |
| U.S. Literature: Writing Identities | |
| Origins of Civilization | |
| Great Ideas: Humanities I | |
| Magic Realism in the Works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez | |
| Preserving Humanity in the Face of Conflict: The War Story Genre | |
| Nature and the Quest for Meaning | |
| Great Ideas: Humanities II | |
| Plotting the American Experience | |
| Memoirs from Lives off the Neurotypical Map | |
| The Death Plot: Fiction, Memoirs, Poems | |
| From Jay-Z to Kendrick Lamar: Politics, Power, and Identity in Hip Hop Literature | |
| Don Quixote and the Birth of the Modern Novel | |
| Honors British Literature | |
| Honors American Literature | |
Total General Education Core Curriculum: 42 semester credit hours.
