General Education Core Curriculum

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)

Select two of the following:
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)

Select one of the following:
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
1

See Department of Mathematics section of this catalog for enrollment requirements. 

Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 030 (6 semester credit hours)

Select two of the following:
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
2

Students will not receive general education core curriculum credit for both CHEM 1310 and CHEM 1341.

Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Code 040 (3 semester credit hours)

Select one of the following:
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)

Select one of the following:
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)

Select one of the following:
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
Select one of the following:
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)

Select two of the following:
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)

Select one of the following:
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)

Choose 1 course from two of the following component area options:
Component Area Option Code 090 and 091:
Fundamentals of Human Communication (TCCN: SPCH 1311)
Re-Humanizing Communication
CS Lewis: Chronicles of a Master Communicator
Communication and Consumer Culture
Talking Like TED
Component Area Option Code 090 and 092:
Calculus II (TCCN: MATH 2414)
Integral Calculus with Multivariables and Series (TCCN: MATH 2415)
Component Area Option Code 090 and 093:
Electricity and Magnetism (TCCN: PHYS 2326)
Component Area Option Code 090 and 094:
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.