Core Curriculum

The Fairmont State core curriculum ensures that students possess a wide range of skills and knowledge to enhance their lives after graduation. The knowledge, skills, and abilities obtained through the core curriculum transcend specific disciplines and are valued by employers at all levels and by society in general. Fairmont State supports a core curriculum so that our students appreciate the diversity of disciplines as they discover possibilities in their interdependence. The skills and knowledge obtained by completing core curriculum courses provide students with the necessary tools to be productive employees, leaders, and citizens. The categories were designed to incorporate the foundational knowledge and skills that have enduring societal value and to prepare students to survive and thrive in a complex, diverse, and dramatically changing world. A large portion of the skills and knowledge Fairmont State expects its students to have when they graduate comes from core curriculum courses.

Mission

The core curriculum is designed to ensure all students acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to become life-long learners, productive employees, and contributing citizen leaders in their diverse local and global community.

Learning Outcomes

Basic Skills

  • First Year Seminar: Apply academic tools, utilize campus resources, and actively participate in order to successfully transition into and through the first year of college.
  • Written Communication: Read critically and reflectively, and be able to use writing to communicate effectively with an audience.
  • Oral Communication: Demonstrate communication skills in argument and reasoning, the analysis and use of evidence, persuasion, and oral presentations.
  • Mathematics: Use appropriate symbolic manipulation skills and problem-solving methods to model problems and reach logical conclusions, and correctly use the language of mathematics to communicate conclusions and solutions.

Critical Reasoning in the Disciplines

  • Humanities: Understand the basic elements of the humanities and the role that language, literature, and/or history plays in their daily lives.
  • Fine Arts: Demonstrate the ability to analyze or interpret works of fine art using the language of criticism relevant to the form of study or to create works of fine art using the appropriate processes.
  • Natural Science: Demonstrate proficiency with scientific content and data analysis to address real-world problems, and recognize the limitations of the scientific process.
  • Social Science: Apply concepts and prevailing theories within the social and behavioral sciences.

Personal Development

  • Citizenship: Explain the responsibilities of citizens, how to participate in the democratic process, and how to contribute to civil society.
  • Global Awareness: Develop the awareness and knowledge to understand the complexity of intercultural connections and to live and work in a global society.
  • Fitness and Wellbeing: Identify the behaviors and skills that lead to physical and psychological health and well-being.
  • Technology: Demonstrate technology skills that will help them in problem-solving or decision-making.

Fairmont State Core Requirements

The Fairmont State Core Curriculum is a minimum of 30 credits and satisfies the Higher Learning Commission minimum credit requirements for a general education core. Some departments and/or programs may have additional requirements to meet their respective accreditation standards.

Core Curriculum Area Core Outcome Credits
First-Year Seminar Basic Skills 1-3
Written Communication Basic Skills 6
Oral Communication Basic Skills 3
Mathematics Basic Skills 3
Humanities Critical Thinking 3
Fine Arts Critical Thinking 3
Natural Science Critical Thinking 3-5
Social Science Critical Thinking 3
Citizenship Personal Development 3
Global Awareness, Fitness & Wellbeing, or Technology Personal Development 2-3
 

Fairmont State Core Requirements

Students should choose courses to fulfill categories by using DegreeWorks in concert with program requirements and course prerequisites. Students are encouraged to ALWAYS check with their assigned advisor before registering for courses. 

 

 

First-Year Seminar (1-3 credits)

  • BSBA 1100    Business On-boarding
  • HONR 1100   Honors Seminar
  • NURS 1025  Introduction to Nursing
  • SOAR 1100   First Year Seminar

Written Communication (6 credits)

Complete 6 hours of Written English with a grade of “C” or higher.

  • ENGL 1101  Written English I
  • ENGL 1102 Written English II
  • ENGL 1103 Technical Report Writing

Oral Communication (3 credits)

  • COMM 2200 Introduction to Human Communication
  • COMM 2201 Introduction to Group Discussion
  • COMM 2202  Introduction to Communication in the World of Work

Mathematics (3-4 credits)

  • MATH 1407 Fundamental Concepts of Math with Support
  • MATH 1410 Applied Technical Mathematics I
  • MATH 1430 College Algebra with Support
  • MATH 1507 Fundamental Concepts of Math
  • MATH 1510 Applied Technical Math I
  • MATH 1530 College Algebra
  • MATH 1540 Trigonometry & Elem Functions
  • MATH 1585 Applied Calculus I
  • MATH 2501 Calculus I

Humanities with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

  • ENGL 2220 World Literature I: Origins to 1650
  • ENGL 2221 World Literature II: 1650 to the Present
  • ENGL 2240 Introduction to Literature: Prose, Poetry, and Drama
  • FOLK 2200   Introduction to Folklore
  • HIST 2211    World Civilization I
  • HIST 2212    World Civilization II
  • HIST 2213    World Civilization III
  • PHIL 2200    Introduction to Philosophy
  • PHIL 2250    Great Philosophers
  • PHIL 2275   Intro to Logic & Critical Reasoning

Fine Arts with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

  • ART 1120   Art Appreciation
  • ART 1141  Design II: 3D
  • MUSI 1106  Guitar Class
  • MUSI 1120   Music Appreciation
  • MUSI 1167   Collegiate Singers
  • MUSI 1168   Marching Band
  • MUSI 1169   Wind Ensemble
  • MUSI 2247   Jazz Ensemble
  • MUSI 2277   Chamber Choir
  • MUSI 2279    Advanced Percussion Ensemble
  • THEA 1120    Theatre Appreciation

Natural Science with Critical Thinking (3-5 credits)

  • BIOL 1104   Biosphere
  • BIOL 1105   Biological Principles I
  • BIOL 1106   Biological Principles II
  • BIOL 1180  & BIOL 1181   Human Anatomy and Physiology I
  • CHEM 1101  General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 1105  Chemical Principles
  • GEOL 1101  Physical Geology I 
  • GEOL 1102  Historical Geology
  • PHYS 1101  Introduction to Physics I
  • PHYS 1104 Introduction to Physics for Aviation
  • PHYS 1105  Principles of Physics I
  • SCIE 1100   Human Biology
  • SCIE 1103   Science that Matters
  • SCIE 1105  Environmental Science
  • SCIE 1107  Geographic Information Systems
  • SCIE 1115   Earth and Sky
  • SCIE 1120  Introduction to Meteorology
  • SCIE 1130  The Science of Disasters
  • SCIE 1210  Science in the heart of Appalachia
  • SCIE 1250  Life in The Cosmos
  • SCIE 2200  Ocean Issues & Society

Social Science with Critical Thinking (3 credits)

  • BSBA 2200  Economics
  • BSBA 2211  Principles of Macroeconomics
  • CRIM 1100  Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRIM 2202   Principles of Criminal Law
  • GEOG 2210  Introduction to Geography
  • MANF 2205  Engineering Economy
  • POLI 2200  Introduction to Political Science
  • PSYC 1101  Introduction to Psychology
  • SOCY 1110  Introductory Sociology
  • SOCY 2205  Principles of Race, Class, and Gender
  • TECH 1100  Technology and Society

Citizenship (3 credits)

  • HIST 1107   US History I
  • HIST 1108   US History II
  • POLI 1100   American Government
  • RECR 1141   Foundations of Outdoor Recreation

Global Awareness, Fitness & Wellbeing, or Technology (2-3 credits)

Global Awareness

  • FREN 2202   Intermediate French II
  • SPAN 2202   Intermediate Spanish II
  • LANG 1110  Introduction to Global Perspectives
  • POLI 2210   Principles of International Relations
  • POLI 2220   Comparative Government

Fitness & Wellbeing

  • CRIM 2212   Deviant Behavior
  • CHEP 1100 Health Promotion
  • CHEP 1110 Nutrition & Health Promotion
  • HLTA 1100   Personal Health
  • HLTA 2203   Contemporary Drug and Behavior Issues
  • NUTR 1110  Nutrition  
  • PHED 1100   Fitness and Wellness

Technology

  • ART 2245   E. Foundations
  • BISM 1200  Introduction to Computing
  • CIVL 2210   Light Construction
  • EDUC 2201   Instructional Technology
  • MATH 1550   Applied Statistics
  • MANF 2250   Total Quality & SPC
  • MUSM 1100   Introduction to Museums
  • TECH 1101   Introduction to Technology

Core Policies

Core Curriculum Credit Hours

Students must complete a minimum of 30 hours in the core curriculum program for bachelor’s degrees. Students are responsible for all course pre-requisites.

English Grade Requirements

Students must complete 6 hours of Written English (ENGL 1101 and ENG 1102 OR 1103) with a grade of “C” or higher as a graduation requirement for all degrees.