GE and BD Requirement Area Outcomes
Courses carrying GE and BD designations must fulfill the course-level learning outcomes for each requirement area. Utah Code R470 Appendix, Essential Learning Outcomes defines course-level learning outcomes for the GE requirement areas. The University of Utah defines course-level learning outcomes for the BD requirement areas.
General Education Core Designations
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Writing
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Writing
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American Institutions
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Quantitative Literacy
*Utah Code R470 limits courses that can carry these designations.
General Education Breadth Designations
Fine Arts
Humanities
Life Science
Physical Science
Social/Behavioral Science
Baccalaureate Degree Designations
Diversity
International
Communication and Writing
or
Methods Requirement
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Language Requirement
*The Department of World Languages & Cultures oversees courses that carry the LR designation.
GE Requirement Area Learning Outcomes
Fine Arts
Upon successful completion of the General Education Arts requirement, students will be able to:
Understand: Explain the creative artistic process as an iterative and recursive practice culminating in an expression of human experience and emotion through a medium;
Appreciate: Apply artistic concepts and ideas drawn from traditions of artistic creation and theory to better engage with, analyze and understand a creative work;
Connect: Examine connections between art and society and articulate how the arts are a historical and cultural phenomenon.
Humanities
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational understanding of the humanities, as defined by the essential learning outcomes for the designation in Board Policy R470 Appendix, Essential Learning Outcomes.
Upon successful completion of the General Education Humanities requirement, students will be able to:
Examine: Examine how humanities artifacts (such as oral narratives, literature, philosophy, media, and artworks) express the human condition;
Explain: Explain how humanities artifacts take on meaning within networks or systems (such as languages, cultures, values, and worldviews) that account for for the complexities and uncertainties of the human condition;
Analyze: Analyze humanities artifacts according to humanities methodologies, such as a close analysis, questioning, reasoning, interpretation, and critical thinking;
Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast diverse humanistic perspectives across cultures, communities, and/or time periods to explain how people make meaning of their lives;and
Apply: Using humanities perspectives, reflect on big questions related to aesthetics, values, meaning, and ethics and how those apply to their own lives.
Life Science
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational understanding of the life sciences, as defined by the essential learning outcomes for the designation in Board Policy R470 Appendix, Essential Learning Outcomes.
Upon successful completion of the General Education Life Sciences requirement, students will be able to:
Apply Scientific Methods: Describe and apply approaches to scientific discovery and interpretation of experimental data;
Understand: Demonstrate understanding of matter, energy, and their influence on biological systems;
Apply Knowledge: Describe and apply evolutionary concepts in terms of inheritance, adaptation, and diversity of life;
Explain: Explain the mechanisms of information storage, expression, and exchange in living organisms or eco-systems; and
Reflect: Reflect on the relevance of life sciences in a broader context.
Physical Science
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational understanding of the physical sciences, as defined by the essential learning outcomes for the designation in Board Policy R470 Appendix, Essential Learning Outcomes.
Upon successful completion of the General Education Physical Sciences requirement, students will be able to:
Explain scientific methods: Explain science as a process and as a way of understanding the physical world;
Understand: Demonstrate understanding of matter, energy, and their influence on physical systems;
Evaluate: Evaluate the credibility of various sources of information about science-related issues; and
Apply: Describe how the Physical Sciences utilize their foundational principles to confront and solve pressing local and global challenges, shaping historical, ethical, or social landscapes in the process.
Social/Behavioral Science
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational understanding of the social sciences, as defined by the essential learning outcomes for the designation in Board Policy R470 Appendix, Essential Learning Outcomes.
Upon successful completion of the General Education Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement, students will be able to:
Examine: Examine institutions and human behavior through social and behavioral concepts, methods, or theories;
Analyze: Identify diverse perspectives to explore and examine social and behavioral phenomena; and
Apply: Apply discipline-relevant and scientific theories and methods to make inferences about or applications to social and behavioral phenomena at personal, institutional, or cultural levels.
BD Requirement Area Learning Outcomes
Diversity
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational cross-cultural understanding, examining current and historical narratives of equality, justice, progress, and freedom. This requirement prepares students to engage in meaningful dialogue across social boundaries and to consider ethical and social decisions from multiple perspectives.
Upon successful completion of the Diversity Requirement, students will be able to:
Understand how the culture, history, or current circumstances of one or more groups in the U.S. have experienced sustained systemic discrimination.
Examine factors that support and sustain systemic discrimination of groups in the U.S.
Apply disciplinary methods to analyze real-world strategies for fostering a more equitable society and challenging systemic discrimination.
Reflect on their own identities to apply concepts of inclusion, equity, and social justice in their interactions.
International
Students satisfy this requirement by demonstrating a foundational understanding of the interconnection of local and global systems. Students will demonstrate the necessary skills to engage in meaningful dialogue, fostering a more civil and productive exchange of ideas with and about people from various parts of the world.
Upon successful completion of the International Requirement, students will be able to:
Articulate principles of civil discourse.
Analyze multiple worldviews.
Compare individual and societal responses to complex problems.
Examine and reflect on the interconnection of social, economic, and/or environmental systems across multiple contexts.
Upper Division Communication/Writing
Students satisfy this requirement by developing advanced writing and speaking skills tailored to academic and professional contexts. They learn to engage with disciplinary conventions, adapt communication for different audiences, and integrate feedback for improvement, fostering ongoing growth in effective communication.
Upon successful completion of the Upper-Division Communication/Writing Requirement, students will be able to:
Write and communicate clearly and effectively within the standards and conventions established within a specific genre and/or discipline.
Incorporate feedback to revise their writing for at least one assignment.
Use multiple forms of writing and/or communication in ways that are adapted to the needs of specific purposes and/or audiences.
The Methods Requirement supports students in learning the methods of inquiry relevant to their field of study. Students satisfy this requirement by applying analytical skills to evaluate and address comprehensive challenges with a critical lens. The Methods Requirement is fulfilled by completing either a Quantitative Intensive or a Disciplinary Inquiry designated course.
Disciplinary Inquiry
Upon successful completion of the Methods Requirement through a DI-designated course, students will be able to:
- Identify and explain discipline-specific methods foundational to the process of inquiry in the field.
- Apply discipline-specific methods of inquiry to develop questions, design investigations, collect and analyze information, and present findings effectively.
- Reflect on how discipline-specific methods of inquiry can be used to solve practical problems or address real-world issues.
Quantitative Intensive
Upon successful completion of the Methods Requirement through a QI-designated course, students will be able to:
- Connect previously acquired quantitative literacy to discipline-specific applications.
- Apply discipline-specific quantitative methods to solve theoretical, practical, or real-world problems.
- Relate course-related quantitative methods to the discipline.
- Communicate results and insights from quantitative analysis effectively.