General Education Curriculum Requirements

GEC 01. Written Communication (6 hours)

Students complete:

ENG 101 - Composition One 3 hrs.
Taken the first semester at the university or immediately following ENG 100E .
ENG 102 - Composition Two 3 hrs.
Taken the semester immediately following ENG 101 .

ACT Requirement

Students scoring 17 or above on the English language portion of the ACT must enroll in ENG 101 during their first semester at the university. Students scoring 16 or below on the English language portion of the ACT must enroll in ENG 100E during their first semester at the university and ENG 101 in the regular semester immediately following completion of ENG 100E . In the regular semester immediately following completion of ENG 101 , students must enroll in ENG 102 .

GEC 02. Natural Science (6 hours minimum)

Note: Programs may require specific GEC 02 courses, as indicated in the Degree Plan (DEG 02, etc.).

Students complete six hours (lecture courses with co-requisite laboratories as applicable) from the following list:

3 Hour Options:

AST 111 - General Astronomy I 3 hrs.
AST 112 - General Astronomy II 3 hrs.
BSC 103 - Green Planet: Life in the Terrestrial World 2 hrs. AND
BSC 103L - Green Planet: Life in the Terrestrial World Laboratory 1 hr
BSC 104 - Blue Planet: Exploring Life in the Aquatic World 2 hrs. AND
BSC 104L - Blue Planet Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 107 - Human Planet: Discovering Human Evolution 2 hrs. AND
BSC 107L - Human Planet Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 104 - Chemistry and Our Environment 3 hrs.
GHY 104 - Weather and Climate 3 hrs.
GHY 105 - Land and Water 3 hrs.
GLY 110 - Geology of Mississippi 3 hrs.
MAR 151 - Introduction to Ocean Science 3 hrs.
PHY 103 - Introductory Physics 3 hrs.
PSE 190 - Living in a Material World 3 hrs.

4-5 Hour Options:

BSC 110 - Principles of Biological Science I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 110L - Principles of Biological Science I Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 111 - Principles of Biological Science II 3 hrs. AND
BSC 111L - Principles of Biological Science II Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 250 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 250L - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 106 - General Chemistry I 3 hrs. AND
CHE 106L - General Chemistry I Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 110 - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochemistry 3 hrs. AND
CHE 110L - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochem Lab 1 hr.
GLY 101 - Physical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 101L - Physical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
GLY 103 - Historical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 103L - Historical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 111 - General Physics I 3 hrs. AND
PHY 111L - General Physics I Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 112 - General Physics II 3 hrs. AND
PHY 112L - General Physics II Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 201 - General Physics I with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 201L - General Physics I with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 202 - General Physics II with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 202L - General Physics II with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.

GEC 03. Humanities (6 hours)

Note: Programs may require specific GEC 03 courses, as indicated in the Degree Plan (DEG 02, etc.).

Students complete two courses from two different prefixes (i.e., ENG, HIS, PHI, REL) from the following list:

ENG 203 - World Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 205 - Introduction to Literature 3 hrs.
HIS 101 - World Civilizations: Beginnings to 1500 C.E. 3 hrs.
HIS 102 - World Civilizations: 1500 to the present 3 hrs.
HIS 104 - Exploring World History 3 hrs.
PHI 151 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 hrs.
PHI 171 - Ethics and Good Living 3 hrs.
REL 131 - Comparative Religion 3 hrs.

GEC 04. Aesthetic Values (3 hours)

Note: Programs may require a specific GEC 04 course, as indicated in the Degree Plan (DEG 02, etc.).

Students complete one course from the following list:

GEC 05. Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)

Note: Programs may require specific GEC 05 courses, as indicated in the Degree Plan (DEG 02, etc.).

Students complete two courses from the following list:

ANT 101 - The Human Experience: A Global Perspective on Human Diversity 3 hrs.
ANT 221 - Introduction to Cultural & Linguistic Anthropology 3 hrs.
ECO 101 - Basic Economics 3 hrs.
GHY 101 - World Geography: Dynamics of a Changing Earth 3 hrs.
HHS 100 - Concepts of Wellness 3 hrs.
PS 101 - American Government 3 hrs.
PSY 110 - General Psychology 3 hrs.
SOC 101 - Understanding Society: Principles of Sociology 3 hrs.
WL 110 - Introduction to Language 3 hrs.

GEC 06. Mathematics (3 hours)

Note: Programs may require a specific GEC 06 course, as indicated in the Degree Plan (DEG 02, etc.).

Students complete one option from the following list:

MAT 100 - Quantitative Reasoning 3 hrs.
MAT 101 - College Algebra 3 hrs.
Higher-numbered mathematics course
ACT Math sub score of 24 or higher
SAT Math score of 560 or higher

ACT Requirement for Higher-level Math Placement

Students with an ACT mathematics subtest score of 19 or below may choose between two options: 1. MAT 101 - College Algebra with required concurrent enrollment in MAT 101S (College Algebra Support Course) or 2. MAT 100 - Quantitative Reasoning with required concurrent enrollment in MAT 100S (Quantitative Reasoning Support Course).
Students with an ACT mathematics subtest score between 20 and 23 may choose to take MAT 101 - College Algebra , MAT 100 - Quantitative Reasoning , or MAT 115 - Elementary Statistics
Students with an ACT mathematics subtest score of 24 or higher may enter MAT 102 (Brief Applied Calculus), MAT 103 (Plane Trigonometry), MAT 114 (Calculus for the Arts and Sciences), or MAT 128 (Precalculus Mathematics) directly.
Students with an ACT mathematics subtest score of 26 or higher may enter MAT 167 (Calculus I with Analytic Geometry) directly.

Alternative Credit for the General Education Curriculum

A student may receive credits for a GEC course if he or she is able to demonstrate mastery of the course material. Credit can be received for any GEC course in one of the following three ways: the student 1) completes an equivalent course with an acceptable score through the College Entrance Examinations Board’s Advanced Placement Testing Program before entering The University of Southern Mississippi; 2) passes an appropriate CLEP examination or 3) passes a challenge examination on the relevant course material. The GEC Mathematics requirement may be satisfied with an ACT math sub score of 24 or higher or an SAT mat sub score of 560 or higher. The detailed procedures and regulations regarding these three methods of obtaining up to 30 hours credit toward a degree at The University of Southern Mississippi are described in the University Admission Policies section of this Bulletin.

Transfer Credit

The detailed procedures and regulations regarding receiving transfer credits for courses are described in the University Admission Policies section of this Bulletin.

The detailed procedures and regulations regarding receiving GEC credit due to a student having obtained an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Sciences degree are described in the General Degree Requirements section of this Bulletin.

Exemptions and Substitutions

Requests for exemption and substitutions for the requirements of the General Education Curriculum should be initiated in consultation with the student’s advisor.