Upper Division General Education

Upper-Division Writing (1 course—3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits for transfer students)

Courses that meet the upper-division writing requirement are writing-intensive courses at the 3000- or 4000-level that provide instruction in writing conventions, genres, and information literacy skills appropriate to the particular discipline or type of writing covered by the particular course, and use writing tasks to help students learn the course material and demonstrate their learning.

Courses address the following learning outcome:

• Written Communication—Students write clearly and effectively for a variety of audiences and purposes.

Students may select any of the following courses to meet the requirement. If a course that meets a requirement in the student’s major is on the list, it may count for both the Upper-Division Writing requirement and the major. 

Upper–Division Values (1 course—3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits for transfer students)

Courses that meet the upper-division values requirement are courses in which students continue to discern and assess the values that underlie various critical positions, articulate their own values with coherence and integrity, and/or endeavor to put their values into practice through participation in efforts to influence the public good. Courses that meet the upper-division values requirement would be courses at the 3000- or 4000-level that a) address ethical issues, either related to an academic discipline or profession or in society as a whole, or b) which involve students in civic engagement activities, and do so at a more advanced level than the lower-division General Education courses.

Courses address either of these learning outcomes:

• Civic Engagement—Students identify and engage in efforts that constructively influence the public good, or  
• Ethical Reasoning and Values—Students identify, explain, and evaluate the ethical perspectives of others and themselves.

Students may select any of the following courses to meet the requirement. If a course that meets a requirement in the student’s major is on the list, it may count for both the Upper-Division Values requirement and the major.