Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Students are subject to the general degree requirements in effect at the time they first enter the Boulder campus of the University of Colorado and are subject to the major requirements in force at the time they declare the major. Arts and sciences students have 10 years to complete the requirements for a declared major. If the 10-year limit is exceeded, the student may be required to satisfy current major requirements. Students pursuing a major degree program identified for discontinuation by decision of the Board of Regents and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education have four years from the formal announcement of discontinuation to complete the degree program and graduate. The requirements, rules, and policies stated here apply to all students first entering the Boulder campus during the 2013–14 academic year.

Students must complete a degree within 10 years. If it has been more than 10 years since matriculation into the College of Arts and Sciences and no degree has been completed, students may be subject to new curricula in place at the time of reenrollment. Please see the Minimum Major Requirements section for additional information on major requirements. Students may contact the Academic Advising Center for further assistance.

Academic Advising and Orientation

Students in the college are expected to assume responsibility for planning their academic program in conjunction with their academic advisor in accordance with college rules and policies and with departmental major requirements. Any questions concerning these provisions are to be directed to the student’s academic advisor or to the Academic Advising Center.

The college cannot assume responsibility for problems resulting from students failing to follow the policies stated in the catalog or from incorrect advice given by someone other than an appropriate staff member of the college.

All new students are required to attend a special orientation, advising, and registration program on campus before enrolling. 

Advising

 Academic advising is an integral part of undergraduate education. The goal of all academic advising is to help students make responsible decisions as they develop educational plans compatible with their potential and with their career and life goals. Advising is more than the sharing of information about academic courses and programs; it includes encouraging students to formulate important questions about the nature and direction of their education and working with them to find answers to those questions. Advisors confer with students about alternative course schedules and other educational experiences, but students themselves are responsible for selecting the content of their academic program and making progress toward an academic degree.

As students progress through their academic program, their questions and concerns change. CU-Boulder offers a system of faculty and professional academic advisors to address these ongoing and multifaceted concerns.

Students are ultimately responsible for choosing appropriate courses, for registering accurately, and for meeting all degree requirements. Academic advisors assist students in clarifying their interests, values, and goals and help students relate these to academic programs and educational opportunities. As students work with their advisors, the advisors help students develop a coherent and balanced program of study that fulfills graduation requirements and assist students in identifying and integrating into their programs educational experiences outside the classroom that enhance their personal, intellectual, and professional development. Academic advisors also assist students in understanding academic policies, requirements, procedures, and deadlines.

Center for First-year Students. All new first-year students entering the college are advised in the Center for First-year Students, where they receive assistance in making a successful transition to the Boulder campus, are oriented to the academic expectations of the college, and are supported in confirming their choice of major or in selecting an appropriate major. 

In addition, through the Center for First-year Students, the Academic Advising Center provides comprehensive advising services to students who are undecided about their major or who are thinking of changing their major to another CU-Boulder college or school. First-year advisors are familiar with the courses and degree requirements for all majors offered at CU-Boulder and assist undecided (open option) students in exploring the degree programs related to the students’ interests. While open option students are exploring majors, first-year advisors assist these students in designing programs of study that meet graduation requirements while providing them with the academic flexibility to pursue whichever degree program they ultimately choose.

Students who are interested in structured support in researching and selecting an appropriate major are encouraged to enroll in a 1-credit course, ARSC 1810 Academic Exploration and Decision Making, during their first year. 

Preprofessional Advising Program. The advising center also provides preprofessional advising for all students who are preparing to pursue the study of law, medicine, or other professional health fields. The Preprofessional Advising Program provides in-depth individual advising on preparation for these professional programs, provides workshops to prepare students for the application process, and offers guidance in arranging professional internships and shadowing opportunities.

Students should refer to college, school, and departmental advising materials for specific details on their advising programs.

Responsibilities of Students and Advisors

Within the advising system on the Boulder campus, both students and advisors have responsibilities.

Students are responsible for:

• knowing the requirements of their particular academic program, selecting courses that meet those requirements in an appropriate time frame, registering accurately, and monitoring their progress toward graduation;
• consulting with their academic advisor several times every term;
• scheduling and keeping academic advising appointments in a timely manner throughout their academic career, so as to avoid seeking advising only during busy registration periods;
• being prepared for advising sessions (for example, by bringing in a list of questions or concerns, having a tentative schedule in mind, and/or being prepared to discuss interests and goals with their advisor);
• knowing and adhering to published academic deadlines; 
• monitoring their position on registration waitlists;
• reading their CU e-mail on a weekly basis.

Advisors are responsible for:

• helping students clarify their values, goals, and abilities;
• helping students understand the nature and purpose of a college education;
• providing accurate information about educational options, requirements, policies, and procedures;
• helping students plan educational programs consistent with the requirements of their degree program and with their goals, interests, and abilities;
• assisting students in the continual monitoring and evaluation of their educational progress; and
• helping students locate and integrate the many resources of the university to meet their unique educational needs and aspirations.

Four-Year Graduation

The College of Arts and Sciences has adopted a set of guidelines to define the conditions under which a student should expect to graduate in four years. More information is available through the Academic Advising Center and major program and departmental offices.

The University of Colorado Boulder guarantees that if the scheduling of essential courses is found to have prevented a student in the College of Arts and Sciences from completing all course work necessary for a BA or BFA degree from the university by the end of the student’s eighth consecutive fall and spring semester, the college will provide tuition plus any course fees for all courses required for completion of the degree requirements. Students must satisfy all the conditions described below to be eligible for this guarantee. 

This guarantee extends to all students who enrolled the summer of 1994 or after into the College of Arts and Sciences as first-semester freshmen without MAPS deficiencies and who satisfy all the requirements described below. This guarantee cannot be extended to include completion of a second major, a double degree, a minor, a teaching certificate, or other certificate program. Some CU-Boulder study abroad programs may not provide a sufficient range of courses to allow students to meet the requirements and thus students who participate in study abroad are not included in this guarantee.

Four-Year Guarantee Requirements

1. Students should enroll in University of Colorado Boulder course work for eight consecutive fall and spring semesters.
2. No fewer than 60 credit hours of applicable course work should be completed with passing grades by the end of the second year (24 calendar months), 90 hours by the end of the third year (36 calendar months), and 120 hours by the end of the fourth year. Students should enroll in and pass an average of 15 credit hours each semester.
3. A minimum of 30 credit hours of college core-curriculum courses should be completed by the end of the second year, including college core-curriculum courses that also meet major requirements. All remaining college core-curriculum requirements must be fulfilled by the end of the eighth semester.
4. Students should complete 45 upper-division hours by the end of the eighth semester of study.
5. A GPA of at least 2.00 must be earned each semester.
6. Grades of C- or better in all course work required for the major should be earned, and students should have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all major course work attempted.
7. A recommended plan of study must be started toward the major no later than the start of the second semester of study (see note below for exceptions) and thereafter students must make adequate progress toward completing the major (defined by each major). A statement of adequate progress is available from the major or departmental office at the time the major is declared.
8. The major must be declared no later than the start of the second semester of study (see note below for exceptions), and students must remain in that major until graduation.
9. Students should meet with their assigned primary advisor each semester.
10. Students must register each semester within one week of the assigned registration time.
11. Students should avoid taking courses that are in conflict with the written advice of their assigned primary advisor.
12. Students should adhere to the General Credit and Enrollment Policies and Minimum Major Requirements listed in the Arts and Sciences section.
13. Courses in conflict with major or college core curriculum requirements should be avoided.
14. The student should apply online to graduate no later than the beginning of the seventh semester of study, and a graduation packet should be filed no later than the deadline for the appropriate graduation date (see Graduation Deadlines section).
15. Documentation should be kept proving that these requirements were satisfied (e.g., records of advising meetings attended, advising records and instructions, etc.).

The recommended plan of study for the following majors must be started in the first semester of study to be eligible for this guarantee: BA in biochemistry; chemistry; ecology and evolutionary biology; Japanese; integrative physiology; molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; geology; physics; and all majors that require foreign language course work when student proficiency falls below the entry-level language course of that major. Students seeking a BFA in dance or theatre must start the recommended plan of study for the corresponding BA program in the first semester of study and qualify for admission into the BFA program by the end of the third semester. Students seeking a BFA in film studies or fine arts must start the recommended plan of study for the corresponding BA program in the first semester of study and qualify for admission into the BFA program by the end of the fourth semester. If a student changes majors, the primary advisor, in consultation with the College of Arts and Sciences assistant dean’s office, will review the courses taken to date to determine whether the college will continue to extend the four-year guarantee.

General Graduation Requirements

Arts and sciences students must fulfill the following requirements for graduation:

1. Pass a total of 120 hours.
2. Maintain a 2.00 (C) grade point average in all University of Colorado work and a 2.00 (C) in all major course work attempted. (Some majors may require a higher minimum grade point average.)
3. Pass 45 credit hours of upper-division work (courses numbered in the 3000s and 4000s).
4. Arts and sciences students must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in University of Colorado courses on the Boulder campus. Of these 45 credits, a minimum of 30 credits must be in arts and sciences upper-division credit hours completed as a matriculated student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and at least 12 of these upper-division hours must be in the major. A maximum of 6 credit hours taken at other University of Colorado campuses (UC Denver and CU-Colorado Springs) can be counted toward the minimum 45 credits required on the Boulder campus. Courses taken while on CU-Boulder study abroad programs, through CU-Boulder continuing education, or CU-Boulder correspondence courses are considered to be in residence.
5. For the bachelor of arts degree, students must complete a minimum of 75 hours outside their major department. Students who complete designated departmental honors courses in their major department and/or in honors thesis credit can reduce the 75 hours required outside the major department by a corresponding number of credits, up to a maximum of 6.
6. For the bachelor of fine arts degree, students must complete a minimum of 53 credit hours outside of their major.
7. Complete a major offered by the College of Arts and Sciences. Students are subject to the major requirements in force when they declare the major. See the sections Majors and Other Areas of Interest and Minimum Major Requirements in this section.
8. Complete the general education (college core curriculum) and MAPS requirements with the following limitations:

• Although a single course may be listed in more than one core area, a student may use it to meet only one area requirement.
• Neither independent study nor pass/fail courses may be used to meet MAPS -deficiencies, core requirements, minor requirements, or the minimum major requirements.
• A single course may be used to meet both MAPS and core requirements as long as the course is applicable to both requirements. For example, a student admitted with a MAPS deficiency in English composition may take WRTG 1150, First-Year Writing and Rhetoric, to satisfy both the MAPS requirement and the core curriculum lower-division written communication requirement. 

This policy only applies to college level course work (CU or accepted transfer credit). If a student is exempt from a given core area, this does not exempt the student from fulfilling a MAPS deficiency in that area. A description of the College of Arts and Sciences MAPS requirements can be found in the General Information section.

After fall 2010, the Minimum Academic Preparation Standards for mathematics for the College of Arts and Sciences is 4 units including 2 of algebra, 1 of geometry, and 1 of college preparatory math such as trigonometry, analytic geometry, or elementary functions. This applies to students graduating from high school in spring 2010 and after.

If it has been more than 10 years since matriculation into the College of Arts and Sciences and no degree has been completed, students may be subject to new curricula in place at time of reenrollment. See the Minimum Major Requirements section for additional information on major requirements. Students may contact the Academic Advising Center for further assistance.

Core Curriculum

The mainstay of the general education requirements is the College of Arts and Sciences core curriculum. The core curriculum requirements are divided into two parts: skills acquisition and content areas of study. The following sections provide descriptions of the individual requirement areas, their underlying educational philosophies and goals, and the list of approved courses. The updated list of approved core courses is located on the college’s website at www.colorado.edu/ArtsSciences/students/undergraduates/core_curriculum.html.

Exemptions

Selected majors and the ecology and evolutionary biology minor are exempt from portions of the core curriculum, as core course work is considered equivalent to course work in the major. Students who graduate with more than one exempt major may apply their exemptions cumulatively.

Skills Acquisition

These requirements are designed to assure that each student has attained a minimum level of competency in each of the areas listed: foreign language, quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills, and written communication.

Although a single course may appear in several areas, students may use it to meet only one core requirement.

1. Foreign Language. All students are required to demonstrate, while in high school, third-level proficiency in a single modern or classical foreign language. Students who have not met this requirement at the time of matriculation will have a MAPS deficiency. They may make up the deficiency only by passing an appropriate third-semester college course or by passing a CU-Boulder approved proficiency examination. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

Students who are under the core curriculum, but not subject to MAPS, must complete the foreign language requirement to meet degree requirements.

Questions about placement should be referred to the appropriate foreign language department.

The goal of the language requirement is to encourage students to confront the structure, formal and semantic, of another language, significant and difficult works in that language, and one or more aspects of the culture lived in that language. This enables students to understand their own language and culture better, analyze texts more clearly and effectively, and appreciate more vividly the dangers and limitations of using a translated document. The language requirement is a general education requirement and so concentrates on reading. In some languages other abilities may be emphasized as well. Understanding what it means to read a significant text in its original language is essential for general education according to the standards of this university.

CU-Boulder courses that satisfy this requirement include the following:

• *ARAB 2110-3 Second Year Arabic 1
• CHIN 2110-5 Intermediate Chinese 1
• *CLAS 2114-4 Intermediate Latin 1
• CLAS 3113-3 Intermediate Classical Greek 1
• *FREN 2110-3 Second-Year French Grammar Review and Reading 1
• FRSI 2110-4 Intermediate Farsi 1
• *GRMN 2010-4 Intermediate German 1
• GRMN 2030-5 Intensive Intermediate German
• *HEBR 2110 (3-4) Intermediate Hebrew I
• HIND 2110-5 Intermediate Hindi 1
• INDO 2010-4 Intermediate Indonesian 1
• *ITAL 2110-3 Intermediate Italian Reading, Grammar, and Composition 1
• JPNS 2110-5 Intermediate Japanese 1
• KREN 2110-5 Second-Year Intermediate Korean 1
• *NORW 2110-4 Second-Year Norwegian Reading and Conversation 1
• *PORT 2110-3 Second-Year Portuguese 1
• *RUSS 2010-4 Second-Year Russian 1
• SLHS 2325-4 American Sign Language 3
• *SPAN 2110-3 Second-Year Spanish 1
• *SPAN 2150-5 Intensive Second-Year Spanish
• *SWED 2110-4 Second-Year Swedish Reading and Conversation 1

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

2. Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Skills (QRMS) (3–6 semester hours). Liberally educated people should be able to think at a certain level of abstraction and to manipulate symbols. This requirement has two principal objectives. The first is to provide students with the analytical tools used in core curriculum courses and in their major areas of study. The second is to help students acquire the reasoning skills necessary to assess adequately the data which will confront them in their daily lives. Students completing this requirement should be able to: construct a logical argument based on the rules of inference; analyze, present, and interpret numerical data; estimate orders of magnitude as well as obtain exact results when appropriate; and apply mathematical methods to solve problems in their university work and in their daily lives.

Students can fulfill the requirement by passing one of the courses or sequences of courses listed below or by passing the CU-Boulder QRMS proficiency exam. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

• ECEN 1500-3. Sustainable Energy
• ECON 1078-3 Mathematical Tools for Economists 1
• *MATH 1012-3 Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Skills (same as QRMS 1010)
• MATH 1110-3 and 1120-3 The Spirit and Uses of Mathematics 1 and 2
• MATH 1130-3 Mathematics From the Visual Arts (same as QRMS 1130)
• *MATH 1150-4 Precalculus Mathematics
• *MATH 1410-3 Mathematics for Secondary Educators
• *MATH 2380-3 Mathematics for the Environment (same as QRMS 2380)
• PHYS 1010-3 Physics of Everyday Life 1
• PHYS 1020-4 Physics of Everyday Life 2
• PHYS 1220-3 Physics for Future Presidents
• PSCI 2075-3 Quantitative Research Methods
• PSCI 3105-3 Designing Social Inquiry
• Any 3-credit math module: MATH 1011-3, MATH 1071-3, or MATH 1081-3.
• Any 3 credits of mathematics courses numbered *MATH 1300 and above or applied mathematics courses numbered *APPM 1350 and above.

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education,  highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

3. Written Communication (3 lower-division and 3 upper-division semester hours). Writing is a skill fundamental to all intellectual endeavors. While some college courses require more writing than others, good writing is recognized as a necessary means of communication in every scholarly discipline. The core curriculum promotes the principle that ideas do not exist apart from language, and thus content cannot be isolated from style. For ideas to flourish, they must be expressed clearly and gracefully, so that readers take pleasure while taking instruction. Students may meet the lower-division component of this requirement by first passing one of the approved lower-division courses or by receiving a score of 4 or 5 on the English Language and Composition Advanced Placement exam. Students may then complete the upper-division component of this requirement by passing one of the approved upper-division courses or by passing the written communication proficiency exam. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

Lower-division Courses

• ARSC 1080-4 College Writing and Research
• *ARSC 1150-3 Writing in Arts and Sciences
• CLAS 1020-3 Argument from Evidence: Critical Writing about the Ancient World
• EBIO 1950-3 Introduction to Scientific and Academic Writing
• ENGL 1001-3 Freshman Writing Seminar
• IPHY 1950-3 Introduction to Scientific Writing in Integrative Physiology
• PHIL 1500-3 Reading, Writing, and Reasoning
• *WRTG 1100-4 Extended First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
• *WRTG 1150-3 First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
• *WRTG 1250-3 Advanced First-Year Writing and Rhetoric

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

Upper-division Courses

• ARSC 3100-3 Multicultural Perspective and Academic Discourse
• CHIN/JPNS 3200-3 Advanced Writing on Topics in Chinese and Japanese Literature and Civilization
• EBIO 3940-3 Arguments in Scientific Writing
• ENVS 3020-3 Advanced Writing in Environmental Studies
• GEOL 3090-3 Developing Scientific Writing Skills
• HIST 3020-3 Historical Thinking and Writing
• *HONR 3220-3 Advanced Honors Writing Workshop
• IPHY 3700-3 Scientific Writing in Integrative Physiology
• ITAL 3025-3  Advanced Composition 2: Introduction to Literary Writing
• PHIL 3480-3 Critical Thinking and Writing in Philosophy
• *PHYS 3050-3 Writing in Physics: Problem Solving and Rhetoric
• RLST 3020-3 Advanced Writing in Religious Studies
• SOCY 3010-3 Sociology Capstone Course: Professional Writing
• SPAN 3010-3 Advanced Rhetoric and Composition
• WMST 3800-3 Advanced Writing in Feminist Studies
• *WRTG 3007-3 Writing in the Visual Arts
• WRTG/NRLN 3020-3 Topics in Writing
• *WRTG 3030-3 Writing on Science and Society
• *WRTG 3035-3 Technical Communication and Design
• WRTG 3040-3 Writing on Business and Society

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

Content Areas of Study

4. Historical Context (3 semester hours). Courses that fulfill this requirement enable students to study historical problems or issues and to develop an understanding of earlier ideas, institutions, and cultures.

Courses explore the times and circumstances in which social, intellectual, artistic, or other developments occurred. The purpose of this exploration is to analyze subjects in their context, that is, to investigate both the processes and the meanings of change. Among the educational aims of these courses are the following: to contribute to historical perspectives that may help to clarify issues that arise today or will arise tomorrow, to arouse the curiosity of students concerning historical conditions that may be relevant to subjects studied in other courses, and to expand the imagination by generating an awareness of the diverse ways in which our common humanity has expressed itself.

Students may choose to meet this 3-hour requirement by passing any course listed below. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

• ANTH 1180-3 Maritime People: Fishers and Seafarers
• ANTH 1190-3 Origins of Ancient Civilizations
• ANTH/CLAS 2009-3 Modern Issues, Ancient Times
• ARAB 3230-3 Islamic Culture and Iberian Peninsula
• ARTH/CLAS 1509-4 Trash and Treasure, Temples and Tombs: Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World
• ARTH/CLAS 2019-3 Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius
• *CEES /HIST 2002-3 Introduction to Central and East European Studies
• CLAS 1030/*PHIL 1010-3 Introduction to Western Philosophy: Ancient
• CLAS/*HIST 1051-3 The World of Ancient Greeks
• CLAS/*HIST 1061-3 The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome
• *CLAS 1140-3 Bread and Circuses: Society and Culture in the Roman World
• ECON 4514-3 Economic History of Europe
• ENGL 3164-3 History and Literature of Georgian Britain
• ENGL 4113-3 History and Culture of Medieval England
• GRMN 2301-3 Inside Nazi Germany: Politics, Culture, and Everyday Life in the Third Reich
• *HIST 1010-3 Western Civilization 1: Antiquity to the 16th Century
• HIST 1018-3 Introduction to Early Latin American History to 1810
• *HIST 1020-3 Western Civilization 2: 16th Century to the Present
• HIST 1028-3 Introduction to Modern Latin American History Since 1800
• HIST 1113-3 Introduction to British History to 1660 (formerly HIST 2103)
• HIST 1123-3 Introduction to British History since 1660 (formerly HIST 2123)
• HIST 1218-3 Introduction to Sub-Saharan African History to 1800 (formerly HIST 1208)
• HIST 1228-3 Introduction to Sub-Saharan African History since 1800
• HIST 1308-3 Introduction to Middle Eastern History
• HIST 1518-3 Introduction to South Asian History to 1757
• HIST 1528-3 Introduction to South Asian History since 1757 (formerly HIST 1408)
• HIST 1618-3 Introduction to Chinese History to 1644 (formerly HIST 1608)
• HIST 1628-3 Introduction to Modern Chinese History
• *HIST 1708-3 Introduction to Japanese History
• HIST/JWST 1828-3 Introduction to Jewish History Since 1492 (formerly HIST/JWST/GSLL 1108)
• HIST 2100-3 Revolution in History
• HIST 2112-3 Early Modern Societies (1450–1700)
• HIST 2220-3 History of War and Society (formerly HIST 2222)
• HIST 2629-3 China in World History
•  HIST 4190/IAFS 3500-3 French Connections: Contemporary France and America in Historical Context
• HONR 2251-3 Introduction to the Bible
• IAFS/JWST 3650-3 History of Arab-Israeli Conflict
• JWST/RLST 3100-3 Judaism
• LIBB 1700-3 The History of Communication from Caves to Cyberspace
• *PHIL 1020-3 Introduction to Western Philosophy: Modern
•  PHIL 3000-3 History of Ancient Philosophy
• PHIL 3010-3 History of Modern Philosophy
• PHIL 3410-3 History of Science: Ancients to Newton
• PHIL 3430-3 History of Science: Newton to Einstein
• RLST 3000-3 The Christian Tradition
• RUSS 2211-3 Introduction to Russian Culture
• RUSS 2221-3 Introduction to Modern Russian Culture
• *RUSS 2471-3 Women in Russian Culture: From Folklore to the 19th Century
• RUSS 3601-3 Russian Culture Past and Present
• RUSS 4301-3 American-Russian Cultural Relations
• SCAN 2202-3 The Vikings

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

5. Human Diversity (3 semester hours). Courses fulfilling this requirement increase the student’s understanding of the world’s diversity and pluralism through the study of two broad and interrelated areas: (1) the nature and meaning of diversity and the experience of marginalized groups; and (2) cultures other than those of Europe and the United States. This requirement explicitly identifies an awareness and understanding of pluralism as essential to a liberal education.

(1) Gender, Ethnic, and Social Diversity. Courses in this area are designed to expand the range of each student’s understanding of the experience of individuals and groups who, because of such fundamental components of identity as race, ethnicity, gender, or other characteristics, have been historically marginalized by society and placed outside of the mainstream. Generally courses will explore the ways in which marginalization has occurred and the reasons for this marginalization. The intent is to expand understanding of these social groups with the goal of identifying the way social categories shape human thought and experience.

(2) Non-Western Cultures. These courses are designed to expand the range of the student’s understanding of cultures that are not derived principally from the western experience. A comparative perspective introduces students to the commonality and diversity of cultural responses to universal human problems. Each course seeks to cultivate insight into and respect for diversity by requiring students to explore a cultural world quite different from their own.

Courses satisfying this requirement are intended to portray culture in the most integrated sense, including aspects of material adaptation, social pattern, ideas and values, and aesthetic achievement.

Students are required to pass 3 hours of course work from any course listed below. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher. Students who graduate with a major in ethnic studies are exempt from completing the human diversity requirement.

• ANTH 1100-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: The Tamils
• ANTH 1105-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: Tibet
• ANTH 1115-3 The Caribbean in Post-Colonial Perspective
• ANTH 1120/ETHN 1123-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: Hopi and Navajo (formerly AIST 1125/ANTH 1120)
• ANTH 1135-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: TBA
• ANTH 1140-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: The Maya
• ANTH 1145-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: The Aztecs
• ANTH 1150-3 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: Regional Cultures of Africa
• ANTH 1160-3 The Ancient Egyptian Civilization
• ANTH 1170-3 Exploring Culture and Gender through Film
• ANTH 4560/ ETHN 4563-3 North American Indian Acculturation (formerly AIST 4565/ANTH 4560)
• ARAB 1011-3 Introduction to Arab and Islamic Civilizations
• ARSC 3001-3 Social Engagement and Human Rights: The South Africa Model
• ARTH 3209-3 Art, Culture, and Gender Diversity, 1400–1600: Renaissance Art Out of the Canon
• ARTH/CLAS 4269-3 Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
• ARTH/WMST 4769-3 Gender Studies in Early Modern Visual Culture
• ASTR 2000-3 Ancient Astronomies of the World
• CHIN 1012-4 Introduction to Chinese Civilization
• CHIN 1061-3 Boudoirs, Books, Battlefields: Voices and Images of Chinese Women
• CLAS/WMST 2100-3 Women in Ancient Greece
• *CLAS/WMST 2110-3 Women in Ancient Rome
• *COMM 2400-3 Discourse, Culture, and Identities
• COMM 3410-3 Intercultural Communication
• ECON 4626-3 Economics of Inequality and Discrimination
• EDUC 3013-(3-4) School and Society
• ENGL/WMST 1260-3 Introduction to Women’s Literature
• ENGL 1800-3 American Ethnic Literatures
• ENGL/JWST 3677-3 Jewish-American Literature
• ETHN 1022-3 Introduction to Africana Studies (formerly ETHN 2002)
• ETHN 1023-3 Introduction to American Indian Studies (formerly ETHN 2003)
• ETHN 1025-3 Introduction to Asian American Studies (formerly AAST 1015)
• ETHN 2013-3 Critical Issues in Native North America (formerly AIST 2015)
• ETHN 2215-3 The Japanese American Experience (formerly AAST 2210)
• ETHN 2232-3 Contemporary African American Social Movements (formerly BLST 2200)
• *ETHN 2242-3 African American Social and Political Thought (formerly BLST 2210)
• ETHN 2432/HIST 2437-3 African American History (formerly BLST/HIST 2437)
• ETHN 2536-3 Survey of Chicana and Chicano History and Culture (formerly CHST/HIST 2537)
• ETHN 2546-3 Chicana and Chicano Fine Arts and Humanities (formerly ETHN 1036)
• ETHN 3136/WMST 3135-3 Chicana Feminisms and Knowledges (formerly CHST/WMST 3135)
• ETHN 3201/INVS/LDSP 3100 (3-4) Multicultural Leadership: Theories, Principles and Practices (formerly ETHN 3200/INVS 3100)
• ETHN 3213/WMST 3210-3 American Indian Women (formerly AIST/WMST 3210)
• ETHN 3671-3 People of Color and Social Movements (formerly ETHN 3675)
• FILM 3013-3 Women and Film
• *FREN/ITAL 1400-3 Medieval/Renaissance Women Writers in Italy and France
• FREN 1950-3 French Feminisms
• FREN 3800-3 France and the Muslim World
• GEOG/WMST 3672-3 Gender and Global Economy
• GEOG 3822-3 Geography of China
• GRMN/JWST 3501-3 Jewish-German Writers: Enlightenment to Present Day
• GRMN/WMST 3601-3 German Women Writers
• GRMN/WMST 4301-3 Gender, Race, and Immigration in Germany and Europe
• HEBR/JWST 2350-3 Introduction to Jewish Culture
• HEBR/JWST 3202-3 Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Jewish Texts and Traditions
• HIND 1011-3 Introduction to South Asian Civilizations
• HIND 3811-3 The Power of the Word: Subversive and Censored 20th Century Indo-Pakistani Literature (formerly HNDI 3811)
• *HIST 2616-3 U.S. Women’s History
• HONR 1810-3 Honors Diversity Seminar
• HONR/WMST 3004-3 Women in Education
• HONR 3270-3 Journey Motifs in Women’s Literature
• HONR 4025-3 Heroines and Heroic Tradition
• HUMN 2145-3 African America in the Arts
• HUMN/ITAL 4150-3 The Decameron and the Age of Realism
• HUMN/ITAL 4730-3 Italian Feminisms: Culture, Theory, and Narratives of Difference
• IAFS/JWST 3600-3 Global Secular Jewish Societies
• INVS/EDUC 2919-3 Renewing Democracy in Communities and Schools
• ITAL 4300-3 Multiculturalism in Italy
• JPNS 1012-4 Introduction to Japanese Civilization
• KREN 1011-3 introduction to Korean Civilization
• *LGBT 2000/WMST 2030-3 Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
• *LIBB 1600-3 Gender and Film
• LING 1020-3 Languages of the World
• *LING 2400-3 Language and Gender
• LING 3220-3 American Indian Languages in Social-Cultural Context
• MUEL 2772-3 World Musics
• PHIL 2270-3 Philosophy and Race
• PHIL/WMST 2290-3 Philosophy and Women
• PSCI 3101-3 Black Politics (formerly PSCI 3101/ETHN 3012)
• PSCI 3301/WMST 3300-3 Gender, Sexuality, and U.S. Law
• PSCI 4131-3 Latinos and the U.S. Political System (formerly PSCI 4131/ETHN 4136)
• PSYC/WMST 2700-3 Psychology of Contemporary American Women
• *RLST 2700-3 American Indian Religious Traditions (formerly ETHN 2703/RLST 2700)
• *RLST/WMST 2800-3 Women and Religion
• RUSS/WMST 4471-3 Women in 20th Century Russian Culture
• SCAN 3206-3 Nordic Colonialisms
• SCAN/WMST 3208-3 Women in Nordic Society: Modern States of Welfare
• *SOCY/WMST 1016-3 Sex, Gender, and Society 1
• SOCY/WMST 3012-3 Women and Development
• SPAN 3270-3 Barcelona: Understanding Local and Immigrant Cultures
• WMST 2000-3 Introduction to Feminist Studies
• WMST 2020-3 Femininities, Masculinities, and Alternatives
• WMST 2050-3 Gender, Sexuality, and Popular Culture
• WMST 2200-3 Women, Literature, and the Arts
• WMST 3670-3 Immigrant Women in the Global Economy

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

6. United States Context (3 semester hours). Courses fulfilling the United States Context requirement explore important aspects of culture and society in the United States. They stimulate critical thinking and an awareness of the place of the United States in the world by promoting an understanding of the world views that the environment, culture, history, and values of the United States have fostered. They are required to include some discussion of the realities and issues related to matters of ethnic and racial diversity that characterize the nation’s ongoing experience. These courses familiarize students with the United States and enable them to evaluate it critically.

These courses teach an appreciation of United States culture while inviting students to ask probing questions about values and ideals that are understood to be an integral part of the United States. Some of the questions that might be addressed in these courses are: How have citizens and other residents of the United States derived a sense of identity from geography, language, politics, and the arts? How do people in the United States view and influence the world beyond the nation’s borders? How have the rights and responsibilities of citizenship changed over time? How have U.S. citizens and residents in the United States dealt with opposing values? Completing this requirement, students will develop both a better understanding of the United States, present and past, and a considerable interest in the nation’s future.

This 3-hour requirement may be fulfilled by passing any course listed below. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

• ANTH 3170-3 America: An Anthropological Perspective
• ARTH 3509-3 American Art (formerly AMST 3509)
• BAKR 1500-3 Colorado: History, Ecology, and Environment
• *CAMW 2001-3 The American West
• ECON 4524-3 Economic History of the U.S.
• ECON 4697-3 Industrial Organization and Regulation
• ENGL 2115-3 American Frontiers
• ETHN 2004-3 Themes in American Culture 1 (formerly AMST 2000)
• ETHN 2013-3 Critical Issues in Native North America (formerly AIST 2015)
• ETHN 2014-3 Themes in American Culture 2 (formerly AMST 2010)
• ETHN 2432/HIST 2437-3 African American History (formerly BLST/HIST 2437)
• ETHN 2536-3 Survey of Chicana and Chicano History and Culture (formerly CHST/HIST 2537)
• ETHN 3015-3 Asian Pacific American Communities (formerly AAST 3013)
•  ETHN 4504-3 Ethnic-American Autobiography (formerly AMST 4500)
• *HIST 1015-3 History of the United States to 1865
• *HIST 1025-3 History of the United States since 1865
• *HIST 2015-3 The History of Early America
• HIST 2126-3 Modern U.S. Politics and Diplomacy
• HIST 2166-3 The Vietnam Wars
• HIST 2516-3 America through Baseball
• *HIST 2636/WMST 2400-3 Women of Color and Activism
• HUMN 2145-3 African America in the Arts
• *INVS 1523-3 Civic Engagement: Democracy as a Tool for Social Change
• ITAL 4350-3 Wops and Dons to Movers and Shakers: The Italian-American Experience
• LIBB 2800-3 Horror Films and American Culture
• LING 1000-3 Language in U.S. Society
• MUEL 2752-3 Music in American Culture
• *PHIL 1200-3 Philosophy and Society
• PHIL 2220-3 Philosophy and Law
• *PSCI 1101-3 American Political System
• PSCI 3011-3 The American Presidency
• PSCI 3021-3 U.S. Campaigns and Elections
• PSCI 3054-3 American Political Thought
• PSCI 3061-3 State Government and Politics
• PSCI 3071-3 Urban Politics
• PSCI 3163-3 American Foreign Policy
• PSCI 3171-3 Government and Capitalism in the U.S.
• *RLST 2500-3 Religion in the United States
• RLST 3050-3 Religion and Literature in America
• RUSS 4301-3 American-Russian Cultural Relations
• *SOCY 1021-3 U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOCY/WMST 3016-3 Marriage and the Family in U.S. Society
• SOCY 3151-3 Self in Modern Society
• WMST 3900-3 Asian American Women (formerly ETHN 3905/WMST 3900)

*Note: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

 7. Literature and the Arts (6 semester hours, 3 of which must be upper-division). These courses promote a better understanding of fundamental aesthetic and cultural issues. They sharpen critical and analytical abilities so that students may develop a deeper appreciation of works of art. The goal of this requirement is to enhance the student’s ability to read critically, to understand the elements of art, and to grasp something of the complex relations between artist and public, and between art work and cultural matrix. The emphasis in courses which fulfill this requirement is on works that are generally recognized as central to and significant for one’s cultural literacy and thereby enhance the student’s understanding of our literary and artistic heritage.

 Courses stress literary works as well as the history and criticism of literature and the arts. They may utilize creative projects as a means of arriving at a better understanding of the art form, but students may not use studio or performance classes to satisfy this requirement.

Students are required to pass 6 hours of course work in literature and the arts, of which at least 3 hours must be upper-division. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

If students graduate with a major dealing in depth with literature and the arts (Chinese, classics, dance, English, fine arts, French, Germanic studies, humanities, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or theatre), they are exempt from this requirement.

Courses offered at CU-Boulder that satisfy this requirement include the following:

Lower-division Courses

• *ARTH 1300-3 History of World Art 1
• *ARTH 1400-3 History of World Art 2
• ARTH/CLAS 1509-4 Trash and Treasure, Temples and Tombs: Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World
• ARTH 1709-3 Freshmen Seminar: Critical Introduction to Art History
• *ARTH 2409-3 Introduction to Asian Arts
• CHIN 1051-3 Masterpieces of Chinese Literature in Translation
• *CHIN 2441-3 Film and the Dynamics of Chinese Culture
• CLAS 1100-3 Greek Mythology
• CLAS 1110-3 Muses and Man-Eaters 1: The Literature of Ancient Greece
• CLAS 1115-3 Honors: Masterpieces of Greek Literature in Translation
• *CLAS 1120-3 Muses and Man-Eaters 2: The Literature of Ancient Rome
• COMR 1800-3 Visual Literacy: Images and Ideologies
• DNCE 1017-3 Dance and Popular Culture
• DNCE 1027-3 Introduction to Dance and Culture (formerly DNCE 1029)
• ENGL 1500-3 Masterpieces of British Literature
• ENGL 1600-3 Masterpieces of American Literature
• FARR 2002-3 Literature of Lifewriting
• FREN 1200-3 Medieval Epic and Romance
• FREN 1610-3 How to Be French 1: “The Ancien Regime”
• FREN 1620-3 How to Be French 2: “Modernity”
• FREN 1900-3 Modern Paris in Literature, Photographs, Paintings, and Movies
• GRMN 1602-3 Metropolis and Modernity
• GRMN 2501-3 20th Century German Short Story
• *GRMN 2503-3 Fairy Tales of Germany
• *GRMN/HUMN 2601-3 Kafka and the Kafkaesque
• HEBR/JWST 2551-3 Jewish Literature: Jews Coming of Age
• HONR 2860-3 The Figure of Socrates
• HUMN 1010-6 Introduction to Humanities 1
• HUMN 1020-6 Introduction to Humanities 2
• HUMN 2100-3 Arts, Culture, and Media
• ITAL 1600-3 Strategies of Fear: Introduction to Italian Fantastic Literature
• JPNS 1051-3 Masterpieces of Japanese Literature in Translation
• MUEL 1832-3 Appreciation of Music
• MUEL 2852-3 Music in the Rock Era
• MUEL 2862-3 American Film Musical, 1926–1954
• *RUSS 2231-3 Fairy Tales of Russia
• SCAN 1202-3 Tolkien’s Nordic Sources and The Lord of the Rings
• *SPAN 1000-3 Cultural Difference through Hispanic Literature
• *THTR 1009-3 Introduction to Theatre
• *THTR 1011-3 Development of Theatre 1: Forms of Classical Theatre and Drama
• WMST 2200-3 Women, Literature, and the Arts

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

Upper-division Courses

• ARTH/CLAS 3039-3 Greek Art and Archaeology
• ARTH/CLAS 3049-3 Roman Art and Architecture
• ARTH 4329-3 Modern Art 1
• ARTH 4759-3 17th Century Art and the Concept of the Baroque
• CHIN/HUMN 3341-3 Literature and Popular Culture in Modern China
• CHIN 3351-3 Reality and Dream in Traditional Chinese Literature
• CLAS/HUMN 4110-3 Greek and Roman Epic
• CLAS/HUMN 4120-3 Greek and Roman Tragedy
• CLAS/HUMN 4130-3 Greek and Roman Comedy
• DNCE 4017-3 History and Philosophy of Dance
• DNCE 4037-3 Looking at Dance (formerly DNCE 3027)
• ENGL 3000-3 Shakespeare for Nonmajors
• ENGL 3060-3 Modern and Contemporary Literature for Nonmajors
• FILM/RUSS 3211-3 History of Russian Cinema
• FILM 3402-3 European Film and Culture
• FILM/HUMN 3660-3 The Postmodern
• FILM/HUMN 4135-3 Art and Psychoanalysis
• FREN 3200-3 Introduction to Literary Theory and Advanced Critical Analysis
• FREN 4300-3 Theatre and Modernity in 17th Century France
• GRMN 3502-3 Literature in the Age of Goethe
• GRMN/HUMN 3702-3 Dada and Surrealist Literature
• GRMN/HUMN 3802-3 Politics and Culture in Berlin, 1900–1933
• GRMN/HUMN 4504-3 Goethe’s Faust
• HEBR/JWST 4203-3 Israeli Literature: Exile, Nation, Home
• HEBR/JWST 4301-3 Venice: The Cradle of European Jewish Culture
• HUMN/ITAL 4140-3 The Age of Dante: Readings from The Divine Comedy
• HUMN/ITAL 4150-3 The Decameron and the Age of Realism
• HUMN/RUSS 4811-3 19th Century Russian Literature in Translation
• HUMN/RUSS 4821-3 20th Century Russian Literature and Art
• ITAL 4145-3 The Age of Dante in Italian
• ITAL 4147-3 Visualizing Dante’s Inferno: A Global Seminar in Florence, Italy
• ITAL 4600-3 Once Upon a Time in Italy
• MUEL 3822-3 Words and Music
• MUEL 3832-3 Music in Literature
• RUSS 4831-3 Contemporary Russian Literature
• SCAN 3202-3 Old Norse Mythology
• SCAN 3203-3 19th and 20th Century Nordic Literature
• SCAN 3204-3 Medieval Icelandic Sagas
• SCAN 3205-3 Scandinavian Folk Narrative
• SCAN 3506-3 Scandinavian Drama
• SPAN 3800-3 Latin American Literature In Translation
• THTR 3011-3 Development of American Musical Theatre

8. Natural Science (13 semester hours, including a two-course sequence and a laboratory or field experience). These courses study the nature of matter, life, and the universe. They enhance literacy and knowledge of one or more scientific disciplines, and enhance those reasoning and observing skills that are necessary to evaluate issues with scientific content. Courses are designed to demonstrate that science is not a static list of facts, but a dynamic process that leads to knowledge. This process is one of subtle interplay between observation, experimentation, and theory, enabling students to develop a critical view toward the conclusions and interpretations obtained through the scientific process.

Through a combination of lecture courses and laboratory or field experiences, students gain hands-on experience with scientific research. They develop observational skills of measurement and data interpretation and learn the relevance of these skills to the formation and testing of scientific hypotheses.

The goal of this requirement is to enable students to understand the current state of knowledge in at least one scientific discipline, with specific reference to important past discoveries and the directions of current development; to gain experience in scientific observation and measurement, in organizing and quantifying results, in drawing conclusions from data, and in understanding the uncertainties and limitations of the results; and to acquire sufficient general scientific vocabulary and methodology to find additional information about scientific issues, to evaluate it critically, and to make informed decisions.

The natural science requirement, which consists of passing 13 hours of approved natural science course work, includes one two-semester sequence of courses and at least 1 credit hour of an associated lab or field experience. No more than two lower-division courses may be taken from any single department (1-credit-hour lab/field experience courses are excepted). To fulfill the natural science core requirement the lab/field experience courses must be affiliated with a natural science lecture course.  Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

Students who graduate with a major in the natural sciences (astrophysical and planetary sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, ecology and evolutionary biology, geology, integrative physiology, molecular, cellular and developmental biology, or physics) or students who graduate with a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology are exempt from completing the natural science requirement.

Courses offered at CU-Boulder that satisfy this requirement include the following:

Two-semester Sequences

(Note: Although not recommended, the first semester of a sequence may be taken as a single course. Also, some sequences have included, corequisite, or optional laboratories.)

• *ANTH 2010-3 and *2020-3 Introduction to Physical Anthropology 1 and 2 (optional labs *ANTH 2030, *2040)
• ASTR 1000-3 and 1020-4 The Solar System, and Introductory Astronomy 2 (sequence does not include a lab) (ASTR 1000 formerly ASTR 1110)
• ASTR 1010-4 and 1020-3 Introductory Astronomy 1 and 2 (lab included in ASTR 1010)
• •*ASTR 1030-4 and *1040-4 Accelerated Introductory Astronomy 1 and 2 (lab included in ASTR 1030)
• *ATOC 1050-3 and 1060-3 Weather and the Atmosphere and Our Changing Environment: El Niño, Ozone, and Climate (optional lab *ATOC 1070)
• *CHEM 1011-3 and 1031-4 Environmental Chemistry 1 and 2 (lab included in CHEM 1031)
• CHEM 1113-4 and 1133-4 General Chemistry 1 and 2 (corequisite labs CHEM 1114 and 1134)
• CHEM 1251-5 and 1271-5 General Chemistry 1 and 2 for Chemistry and Biochemistry Majors (lab included)
• CHEM 1351-5 and 1371-5 Honors General Chemistry 1 and 2 (lab included) (formerly CHEM 1151 and 1171)
• EBIO 1030-3 and 1040-3 Biology: A Human Approach 1 and 2 (optional lab EBIO 1050)
• *EBIO 1210-3 and *1220-3 General Biology 1 and 2 (optional labs EBIO 1230, 1240)
• *GEOG 1001-4 and *1011-4 Environmental Systems 1 and 2: Climate and Vegetation, Landscapes and Water (lab included)
• *GEOL 1010-3 and *1020-3 Introduction to Geology and Introduction to Earth History (optional lab *GEOL 1030)
• *GEOL 1010-3 and 1040-3 Introduction to Geology and Geology of Colorado (optional lab *GEOL 1030)
• *GEOL 1010-3 and 1060-3 Introduction to Geology and Global Change—An Earth Science Perspective (optional lab *GEOL 1030)
• *MCDB 1030-3 and *1041-3 Molecules, Plagues and People, and Fundamentals of Human Genetics (corequisite lab MCDB 1042)
• *MCDB 1150-3 and *2150-3 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology, and Principles of Genetics (optional labs MCDB *1151, *2151)
• *PHYS 1010-3 and *1020-4 Physics of Everyday Life 1 and 2 (lab included in PHYS 1020)
• *PHYS 1110-4 and *1120-4 General Physics 1 and 2 (optional lab *PHYS 1140)
• *PHYS 2010-5 and *2020-5 General Physics 1 and 2 (lab included)

*Note: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

Nonsequence Courses

• ANTH 3000-3 Primate Behavior
• ANTH 3010-3 The Human Animal
• AREN 2110-3 Thermodynamics
• ASTR 1200-3 Stars and Galaxies (formerly ASTR 1120)
• ASTR 2000-3 Ancient Astronomies of the World
• ASTR 2010-3 Modern Cosmology: Origin and Structure of the Universe
• ASTR 2020-3 Introduction to Space Astronomy
• ASTR 2030-3 Black Holes
• ASTR/GEOL 2040-3 The Search for Life in the Universe
• ATOC/GEOL 3070-3 Introduction to Oceanography
• ATOC 3300/GEOG 3301-3 Analysis of Climate and Weather Observations
• ATOC 3500/CHEM 3151-3 Air Chemistry and Pollution (formerly ATOC/CHEM 3500)
• ATOC/ENVS 3600/GEOG 3601-3 Principles of Climate
• ATOC 4700-3 Weather Analysis and Forecasting
• ATOC 4750-3 Desert Meteorology and Climate
• *CHEM 1021-4 Introductory Chemistry (lab included)
• CHEN 1000-3 Creative Technology
• EBIO 3180-3 Global Ecology
• ENVS 1000-4 Introduction to Environmental Studies
• ENVS/PHYS 3070-3 Energy and the Environment
• ENVS/GEOL 3520-3 Energy and Climate Change: An Interdisciplinary Approach
• GEOG 3511-4 Introduction to Hydrology
• GEOG/GEOL 4241-4 Principles of Geomorphology (lab included)
• GEOL 2100-3 Environmental Geology
• GEOL 3040-3 Global Change: The Recent Geological Record
• GEOL 3720-3 Evolution of Life: The Geological Record
• GEOL 3950-3 Natural Catastrophes and Geologic Hazards
• IPHY 2420-3 Nutrition for Health
• IPHY 3660-3 The Dynamics of Motor Learning
• MCDB 3150-3 Biology of the Cancer Cell
• MCDB 3330-3 Evolution and Creationism
• *PHIL 1400-3 Philosophy and the Sciences
• PHIL 3430-3 History of Science: Newton to Einstein
• PHYS 1230-3 Light and Color for Non-Scientists
• *PHYS 1240-3 Sound and Music
• PHYS 1300-3 Experiment in Physics
• *PSYC 2012-3 Biological Psychology 1
• SLHS 2010-3 Science of Human Communication

One-credit-hour Lab/Field Courses
(NOTE: Each course below has a prerequisite or corequisite.)

• *ANTH 2030-1 Lab in Physical Anthropology 1
• *ANTH 2040-1 Lab in Physical Anthropology 2
• *ATOC 1070-1 Weather and the Atmosphere Laboratory
• CHEM 1114-1 Lab in General Chemistry 1
• CHEM 1134-1 Lab in General Chemistry 2
• EBIO 1050-1 Biology: A Human Approach Lab
• EBIO 1230-1 General Biology Lab 1
• EBIO 1240-1 General Biology Lab 2
• *GEOL 1030-1 Introduction to Geology Lab 1
• MCDB 1042-1 Exploring Genetics Laboratory
• *MCDB 1151-1 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab
• *MCDB 2151-1 Principles of Genetics Lab
• *PHYS 1140-1 Experimental Physics 1

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

9. Contemporary Societies (3 semester hours). All individuals function within social frameworks. Courses in contemporary societies introduce students to the study of social groups, including social institutions and processes, the values and beliefs shared by their members, and the forces that mold and shape social groups. They prepare students to approach social phenomena of all kinds in an informed and critical way, and to describe, analyze, compare, and contrast them. Such study also provides students with new vantage points from which to view their own sociocultural assumptions and traditions.

These courses, which treat contemporary societies, study an individual society or compare several societies. All explicitly attempt to deepen the students’ understanding of the cultural, political, economic, or social contexts that shape people’s lives. Their scope may be global or specific, but all courses that fulfill this requirement address social processes, institutions, values, forces, and beliefs.

Students who graduate with a major in anthropology, economics, international affairs, political science, psychology, or sociology are exempt from the contemporary societies requirement. Students may satisfy this 3-hour requirement by passing any course listed below. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

• ANTH 1200-3 Culture and Power
• ANTH 4560/ETHN 4563-3 North American Indian Acculturation (formerly AIST 4565/ANTH 4560)
• BAKR 1600-3 Creating a Sustainable Future
• COMM 1210-3 Perspectives on Human Communication
• ECON 2010-4 Principles of Microeconomics
• ECON 2020-4 Principles of Macroeconomics
• ECON 3403-3 International Economics and Policy
• ECON 3535-3 Natural Resource Economics
• ECON 3545-3 Environmental Economics
• EDUC 3013 (3-4) School and Society
• ETHN 1025-3 Introduction to Asian American Studies (formerly AAST 1015)
• ETHN 2232-3 Contemporary African American Social Movements (formerly BLST 2200)
• ETHN 2242-3 African American Social and Political Thought (formerly BLST 2210)
• ETHN 3015-3 Asian Pacific American Communities (formerly AAST 3013)
• GEOG 3742-3 Place, Power, and Contemporary Culture
• GRMN 1601-3 Germany Today
• HIST 2126-3 Modern U.S. Politics and Diplomacy
• HIST 2166-3 The Vietnam Wars
• HUMN 4835-3 Literature and Social Violence
• *IAFS 1000-4 Global Issues and International Affairs
• INVS 3000 (3-4) Innovative Approaches to Contemporary Issues through Service Learning
• INVS 4302/PSCI 4732-3 Critical Thinking in Development
• *ITAL 1500-3 “That’s Amoré”: Introduction to Italian Culture
• ITAL 4290-3 Italian Culture through Cinema
• JWST 4302-3 Justice, Human Rights and Democracy
• LING 1000-3 Language in U.S. Society
• *PRLC 1820-3 Community Issues in Leadership
• *PSCI 1101-3 American Political System
• *PSCI 2012-3 Introduction to Comparative Politics
• *PSCI 2223-3 Introduction to International Relations
• PSCI 3022-3 Russian Politics
• PSCI 3032-3 Latin American Political Systems
• PSCI 3074-3 Dimensions of Citizenship in the U.S. and the EU
• PSCI 3082-3 Political Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa
• PSCI 3143-3 Problems in International Relations
• PSCI 4002-3 Western European Politics
• PSCI 4012-3 Global Development
• PSCI 4062-3 Emerging Democracies of Central and East Europe
• PSCI 4272-3 The Political Economy of Advanced Industrial Democracies
• *PSYC 2606-3 Social Psychology
• RLST 1850-3 Ritual and Media
• *RLST 2400-3 Religion and Contemporary Society
• RUSS 2501-3 Russia Today
• RUSS 4831-3 Contemporary Russian Literature
• SCAN 2201-3 Introduction to Modern Scandinavian Culture and Society
• SCAN 3201-3 Contemporary Nordic Society and Culture
• SLHS 1010-3 Disabilities in Contemporary American Society
• *SOCY 1001-3 Introduction to Sociology
• SOCY 4024-3 Juvenile Delinquency
• *WMST 2600-3 Gender, Race, and Class in a Global Context

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

10. Ideals and Values (3 semester hours). Ideals and values have usually been determined by long-standing traditions and fixed social practices. In our modern world, the interaction of different cultures, movement from place to place, electronic media, and the rapidity of change, even within a given society, have combined to generate new constellations of ideals and hard choices among values.

 Courses meeting the ideals and values requirement inquire into some specific sphere of human value (e.g. moral, religious, intellectual, aesthetic, environmental, etc.). In these courses students are encouraged to reflect upon fundamental ideals and values, their own and others, and the sources from which those value orientations derive. Such inquiry demands the development of the critical skills which help students identifying the assumptions and ramifications of value structures. It also requires consideration of approaches by which value systems are constructed, justified, and applied, especially in regard to the personal, societal, and in some cases cross-cultural contexts.

Students may complete this 3-hour requirement by passing any course listed below. Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

• ARSC/NRLN 2000-3 Constructions of Knowledge in the Academy and Beyond
• CLAS/PHIL 2610-3 Paganism to Christianity
• CWCV 2000-3 The Western Tradition
• ENGL 3310/JWST 3312-3 The Bible as Literature (formerly ENGL/JWST 3312)
• ENVS/PHIL 3140-3 Environmental Ethics
• FARR 2510/FILM 2613-3 Exploring Good and Evil Through Film (formerly FARR/FILM 2510)
• FARR 2660/HONR 2250-3 The Ethics of Ambition
• FREN 4860-3 War, Trauma, and Memory (formerly FREN 4000)
• GRMN/HUMN 1701-3 Nature and Environment in German Literature and Thought
• GRMN/JWST 2502-3 Representing the Holocaust
• GRMN 2603-3 Moral Dilemmas in Philosophy and Literature (formerly GRMN 1603)
• GRMN/HUMN 3505-3 The Enlightenment: Tolerance and Emancipation
• GRMN/HUMN 4502-3 Nietzsche: Literature and Values
• HUMN 4155-3 Philosophy, Art, and the Sublime
• *INVS 1000-4 Responding to Social and Environmental Problems through Service Learning
• JWST/*RLST 2600-3 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
• LDSP 1000-3 The Foundations of 21st Century Leadership
• LIBB 1500-3 The Dialogue of Art and Religion
• LIBB 2013-3 Film and the Quest for Truth (formerly FILM 2013)
• *PHIL 1000-3 Introduction to Philosophy
• *PHIL 1100-3 Ethics
• *PHIL 1200-3 Philosophy and Society
• *PHIL 1600-3 Philosophy and Religion
• PHIL 2200-3 Major Social Theories
• PHIL 3100-3 Ethical Theory
• PHIL/WMST 3110-3 Feminist Practical Ethics
• PHIL 3160-3 Bioethics
• PHIL 3190 (3-4) War and Morality
• PHIL 3200-3 Social and Political Philosophy
• PHIL 3260-3 Philosophy and the International Order
• PHIL 3600-3 Philosophy of Religion
• PRLC 1810-3 Ethical Leadership
• *PSCI 2004-3 Survey of Western Political Thought
• PSCI 3054-3 American Political Thought
• PSCI 3064-3 Environmental Political Theory
• RLST 1620-3 The Religious Dimension in Human Experience
• *RLST 2500-3 Religion in the United States
• *RLST 2610-3 Religions of South Asia
• *RLST 2620-3 Religions of East Asia
• *RLST 2700-3 American Indian Religious Traditions (formerly ETHN 2703/RLST 2700)
• RUSS 3701-3 Slavic Folk Culture: Ideals and Values in the Contemporary World
• RUSS 4221-3 Cultural Mythologies of Russian Communism
• SEWL 2000-3 America, the Environment, and the Global Economy
• SLHS 1010-3 Disabilities in Contemporary American Society
• *SOCY 1004-3 Deviance in U.S. Society
• SOCY 1022-3 Ethics and Social Issues in U.S. Health and Medicine
• *SOCY 2031-3 Social Problems
• SOCY 2077-3 Environment and Society
• SOCY 3151-3 Self in Modern Society
• SOCY 4121-3 Sociology of Religion

*NOTE: This course is approved for the Colorado statewide guaranteed transfer program. Further information about the statewide guaranteed transfer program can be found at the website of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.

Majors and Other Areas of Interest

To be eligible for the four-year guarantee, a student must begin the program of study and declare the major by the start of the second semester or earlier for some select majors. For complete information, see the Four-Year Graduation Requirements in this section.

All arts and sciences students pursuing a bachelor’s degree must enter a degree-granting major by the end of their sophomore year (i.e., the semester in which they will complete 60 semester hours of work, including transfer work). 

College academic advisors are responsible for advising students and also for certifying the completion of those students’ programs for graduation. The college can assume no responsibility for difficulties arising out of a student’s failure to establish and maintain contact with their assigned academic advisor.

Minimum Major Requirements

The following minimum requirements are specified by the college. In many cases departmental requirements may be higher than the minimums listed here.

1. A minimum of 30 credit hours in the major area (for the BFA, a minimum of 50 hours).
2. Thirty semester hours in the major area, all with grades of C- (1.70) or higher (no pass/fail credits can be applied to the major). 
3. Eighteen credit hours of upper-division courses in the major, all with grades of C- (1.70) or higher.
4. Twelve hours of upper-division course work in the major on the CU-Boulder campus. 
5. A 2.00 (C) overall grade point average in all major work attempted.
6. Special requirements as stipulated by the major department.
7. No more than 8 credit hours of independent study. 

Students are subject to those major requirements in effect at the time they formally declare the major. All College of Arts and Sciences students have 10 years to complete the requirements for a declared major. If this 10-year limit is exceeded, students may be required to satisfy the current major requirements. Students with further questions should consult a major advisor.

Open Option

“Open option” (OPNO) is a major designation, but it is not a degree program. Open option students are advised in the Center for First-Year Students, which offers a structured advising program that provides students with the necessary support and strategies to investigate and compare academic disciplines so they can make informed decisions about the degree programs they will pursue. Students can explore any major available in the college while completing course requirements toward a baccalaureate degree. To ensure that students graduate in a timely manner, open option majors are required to enter a specific degree program by the time they have completed 45 credit hours (approximately the end of the third semester). Students must declare and enter a degree-granting major by the start of the second semester (or earlier for certain majors) to maintain eligibility for the four-year guarantee.

Every open option student is assigned to a specific first-year academic advisor with whom the student works until she or he declares and enters a degree-granting major.

Double Majors

Students pursuing either the BA or BFA degree may graduate with more than one major within the degree (e.g., economics and French) by completing all requirements for both majors. A minimum of 120 total credit hours is required for double majors within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Minors

A number of departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences offer minor programs. Participation in a minor program is optional for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Course work applied to a minor also may be applied toward general education (core curriculum or college list) and major requirements. Students may not earn a major and a minor in the same program of study. All requirements for the minor must be completed by the time the BA or BFA is conferred.

Departments and programs with approved minor programs currently include applied mathematics; astrophysical and planetary sciences; atmospheric and oceanic sciences; chemistry and biochemistry; Chinese; classics; dance; ecology and evolutionary biology; economics; English–creative writing; ethnic studies; French; geography; geological sciences; Germanic studies; history; Italian; Japanese; Jewish studies; linguistics; mathematics; Nordic studies; philosophy; physics; political science; religious studies; Russian studies; Spanish and Portuguese—Portuguese; theatre; and women’s studies. Minors are also available in business, offered by the Leeds School of Business; and in computer science, offered by the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Interested students can find further information at advising.colorado.edu.

Although the structure of specific minor programs may differ, all minors offered in the College of Arts of Sciences must have the following restrictions or minimum requirements:

1. A minimum of 18 credit hours must be taken in the minor area, including a minimum of 9 upper-division hours.
2. All course work applied to the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better (no pass/fail work may be applied). The grade point average for all minor degree course work must be equal to 2.00 (C) or higher.
3. Students pursuing a major in distributed studies or an individually structured major are not eligible to earn a minor.
4. Students are allowed to apply no more than 9 credit hours, including 6 upper-division credit hours, of transfer work toward a minor.
5. Students may earn no more than two minors.
6. Students must complete all requirements for a minor by the time they graduate.

Areas of Interest

The college sponsors programs—but not undergraduate majors—in the areas of interest below. Course work in these areas is open to all interested students Contact the Office of the Dean for more information.

• African American Studies
• American Indian Studies
• Asian American Studies
• Bibliography
• Chicano Studies
• Honors
• International and National Voluntary Service Training 
• Museum

Certificate Programs

The college also sponsors undergraduate certificate programs in a number of fields of study. Completion of specified course work in the certificate programs below entitles students to a certificate issued by the dean of the college. Students interested in these programs should contact the director of the appropriate program.

• Actuarial Studies and Quantitative Finance 
• British and Irish Studies 
• Central and Eastern European Studies
• Cognitive Sciences
• European Union Studies 
• Foundations of Western Civilization
• International Media
• Jewish Studies
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
• Medieval and Early Modern Studies
• Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 
• Neurosciences and Behavior
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• South Asian Languages and Civilizations
• Western American Studies 

Multiple Degrees

Double Degrees

Two different degrees (i.e., a BA and BFA from the College of Arts and Sciences) may be earned from CU-Boulder if the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. The student meets the residency requirements of, and is enrolled in, both the College of Arts and Sciences and the college or school granting the second degree.
2. The student presents a total of at least 145 credit hours passed.  
3. For the BA and BFA degrees, 90 credit hours of arts and sciences course work are required (courses from outside arts and sciences that have been approved for the arts and sciences core curriculum will apply toward the 90 credit hours).
4. The student has completed all general education and major requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.
5. Both degrees must be awarded at the same time.

Second Baccalaureate Degrees

A student who has been awarded a baccalaureate degree, either from this college or elsewhere, may be granted a second baccalaureate degree provided the following conditions have been fulfilled:

1. All general requirements for the degree to be awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences have been met. (Students are subject to the general degree requirements in effect the semester they enter the second baccalaureate degree program.)
2. The major in the BA or BFA is different from the major in the first degree earned.
3. Arts and sciences students must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in University of Colorado courses on the Boulder campus toward the second degree after admission to the second undergraduate degree program. Of these 45 credits, a minimum of 30 credits must be in arts and sciences upper-division credit hours completed as a matriculated student in the second undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and at least 12 of these upper-division hours must be in the major. Courses taken as a nondegree student or as part of a graduate degree program do not count in these minimum requirements.

Graduation Deadlines

Arts and sciences seniors must meet appropriate application deadlines in order to graduate. To apply for graduation, students must submit an application online via the student portal, must consult with their primary advisor, and must complete a graduation packet. Students must submit the complete graduation packet to the main office of the Academic Advising Center by one of the deadlines listed below.

Dates are subject to change. Students should verify current deadlines on the Academic Advising Center website (advising.colorado.edu).

Students are responsible for monitoring their CU e-mail for notification of new procedures and deadlines.

Students who intend to complete their degree in August and who want their names to appear in the May commencement program should request that their degree be conferred in August, but must submit their August graduation application by the deadline for May commencement.

Students who apply to graduate but who fail to fulfill all degree requirements by the deadline for that term/year must submit a new application online to change their graduation date to a future term/year in order for the college to confer the degree once all remaining requirements are completed. 

In order for arts and sciences students to be certified as having completed all degreee rquiremntents, all credits and grades (including transfer credits and Continuing Education credits and grades) must be posted to the student records system by the date when the final grades are due for that term.