Nov 25, 2024

2018-2019 Catalog

2018-2019 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education

Office of Undergraduate Education

Phone: 209-228-7951
Web: ue.ucmerced.edu

General Education
Hallmarks of Baccalaureate Degrees
General Education Program Learning Outcomes
University of California Requirements
UC Merced General Education Requirements
For Transfer Students: Satisfying General Education
Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Exams
Office of Undergraduate Education Programs

General Education

UC Merced’s General Education program will engage you with the values, practices and contributions of a research university, which provide a framework for integrative learning. We do this within the context of the culturally and economically diverse Central Valley. In tandem with the major and the co-curriculum, General Education supports your development of the Hallmarks of the Baccalaureate degree. It nurtures the spirit of critical inquiry, building your knowledge of various fields, cultures, and perspectives. General education fosters collaboration, communication, and ethical action. It empowers you to share your learning and skills to address the local and global challenges of an interconnected, changing world.

Hallmarks of Baccalaureate Degrees at UC Merced

Phone: 209-228-7951
Web: ue.ucmerced.edu

The Hallmarks of Baccalaureate Degrees at UC Merced were developed by UC Merced faculty and staff in an effort to answer the question, “What is the meaning of a baccalaureate degree at UC Merced?” What should UC Merced graduates know, understand, and be able to do as a result of their UC Merced experiences?

The meaning of UC Merced baccalaureate degrees is strongly connected to distinctive features of UC Merced:

UC Merced is a Small Research University

An ethos of discovery, creativity, and rigorous questioning of extant knowledge permeates all aspects of UC Merced. The skills, knowledge and attitudes of a researcher are synonymous with attributes essential for post-graduate success.

Located in Merced, California

Merced is at a crossroads – culturally, socioeconomically, environmentally, geographically, historically – for addressing problems of local, regional, and global significance.

With An Undergraduate Student Body Unique in the UC System

UC Merced undergraduates are predominantly first generation students from groups under-represented in higher education (e.g., race, ethnicity, family income).

Given this unique institutional context, the Hallmarks of Baccalaureate Degrees at UC Merced are:

1. Depth and breadth in academic and intellectual preparation, consistent with the values of UC Merced as a small research university, such that UC Merced graduates

Demonstrate a strong disciplinary foundation.
Engage in interdisciplinary thinking which could include appreciating different approaches to problem solving, informed by an understanding of humanities, arts, STEM, social sciences.
Bring a critical, evaluative lens to problems, questions, situations.
Employ effective problem-solving skills in multiple settings.
Evaluate facts, knowledge and information, applying the varied aspects of information literacy.
Know what they know, as well as how they know it, and monitor and guide their own learning.
Describe the origins of knowledge, informed by cultural and disciplinary epistemological and ontological assumptions.
Take an inquiry-oriented approach to the world; possess curiosity, employ inquiry, and take appropriate and creative action in response to ambiguity.

2. Cultural awareness, sensitivity, and responsiveness, such that UC Merced graduates

Respect and value diversity.
Seek and recognize new cultures; join a new community anticipating and engaging in potential cultural differences or intersections.

3. Community engagement and citizenship – local and global–, such that UC Merced graduates

Understand what it means to be a member of a community, including an academic community.
Contribute to the communities of which they members.
Possess a sense of place, and the ability to determine own place within local community and global context, and affect own community through giving back.
Act ethically, including in the realm of environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Are responsive to the needs of society – through application of knowledge and research to address problems, challenges, and opportunities.

4. Self-awareness and intrapersonal skills, such that UC Merced graduates

Demonstrate initiative, including an entrepreneurial, innovative, pioneering spirit.
Respond with resiliency to obstacles and challenges, and learn from failure.
Assume responsibility for their own education and develop the skills and attitudes of lifelong learners.

5. Interpersonal skills necessary to the outcomes identified above, as well as to lead productive lives after graduation, such that UC Merced graduates

Are proficient in collaboration and teamwork.
Possess strong communication skills, oral, written, and visual, academic and professional.
Are leaders in their professional and civic lives.
Are ethically aware and proficient in ethical reasoning.

General Education Program Learning Outcomes

1. Life at the Research University: Asking Questions

UC Merced graduates take an inquiry-oriented approach to the world that reflects engagement with the mission and values of our research university.

They can articulate the benefits of attending a research university for their development as scholars, citizens, life-long learners;
They generate questions, identify problems, and formulate answers by applying appropriate theoretical, evidentiary, analytical and ethical frameworks from multiple intellectual perspectives;
They demonstrate intellectual curiosity and an understanding of the nature of knowledge and of themselves as learners;
They identify and act on their own values and talents through self-reflection;
They are at ease with the ambiguity that is inherent in the process of discovery.

2. Reasoning: Thinking Critically

UC Merced graduates are equipped with multiple tools of analysis to support accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.

They use analytical tools from scientific, social scientific, and humanistic disciplines;
They are able to identify and evaluate sources of information;
They identify, interpret and evaluate multiple kinds of data, including texts, media, observations, and experimental results.

3. Communication: Explaining and Persuading

UC Merced graduates communicate in a variety of ways to diverse audiences.

They use written, visual, oral and numerical modes of communication to explore and convey ideas;
They can adjust their communications depending on occasion, purpose and audience;
They can work independently and collaboratively.

4. Cultural and Global awareness: Engaging with differences

UC Merced graduates see themselves in relation to local and global cultures and systems of power, past and present.

They engage with multiple belief systems, social structures, and ways of thinking through attention to societies, languages and cultures of the past and the present;
They can identify the ways in which cultural, political, economic, technological, and environmental dimensions of society interact;
They can place their own experiences in relevant analytical frameworks through attention to the relationships of diverse cultures to each other;
They gain emotional maturity and resilience by understanding themselves in the world.

5. Citizenship: Contributing to the Public Good

UC Merced graduates are engaged with their communities for the benefit of society.

They are engaged citizens, having contributed to the building of academic and co-curricular communities at UC Merced;
They understand and work in diverse communities;
They engage with the ethical dimensions of their various roles;
They can articulate and act on their responsibilities to the multiple communities in which they participate.

University of California Requirements

University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement
University of California American History and Institutions Requirement

University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR)/Analytical Writing Placement Exam

To succeed at UC Merced, you must be able to understand and to respond adequately to written material typical of reading assignments in first year courses, including being able to structure and develop an essay that uses written English effectively. Students must satisfy the ELWR requirement by the end of the second semester of enrollment at UC Merced. Failure to complete this requirement in the time allowed will result in a hold on a student’s registration. For more information about the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) for all UC-Admitted first year students see www.ucop.edu/elwr/.

The University offers the University of California Analytical Writing Placement Exam each spring on the second Saturday in May at test centers throughout the state for students who plan to enroll in the University the following fall. California residents who will enter the University as freshmen must take the exam if they have not otherwise satisfied the requirement (by one of the methods listed above). Students must pay a nonrefundable fee to cover test administration costs. Students who received admission application fee waivers will automatically have this fee waived. Admitted freshmen will receive detailed information about the exam in April. Students who are not from California may take an equivalent exam in the fall after enrolling at the University.

Comprehensive information about the University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement and Analytical Writing Placement Exam is available at www.ucop.edu/elwr/index.html.

University of California American History and Institutions Requirement

As a candidate for an undergraduate degree at UC Merced, you need to demonstrate knowledge of American history and of the principles of American institutions under the federal and state constitutions.

You may meet the requirement by completing specific courses or earning a certain score on an examination. Transfer students are urged to complete the requirement before they enroll.

You may satisfy both the American History and American Institutions requirements in the following ways:

Complete in high school one year of United States history with grades of C or better, or one semester of United States history and one semester of United States government with grades of C or better;
Achieve a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in U.S. History;
Achieve a score of 550 or better on the SAT II: U.S. History test;
Complete acceptable course work at a community college or other accredited institution; or
Complete acceptable course work at UC Merced (both HIST 016 and HIST 017).

UC Merced General Education Requirements

Courses must be taken for a letter grade and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis. You must complete all courses with a C- or better. With the exception of Spark Seminar, lower and upper division common course requirements may be shared with your major, concentration, or minor requirements. They can also be shared with the Intellectual Experience Badges. All courses will include a project that can be uploaded to your ePortfolio.

Lower Division Common Course Requirements

I. Spark Seminar

The Spark Seminar introduces first-year students to life at a research university. It asks you to focus on the nature of inquiry by exploring a particular topic over the course of the semester, engaging with campus and local resources, generating research questions, and presenting original ideas in writing and other forms of communication. Spark seminars may be taken concurrently with either WRI 001 or WRI 010 .

SPRK 001: Spark Seminar

II. Written Communication

Designed to help you develop your college-level skills in effective use of language, analysis and argumentation, organization, and strategies for creation, revision and editing.

WRI 010: College Reading and Composition

III. Quantitative Reasoning

For some of you, mathematics and statistics will be an essential tool for mastering a field in depth. For others, you will build your ability to understand how quantitative methods are applied in society to support arguments and solve problems.

IV. Language

The study of language exposes you to different ways of structuring thought. You can complete the language requirement one of four ways:

Coursework: Complete one of the following courses.
- BIOE 021: Computing for Bioengineers
- CHN 002: Elementary Chinese II
- CSE 020: Introduction to Computing I
- CSE 021: Introduction to Computing II
- FRE 002: Elementary French II
- JPN 002: Elementary Japanese II
- ME 021: Engineering Computing
- SPAN 002: Elementary Spanish II
- Completing a specific language and culture program or course through UC Education Abroad Program.
Campus based test: Passing the campus-administered Foreign Language test demonstrating proficiency equivalent of one year of college foreign language.
Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Exams: Earning appropriate scores on an AP/IB Exam.
- Score of 3, 4 or 5 on one of the following College Board AP exams: Chinese Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Japanese Language and Culture, and Spanish Language and Culture; or
- Score of 5, 6 or 7 on one of the Higher Level IB exam in a foreign language or literature; or
- Score of 3, 4 or 5 on the College Board AP Exam in Computer Science A
High School Coursework: Completing the third year of one language in high school with a course GPA of at least C.

Upper Division Common Course Requirements

I. Crossroads Course

Like the Spark Seminar, the Crossroads course will focus on a specific topic but from an interdisciplinary perspective. It emphasizes different, yet complementary, disciplinary approaches, methods, and assumptions, and provides you with an opportunity for research and analysis.

A complete list of courses that satisfy this requirement can be found here.

II. Writing in the Discipline

This upper division requirement can be satisfied either with a designated writing course or a writing-intensive course in the major. The focus is on how to write for a particular field. A one-credit lab course attached to another course may also satisfy this requirement if the primary focus of the lab is writing.

A complete list of courses that satisfy this requirement can be found here.

III. Culminating Experience

Intended to be completed as part of your major, the Culminating Experience requirement may be fulfilled through a traditional capstone course, senior or advanced seminar, service-learning course, portfolio, or other methods your faculty choose to integrate learning in the program.

A complete list of courses that satisfy this requirement can be found here.

Approaches to Knowledge

Courses in this area introduce you to the different ways disciplines (and broad branches of knowledge) ask questions and think about the world. The Approaches to Knowledge requirement is divided into two areas: Area A and Area B. You are required to take three courses in each area, for a total of six courses. These courses are intended to also count towards major requirements.

I. AREA A: Natural and Engineering Science

You must take three courses in the area of Natural and Engineering Science. At least one course must be from Natural Sciences and one course must be from Engineering Sciences.

A complete list of courses that satisfy this requirement can be found here.

II. AREA B: Social Science, Arts and Humanities

You must take three courses in the area of Social Science, Arts and Humanities. At least one course must be from Social Science and one course must be from Arts and Humanities.

A complete list of courses and experiences that satisfy this requirement can be found here.

Intellectual Experience Badges

These required Badges can be achieved in courses, including required Quantitative Reasoning, Language, Crossroads, Writing in the Discipline, and Integrative Culminating Experience General Education courses. They can also be achieved in Approaches to Knowledge courses, courses in the major, minor and elective courses. In addition, these Intellectual Experience Badges can be fulfilled in the co-curriculum. Courses and co-curricular activities can be used to satisfy more than one Intellectual Experiences Badges, but not more than two.

To emphasize the ways GE is part of the entire curriculum, at least three of the courses used to fulfill Intellectual Experience Badges must be upper division. The Crossroads course and the Integrative Culminating Experience in the major satisfy two of these upper division requirements.

Courses taken to achieve Badges must be taken for a letter grade and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis. You must complete all courses with a C-or better. Similarly, all co-curricular experiences must be successfully completed to satisfy the Badge. All courses and co-curricular experiences will include a project that can be uploaded to your ePortfolio.

The required Intellectual Experiences are:

1. Scientific Method

Learn how the scientific method leads to new knowledge about the natural world by collecting and integrating previous knowledge using empirical evidence.

A complete list of experiences that satisfy this requirement can be found here .

2. Literary and Textual Analysis

Learn how language creates meaning and ambiguity.

A complete list of experiences that satisfy this requirement can be found here .