- Mission Statement
- Statement of Purpose for the Breadth Component
- University Curriculum for Bachelor’s Degree Candidates
- Foundations of Inquiry (4 classes = 12 credits)
- Disciplinary Inquiry (4 classes = 13 credits)
- Personal Inquiry (6 classes = minimum 18 credits)
- Integrative Capstone Experience (1 course = 3 credits)
- University Curriculum Breadth Electives (formerly called “UC Electives”)
- Natural Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
- Fine Arts
- Policy for Students Who Fail FYS 101
- FYS 101 Policy for Transfer Students
Mission Statement
A Quinnipiac education fosters in-depth learning, the gaining of disciplinary expertise (the major), and promotes an interdisciplinary understanding of the expertise in local and global contexts (the University Curriculum). In addition, a QU education inspires students to learn how to work independently both in and outside the classroom to gain a closer and more complex sense of themselves as citizens, intellectuals and human beings. Through the University Curriculum, intentional learning is fostered by studying human cultures, artistic and literary expressions, the physical and natural worlds, and the forces that have shaped and continue to shape our world. Students develop a flexible and open mind, the capacity to learn from others, effective communication skills and the ability to influence potential solutions to global problems. Students demonstrate their abilities through classroom and civic engagement, in both their local and global communities. A student’s education at Quinnipiac University is a single, reciprocal process with specialized education in the major integrated with general education, with each providing dimension to the other. In the way that the major leads a student to deep, disciplinary knowledge, general education leads a student to broad knowledge gained from multiple perspectives and in concert, they support the students’ achievement as measured by the Essential Learning Outcomes. A Quinnipiac University graduate is a well-rounded individual who demonstrates knowledge of science, cultures, numeracy, the arts, history and society as well as an ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges.
The requirements of the University Curriculum ensure that all students receive a broad education that exposes them to different perspectives and ways of knowing, producing lifelong learners who can, upon graduation, become leaders in their professions, in the communities where they live, and in their role as informed citizens. The University Curriculum also contributes significantly to the development of the Essential Learning Outcomes that are expected for graduates of Quinnipiac University.
Statement of Purpose for the Breadth Component
As a consequence of personal inquiry and a balanced, purposeful selection of courses representing diverse perspectives, students will:
- Demonstrate knowledge of science, cultures, numeracy, history, arts and society.
- Develop the skills, knowledge and diverse perspectives necessary to address complexity.
- Acquire the scientific and cultural literacy necessary to be an informed and ethical citizen who can contribute to local and global society.
- Reflect on and continue to develop meaning in their own lives and to see meaning in the lives of others.
This will be accomplished through a process whereby students:
- Practice and compare a balanced mix of disciplinary perspectives across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, math and fine arts.
- Progress toward achievement of the essential learning outcomes.
- Examine multiple perspectives, environments and cultures ranging from the local to the global.
- Interpret complex problems and challenges in novel ways, engendering and nurturing the habit of a flexible and open mind that seeks new opportunities and conceives new solutions.
University Curriculum for Bachelor’s Degree Candidates
For all bachelor’s degree candidates entering Quinnipiac University during or after Fall 2016, the University Curriculum consists of a minimum 46 credits as outlined in the following curriculum structure. Specific credit and course requirements for the UC may vary by major.
Foundations of Inquiry (4 classes = 12 credits)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FYS 101 | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| EN 101 | Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing | 3 |
| EN 102 | Academic Writing and Research | 3 |
| MA Mathematics | 3 | |
| MA 110, MA 140, MA 141, MA 151, MA 170, MA 176, MA 205, MA 206, MA 229, MA 275, MA 285 | ||
| Total Credits | 12 | |
First-Year Seminar
A Quinnipiac University education is directed toward forming a mindset of life-time learning, establishing an inclusive, excellence-driven community, nurturing local and global communities, and fostering lifelong connections and success. The first-year seminar initiates such an education as the starting point of the University Curriculum. Each student enrolls in a faculty-designed seminar constructed to help examine a complex problem, an enduring question, or new ideas from multiple perspectives. This seminar is designed to accomplish three essential goals that help prepare students for 21st-century careers and citizenship. First, it introduces students to the concept of inquiry as a process that utilizes multiple approaches and perspectives to investigate problems, questions, or ideas systematically. Students learn that the process of inquiry includes the collection, analysis and evaluation of various types of evidence. Second, the seminar enables students to practice inquiry through an investigation of a problem, question, or idea that faculty select from their areas of expertise. Finally, students begin to develop complex thinking skills that they will deepen throughout their undergraduate experience in the University Curriculum.
First-Year Writing
In the two-semester “Writing as Inquiry” foundational sequence of the University Curriculum, students are introduced to the idea that academic reading and writing are the forms of inquiry they will engage in throughout their education, including their major and capstone courses, and beyond. Reading and writing as forms of inquiry include comprehending difficult written materials across a variety of discourses, analyzing contexts and audiences and applying that analysis in their reading and writing practices. The courses in the breadth component will refine reading and writing as forms of inquiry in disciplinary and interdisciplinary contents, enabling an understanding of a variety of discourses and writing strategies for effective communication, including the conventions of writing as they influence the successful exchange of ideas in academic, professional and public forums.
Mathematics
Mathematics is both an art and a science, laying the foundation for many of the advances in modern science, technology and civilization. The power of mathematics lies in its focus on precise and logical reasoning to draw conclusions and make discoveries in many domains, both abstract and concrete. A student who studies mathematics learns strategies to solve problems, analyze situations, and justify conclusions. Mathematics is a foundational mode of inquiry required of all undergraduate students. Several courses fulfill this foundational requirement; each student selects the mathematics course based on interest and the requirements of their major.
Disciplinary Inquiry (4 classes = 13 credits)
In the “Disciplinary Inquiry” phase of the University Curriculum, students make their first encounters with specific knowledge and methodologies in the disciplinary areas. This phase familiarizes students with the kinds of knowledge produced in these disciplinary areas and thus informs their choices as they undertake their “Personal Inquiry.”
Students select one course from each of the disciplinary areas:
- Natural Sciences: 4 credits
- Humanities: 3 credits
- Social Sciences: 3 credits
- Fine Arts: 3 credits
Personal Inquiry (6 classes = minimum 18 credits)
The “Personal Inquiry” (PI) phase requires 18 credits with at least three Disciplinary Inquiry areas represented. This allows students significant flexibility in the selection of coursework. The Personal Inquiry requirement has two parts:
Part 1: In addition to those selected under Disciplinary Inquiry above, students will select one course from three different disciplinary areas:
- Natural Sciences
- Humanities
- Social Sciences
- Fine Arts
Part 2: The remaining three courses can be from disciplinary areas in Part 1 and/or UC Breadth Electives. Students can combine Disciplinary Inquiry areas and UC Breadth Electives in any pattern that totals 9 to 12 credits. [Note: natural science courses that are treated by the Registrar as two separate courses (lecture and lab) shall be treated as one course for the purposes of the PI requirement. Students could thus take up to four lecture-lab pairings in the PI.]
Integrative Capstone Experience (1 course = 3 credits)
If the Integrative Capstone is completed in the student’s major, then the student selects an additional unrestricted course in the University Curriculum.
Intercultural Understanding (1 course = minimum 3 credits)
As students purposefully select courses and progress through the Breadth part of the curriculum, it is imperative that all students develop the skills, knowledge and diverse perspectives necessary to acquire the understanding necessary to be informed and ethical citizens who can contribute to the local and global society.
To achieve this goal, within their 31 breadth component credits students are required to take at least 3 credits in classes marked as “I” (Intercultural Understanding). The classes with “I” designation can be chosen from any area in Disciplinary and/or Personal Inquiry.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AN 101H | Honors Local Cultures, Global Issues | 3 |
| AN 103H | Dirt, Artifacts and Ideas | 3 |
| ARB 210 | Arab Culture and Society | 3 |
| CJ 232 | Women in the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
| CN 210 | Chinese Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| IB 105 | International Business Environment | 3 |
| IB 201 | Globalization and International Business | 3 |
| IT 211 | Italian Cinema (in Eng.) | 3 |
| JP 210 | Introduction to Japanese Culture | 3 |
| JS 101 | Introduction to Justice Studies | 3 |
| PS 262 | Psychology of Women and Gender | 3 |
| SO 320H | Honors Sociology of Hip-Hop Culture | 3 |
University Curriculum Breadth Electives (formerly called “UC Electives”)
University Curriculum (UC) Breadth Electives are courses with generalizable and transferrable knowledge that are based in a single academic discipline outside of the four Disciplinary Inquiry areas (Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Fine Arts) or that reflect nationally established interdisciplinary areas. Such courses increase the disciplinary, methodological and cultural perspectives available to students in the University Curriculum, thereby extending the breadth of their knowledge to navigate successfully a complex and dynamic world.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AC 350 | Data Analysis With Excel | 3 |
| ADPR 102 | Introduction to Advertising and Integrated Communications | 3 |
| COM 215 | Social Media and Society | 3 |
| FYS 101 | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| SO 320H | Honors Sociology of Hip-Hop Culture | 3 |
Natural Sciences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AN 104 | Bones, Genes and Everything In Between | 3 |
| AN 104L | Bones, Genes and Everything Lab In Between Lab | 1 |
| BIO 207 | Coral Reef Organismal Diversity - An Immersive Approach | 3 |
| CHE 111L | General Chemistry II Lab | 1 |
| ENV 223 | Plastics - Miracle Or Curse? | 3 |
| PHY 101 | Elements of Physics | 3 |
| PHY 101L | Elements of Physics Lab | 1 |
| PHY 111 | General Physics II | 3 |
| PHY 111L | General Physics II Lab | 1 |
| PHY 121 | University Physics | 4 |
| PHY 122 | University Physics II | 4 |
| SCI 102L | Earth Sciences Lab | 1 |
| SCI 161 | Nutrition: an Investigative Experience | 3 |
Social Sciences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AN 101H | Honors Local Cultures, Global Issues | 3 |
| AN 103H | Dirt, Artifacts and Ideas | 3 |
| CJ 232 | Women in the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
| IB 105 | International Business Environment | 3 |
| IB 201 | Globalization and International Business | 3 |
| JS 101 | Introduction to Justice Studies | 3 |
| PS 261 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PS 262 | Psychology of Women and Gender | 3 |
| SO 101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| WGS 265H | Work and Occupations | 3 |
Humanities
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ARB 210 | Arab Culture and Society | 3 |
| CN 210 | Chinese Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| EN 222 | Comics and Graphic Novels | 3 |
| JP 210 | Introduction to Japanese Culture | 3 |
Fine Arts
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AR 102 | Art History: Ancient Through Medieval | 3 |
| AR 140 | Basic Visual Design | 3 |
| AR 210 | The Creative Process | 3 |
| AR 241 | Color Theory | 3 |
| AR 250 | Studio Art: Special Topic | 3 |
| AR 251 | Studio Art: Drawing | 3 |
| AR 252 | Studio Art: Painting | 3 |
| AR 258 | Photography II | 3 |
| AR 262 | Studio Art: Watercolor | 3 |
| DR 140 | Stagecraft | 3 |
| DR 150 | Performance Fundamentals Fundamentals | 3 |
| DR 160 | Acting I | 3 |
| DR 181 | Improvisational Acting | 3 |
| DR 270 | World Theater History and Dramatic Literature I | 3 |
| DR 275 | World Theater History and Dramatic Literature II | 3 |
| IT 211 | Italian Cinema (in Eng.) | 3 |
Policy for Students Who Fail FYS 101
First-year students entering the university in the fall semester who withdraw from or fail to receive a passing grade for FYS 101 during that semester are given one chance to repeat the course during the first spring semester that they are enrolled at Quinnipiac. If on their second attempt they fail to complete or pass the course successfully, they may not take FYS 101 again. The student who fails to complete FYS on their second attempt receives no credit for FYS 101 and the failing grade (F) or course withdrawal remains on their transcript. The student must thereafter substitute 3 credits from any other UC-designated course to count toward required general education credits.
FYS 101 Policy for Transfer Students
A student who transfers to Quinnipiac with less than sophomore standing (fewer than 27 credits) shall enroll in FYS 101 in the student’s first semester at Quinnipiac. The policy for students who fail FYS also applies to transfer students with less than sophomore standing. Students who transfer to Quinnipiac with 27 or more credits must substitute any UC-designated course for FYS 101 to count toward the general education credits needed to graduate.
Students may consult the 2015–16 University Catalog for more information on the University Curriculum required of all bachelor’s degree candidates who entered Quinnipiac University prior to Fall 2016.