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Approved MUS Core Courses by Campus

Transfer Policies

About the Montana University System Core Curriculum

The Montana University System Core Curriculum (MUS Core), described in Policy 301.10, represents an agreement among community, tribal, and publicly-funded colleges and universities in the State of Montana. It assures the transfer of up to 30 semester credits for those students enrolled in courses prescribed within each of six areas at a participating host institution. The six areas are:

Natural Science -- at least one of the classes must have a laboratory experience		6 credits
Social Sciences/History		6 credits
Mathematics		3 credits
Communication --Written communication and oral communication		6 credits
Humanities/Fine Arts		6 credits
Cultural Diversity		3 credits
TOTAL		30 credits

Students may be required to take additional coursework at the upper division level that is part of an approved general education program at the receiving campus.

A General Education Council was established in December 2005 to oversee the provisions of Policy 301.10, including the MUS Core. With the assistance of the Council, each campus of the Montana University System has developed a list of courses that satisfy the MUS Core. Those lists can be found here.

The General Education Council of the Montana University System believes that the purpose of general education, and its importance in undergraduate education, is best articulated by the "The Essential Learning Outcomes" statement developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The Council formally adopted that statement, in February 2008, as the rationale for the Montana University System General Education Core.

"The Essential Learning Outcomes" statement is set out below:

The Essential Learning Outcomes

Beginning in school, and continuing at successively higher levels across their college studies, students should prepare for twenty-first-century challenges by gaining:

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts

Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring

Intellectual and Practical Skills, including

• Inquiry and analysis
• Critical and creative thinking
• Written and oral communication
• Quantitative literacy
• Information literacy
• Teamwork and problem solving

Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance

Personal and Social Responsibility, including

• Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global
• Intercultural knowledge and competence
• Ethical reasoning and action
• Foundations and skills for lifelong learning

Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges

Integrative Learning, including

• Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies

Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

Note: This listing was developed through a multiyear dialogue with hundreds of colleges and universities about needed goals for student learning; analysis of a long series of recommendations and reports from the business community; and analysis of the accreditation requirements for engineering, business, nursing, and teacher education. The findings are documented in previous publications of the Association of American Colleges and Universities: Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College (2002), Taking Responsibility for the Quality of the Baccalaureate Degree (2004), and Liberal Education Outcomes: A Preliminary Report on Achievement in College (2005). Liberal Education Outcomes is available online at www.aacu.org/leap.

Building on "The Essential Learning Outcomes" statement and its rationale, the General Education Council has adopted the following learning outcomes for the six (6) areas established in the MUS Core:

Natural Science

Science is a creative human endeavor devoted to discovering the principles that rule the physical universe, including the biological world. The natural world is law-driven and science is the method of investigating by asking and answering questions about processes that can be observed and measured, to help us understand nature and the physical universe.

Natural Science core courses will:

Demonstrate the experimental basis of science and how scientists accumulate new knowledge;

demonstrate the methods scientists use to gather, validate, and interpret data within the broad area of the specific discipline being studied;

demonstrate important scientific facts and how those facts help us understand our observations and the laws that govern the natural world;

explore the goals and limitations of science.

Upon completion of the Natural Science core, students will be able to:

Identify and solve problems using methods of the discipline;

use logical skills to make judgments;

demonstrate thinking, comprehension, and expression of subject matter;

communicate effectively using scientific terminology;

use quantitative skills to solve problems;

integrate through analysis;

demonstrate the relationship between actions and consequences;

discuss the role of science in the development of modern technological civilization.

Social Sciences/History

Social Sciences

Students will study people, movements, institutions, and forces which play a major role in human history and development in order to understand the present and implications for the future. The perspectives and methods of social sciences and history provide a basic foundation for understanding, evaluating, and decision-making relating to the human experience. These courses support upper level courses.

Social Sciences core courses will:

Introduce the diversity of purpose, focus, and methodology among social sciences;

illuminate the role and impact of major social institutions (family, education, business, government, and religion) on the daily existence of individuals, and on social and cultural groups, societies, and nations;

describe the nature, structure, and historical development of human organization and the extent to which individuals (in contrast to physical or social forces) are able to influence events.

Upon completion of the Social Sciences core, students will be able to:

Analyze how institutions and traditions develop, evolve, and shape the lives of individuals, social and cultural groups, societies, and nations;

analyze human behavior, ideas, and social institutions for historical and cultural meaning and significance;

gather information, analyze data, and draw conclusions from multiple hypotheses to understand human behavior;

synthesize ideas and information with regard to historical causes, the course of events, and their consequences, separated by time and place;

use factual and interpretive data to support hypotheses based upon appropriate inquiry methodology.

History

Most broadly, history is about recognizing, analyzing, and interpreting changes in human activity and interaction within and between humans and between humans and their environments over time and space, using primary and secondary print, visual and material resources, as well as historiographical resources. The study of history may also inform contemporary analyses of interaction between humans and between humans and their environments.

History core courses will:

Develop in students habits of historical analysis sensitive to context, interrelations among humans, and interactions between humans and their environments, on local, national, and international scales;

familiarize students with the uses – and the limitations – of historical comparison as an analytic tool;

enable students to recognize and interpret multiple forms of evidence (visual, oral, statistical, artifacts from material culture);

enable students to critically analyze and construct historical narratives.

Upon completion of the History core, students will be able to:

Analyze historical phenomena in appropriate context;

weigh and interpret the evidence available to them and present a narrative argument supported by historical evidence;

recognize the distinction between primary and secondary sources, understand how each are used to make historical claims;

recognize and interpret multiple forms of evidence (visual, oral, statistical and material, and print);

understand the historical construction of differences and similarities among peoples within and across groups, regions, and nations;

interpret other societies in comparative context and one’s own society in the context of other societies.

(These criteria were developed with aid from the American Historical Association, Tennessee State University, University of California, Merced, and University of Baltimore web sites.)

Mathematics

Every day we are inundated with numerical information, often in the form of graphical representations, statistical summaries, or projections from mathematical models. Comprehension of elementary quantitative concepts, development of quantitative reasoning skills, and the ability to reasonably ascertain the implications of quantitative information are goals of mathematics courses.

Mathematics core courses will:

Expose students to the methods employed in the mathematical sciences;

demonstrate the application of mathematical or statistical models to complex problems, which can lead to greater understanding of, and potential solutions to, these problems;

enable students to develop skills leading to an understanding of quantitatively-based problems of importance to contemporary society;

provide practical applications that relate to students’ personal and future professional lives as consumers of quantitative information.

Upon completion of the Mathematics core, students will be able to:

Apply the acquired skills to other courses

reason analytically and quantitatively;

think critically and independently about mathematical situations;

understand the quantitative aspects of current events;

make informed decisions that involve interpreting quantitative information;

make informed decisions about their personal and professional lives.

Communication

Written Communication

Skill in Written Communication is essential in today’s information age: a necessity in all academic areas, as well as a means to empower students in their career, social, and civic responsibilities. Courses that satisfy the written communication requirement of the MUS CORE will focus on rhetorical knowledge, knowledge of conventions, and critical thinking, reading, research and writing process skills. Composition, Journalism, Business Writing and Technical Writing generally satisfy the written communications component.

Written Communication core courses will:

Facilitate competence in the use of the conventions of language and forms of discourse, including; sentence structure, mechanics, organization, and spelling;

demonstrate multiple, flexible strategies for writing, particularly inventing, drafting, copyediting;

facilitate research as a process of gathering, assessing, interpreting, and using data from multiple sources to compose texts;

demonstrate a variety of technologies to facilitate research and drafting.

Upon completion of the Written Communication core, students will be able to:

Use writing as a means to engage in critical inquiry by exploring ideas, challenging assumptions, and reflecting on and applying the writing process;

formulate and support assertions with evidence appropriate to the issues, positions taken, and audiences;

use documentation appropriately and demonstrate an understanding of the logic of citation systems;

give and receive feedback on written texts;

read texts thoughtfully, analytically, and critically in preparation for writing tasks.

Oral Communication

Study in oral communication helps students rationally and systematically cope with the diverse listening, speaking, and presenting opportunities they will encounter in their lives. Courses that satisfy the oral communication requirement of the MUS CORE will focus on listening, speaking, interpersonal, and/or media skills. Public speaking, interpersonal communications and broadcast media may satisfy the oral communications component.

Oral Communications core courses will:

Enable an individual to speak with clarity, accuracy, and fluency in a variety of public contexts;

facilitate competence in the use of the conventions of language and forms of discourse, including sentence structure, mechanics, organization, and spelling;

facilitate research as a process of gathering, assessing, interpreting, and using data from multiple sources to express ideas orally;

demonstrate a variety of technologies to facilitate research and drafting.

Upon completion of the Oral Communications core, students will be able to:

Use oral communication as a means to engage in critical inquiry by exploring ideas, challenging assumptions, and reflecting on and applying the oral communications process;

demonstrate multiple flexible strategies for inventing, drafting, and editing oral presentations;

deliver thoughtful oral presentations with clarity, accuracy and fluency;

listen actively in a variety of situations and speak effectively about their ideas;

adapt content and mode of presentation to fit a given audience and medium;

give and receive feedback on oral presentations.

Humanities/Fine Arts

Humanities

Study of the Humanities cultivates an understanding and appreciation of the ways in which we gain and apply knowledge. To study the Humanities is to explore societies, cultures, ideas, and art and to examine the forces that shape and connect them. Through the Humanities, we become informed critical thinkers, integrating information, ideas, and opinions from local to global societies and cultures. A study of the Humanities often includes classics, languages, literature, philosophy, history and religion. Some campuses include Fine Arts within the category.

Humanities core courses will:

Develop an individual’s ability to think critically, analytically and synthetically about how others perceive and express the human condition;

improve ability to communicate through the development of reading, thinking, writing, and speaking skills;

increase an individual’s understanding of how others make and express meaning in their lives;

create opportunities for positive human interactions through understanding and acceptance;

encourage personal reflection and values identification;

promote respect for others with differing means of expressing core values.

Upon completion of the Humanities core, students should be able to:

Explore the human search for meaning and value in one or more time period(s) and cultures;

recognize, interpret, and respect concepts of values and beliefs in a global society;

communicate in writing and in speech, thoughtful and critical assessments of multiple value systems;

construct and articulate a set of beliefs and values;

utilize respectful inquiry to understand global concepts, values, and beliefs;

incorporate humanities perspectives in other areas of study.

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts create communities committed to the study of how people reveal and express feelings, emotions, and beliefs. Through the Fine Arts, students explore understanding about the creative process as they construct expressions of their own creativity, talent, and passion. The Fine Arts promote understanding and appreciation of how different cultures value the arts.

Fine Arts core courses will:

Enable students to produce expressions of their creativity and talent;

examine the place of arts in cultural and intellectual history;

demonstrate an appreciation for the complexity of human nature and society;

explore the influence of the arts on individuals and society.

Upon completion of the Fine Arts core, students will be able to:

demonstrate the processes and proficiencies involved with creating and/or interpreting creative works;

reflect upon, analyze, and articulate their personal responses to artistic works and the processes involved in creating them;

demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of artistic expressions in various past and present cultures;

connect periods and expressions of art to changes in societies and cultures.

Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity embraces differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability status, language, national origin, and religion within and across peoples and nations. Understanding of the value of cultural diversity is fundamental to national and global citizenship and is therefore an essential foundation to the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, regardless of specific intellectual field or focus. While curricula should contain courses specifically addressing one or more dimensions of cultural diversity, cultural diversity content should also substantially suffuse curricula.

Cultural Diversity core courses will:

Facilitate an awareness of how historical events, institutionalized differences in power, and long-standing customs have shaped cultural diversity and thus contemporary political, social, and economic relations within and across peoples and nations;

identify and discuss indicators of discrimination within and across specific institutions and groups and demonstrate how discriminatory practices and attitudes create barriers for some and opportunities for others;

an appreciation of how cultural diversity affects the ways in which individuals and peoples perceive, understand, and live in the world.

Upon completion of the Cultural Diversity core, students will be able to:

Demonstrate an awareness of the centrality of cultural diversity to their own and other human societies;

demonstrate an awareness of the negative impacts upon cultural diversity of economic, social, and other forms of institutional and interpersonal discrimination;

demonstrate competence and effectiveness in interacting with culturally diverse people by understanding cross- and inter-cultural interaction and communication;

demonstrate the ability to advocate for non-discriminatory policies and behaviors on their own behalf and on behalf of others, including peers, clients, and colleagues.