General Education Requirements
Ohio University believes that, as an educated person, you need certain intellectual skills in order to participate effectively in society. These include the following:
- The ability to communicate effectively through the written word and the ability to use quantitative or symbolic reasoning.
- Broad knowledge of the major fields of learning.
- A capacity for evaluation and synthesis.
To help you meet these objectives, Ohio University has instituted a three–tiered General Education requirement that all baccalaureate degree students (except those in Honors Tutorial College) must fulfill. Tier I course requirements build your quantitative and English composition skills; Tier II course requirements increase your breadth of knowledge; and the Tier III course requirement develops your ability to interrelate, synthesize, and integrate knowledge from different academic disciplines.
Tier I Requirements
Quantitative Skills. You must demonstrate or acquire an acceptable level of quantitative skills to satisfy graduation requirements. The University uses your ACT or SAT (see chart below) math score to determine your skill level for placement or exemption unless the Tier I quantitative skills requirement has been satisfied by transfer or advanced placement credit. Students in some majors are required to have a math placement regardless of transfer or advanced placement credit in order to meet prerequisite requirements. The choice of the course in which you should enroll, if any, depends on your major, catalog of entry and math placement, and should be discussed with your academic adviser.
Students without ACT scores, SAT scores, advanced placement, or a transferable math course must take an online math placement test . Direct questions to the placement testing coordinator, University College, 740.593.1935. Regional campus students should contact their student services offices.
| Math Placement Level | Minimum ACT Math Score needed | Minimum SAT Math Score needed |
| DV1 | < 15 | < 379 |
| DV2 | 16 | 380 |
| PL1 | 20 | 480 |
| PL2 | 24 | 560 |
| PL3 | 30 | 680 |
Any Ohio University MATH course numbered 109 or above, PHIL 120, 120, or 221 satisfies the Tier I quantitative skills requirement (1M). To enroll in any MATH or other quantitative skills course, you must either place at the specific level required for that course or satisfy the appropriate prerequisites.
Placement levels are:
DV1(Developmental): Placement at this level indicates inadequate preparation to enroll in a Tier I quantitative skills course. You must complete MATH 101 before enrolling in MATH 102. Students receiving this recommendation who plan to major in an area requiring advanced math (e.g. engineering, or business majors) should discuss their choices with the faculty or professional advisers.
DV2(Developmental): This level indicates inadequate preparation to enroll in a Tier I quantitative skills course. You must complete MATH 102 before enrolling in a Tier I quantitative skills course.
PL1(Placement Level 1): Placement at this level indicates preparation for any of the following Tier I–fulfilling courses: MATH 109, 113, 117, 118 (available only at regional campuses and through correspondence), MATH 120 (early childhood, middle childhood, and intervention specialist education majors only), MATH 147, PHIL 120, PSY 120.
Note: Students who need MATH 163A should enroll first in MATH 113 and then take MATH 163A. Students who need MATH 263A should begin with MATH 113 followed by MATH 115 and then MATH 263A.
PL2(Placement Level 2): Placement at this level indicates preparation for Level 1 courses as well as these additional Tier I–fulfilling courses: MATH 115 (recommended only for students who plan to enroll in MATH 263A or MATH 266A), MATH 150, MATH 163A, MATH 250, PSY 221.
Note: MATH 115 is the prerequisite course for MATH 263A and MATH 266A. MATH 115 is not recommended unless you plan on enrolling in those MATH 263A/MATH 266A. Students cannot earn credit for both MATH 163A and MATH 263A. MATH 163A is not a prerequisite for MATH 263A.
PL3(Placement Level 3): Placement at this level demonstrates quantitative skill competence sufficient to fulfill the Tier I quantitative skills requirement. If your major requires that you enroll in a quantitative skills course, placement at Level 3 indicates preparation for MATH 263A (or MATH 266A for natural science majors) and any course in Levels 1 or 2. A level 3 placement does not guarantee a waiver of college or major requirements in mathematics. Contact your college office to see if a college waiver is in effect for your major.
English Composition.A first–year composition course and an advanced junior–level composition course are required. Any of ENG 151, 151A, 152, 153, 153A, or 153B will satisfy the University’s General Education first–year writing requirement (1E). These courses are alternative, not sequential, courses in writing. You should select your course by looking at the descriptions and choosing the one that appeals to you. (All regional campus students are given a placement test.)
In your junior year, you must take an approved advanced writing course unless you demonstrate advanced writing proficiency by passing the junior–level exemption exam . The following courses fulfill the junior–level composition requirement:
Art: ART 300J
Business Administration: B A 325J
Classics and World Religions: CLWR 385J
Communication: PRCM 325J
Economics: ECON 310J
Engineering Technology: ET 385J
English: ENG 305J, 306J, 307J, 308J, 309J, 384J
Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 418J
Film: FILM 344J
Health Sciences: HLTH 370J
History: HIST 301J, 396J
Health and Consumer Sciences - General Education: CONS 345J
Industrial Technology: ETM 370J
Interdisciplinary Arts: IART 360J
Journalism: JOUR 441J
Modern Languages: M L 321J, 370J
Political Science: POLS 305J
Recreation and Sport Science: REC 370J
Social Work: S W 370J
These courses are marked in this catalog with the designation (1J) as the general education code.
If you are a transfer student, your requirements are determined by when you enroll and the number and type of credit hours transferred.
Tier II Requirements
You are required to complete a total of 32 credit hours from an approved list of courses in the following six distribution areas:
You are required to take at least three credit hours in each of the six areas and may satisfy no more than two of the required six areas with courses from the same department/school. You may satisfy no more than 12 of the 32 hours with courses from the same department/school.
You may apply no more than two approved Tier II courses in your major department/school or area of concentration (for B.S.S. students) toward partial fulfillment of the Tier II requirement.
Approved courses are marked in the Course Descriptions section with 2AS, 2CP, 2FA, 2HL, 2NS, or 2SS as the general education code. The following courses fulfill the Tier II breadth of knowledge requirement:
Applied Science and Mathematics (2AS)
Biological Sciences: BIOS 205, 220, 221, 222, 225, 235
Chemical Engineering: CH E 231
Chemistry and Biochemistry: CHEM 101
Computer Science: C S 230
Electrical Engineering: E E 101
Engineering and Technology: ET 280, 320, 350, 470
Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 103, 160, 214A, 214B
Environmental Health: EH 260
Geography: GEOG 201, 268
Geological Sciences: GEOL 135, 170, 215, 231
Health Sciences: HLTH 200, 202
Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences: CSD 108
Human and Consumer Sciences–Food and Nutrition: NUTR 128
Industrial and Systems Engineering: ISE 200
Industrial Technology: ETM 110
Information and Telecommunication Systems: ITS 101, 201
Mathematics: MATH 163A, 163B, 253, 263A, 263B, 263C, 266A, 266B
Mechanical Engineering: M E 100
Physical Science: P SC 135
Cross–Cultural Perspectives (2CP)
Anthropology: ANTH 101, 202
Art History: A H 214, 330, 331
Classics and World Religions: CLWR 311, 321, 331
Dance: DANC 351, 451
English: ENG 331, 332, 333
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Arabic: ARAB 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Chinese: CHIN 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
French: FR 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
German: GER 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Greek: GK 111, 112, 113
Indonesian/Malaysian: INDO 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Italian: ITAL 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Japanese: JPN 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213, 252, 253
Japanese Culture: JPC 250
Latin: LAT 111, 112, 113
Russian: RUS 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Spanish: SPAN 211, 212, 213, 349
Swahili: SWAH 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213
Thai: THAI 111, 112, 113, 211, 212, 213, 311, 312, 313
Geography: GEOG 131
History: HIST 132, 133, 246, 323A, 323B, 323C, 337C, 341A, 341B, 341C, 345A, 345B, 345C
International Literature: Linguistics: ILL 389
International Studies: INST 103, 113, 118, 121
Music: MUS 121
Political Science: POLS 340
Retail Merchandising and Fashion Product Development: RFPD 110
Fine Arts (2FA)
Art: ART 110
Art History: A H 211, 212, 213
Dance: DANC 170, 171, 270, 271, 471, 472, 473, 474, 476
Film: FILM 201, 202
Fine Arts: FAR 150
Human and Consumer Sciences — Interior Architecture: ARTI 185
Interdisciplinary Arts: IART 117, 118, 211, 212, 213, 270, 271, 272
Music: MUS 100, 120, 124, 125
Theater: THAR 113, 151, 170, 171, 172, 270, 271, 272
Humanities and Literature (2HL)
African American Studies: AAS 110, 150, 210, 211, 250, 350
Classics and World Religions: CLWR 181, 221, 222, 301, 302
College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 111, 112
Communication Studies: COMS 101
English: ENG 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 250
Film: FILM 203
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Classics in English: CLAS 127, 231, 234, 235, 236, 237, 252, 253, 254, 255
Greek: GK 211, 212, 213
International Literature: Modern Languages: ILML 335(A-Z), 336(A-Z), 337(A-Z), 338(A-Z)
Latin: LAT 211, 212, 213
History: HIST 121, 122, 122A, 123
Human and Consumer Sciences — Interior Architecture: ARTI 391
Humanities: HUM 107, 108, 109, 117
Philosophy: PHIL 101, 130, 216, 232, 240, 260, 310, 311, 312, 314
Visual Communication: VICO 140
Women’s and Gender Studies: WGS 100
Natural Sciences (2NS)
Anthropology: ANTH 201
Astronomy: ASTR 100, 100B, 100D, 140
Biological Sciences: BIOS 100, 103, 130, 131, 170, 171, 172, 173, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 210, 275, 385
Biology: BIOL 101
Chemistry and Biochemistry: CHEM 121, 122, 123, 151, 152, 153
Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 100, 100L, 102, 109, 111, 114, 115, 209
Geography: 101, 202
Geological Sciences: GEOL 101, 120, 130, 208, 211, 221, 271
Physical Science: P SC 100, 100D, 101, 101L, 105, 105L, 121, 121L, 122, 121L, 123, 123L, 131, 140, 200, 205
Physics: PHYS 201, 202, 203, 251, 252, 253, 262
Social Sciences (2SS)
African American Studies: AAS 101, 202
Classical Archaeology: CLAR 211, 212, 213
College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 113
Communication Studies: COMS 351, 352, 353
Economics: ECON 103, 104, 105, 106, 240
Education—Early Childhood: EDEC 160
Geography: GEOG 121, 132
History: HIST 101, 102, 103, 200, 201, 315A
Human and Consumer Sciences Education: CONS 250
Journalism: JOUR 105
Linguistics: LING 270
Management: MGT 202
Media Arts and Studies: MDIA 105
Political Science: POLS 101, 102, 103, 150, 210, 230, 250, 270, 331
Psychology: PSY 101
Social Work: S W 102
Sociology: SOC 101, 201
Tier III Requirement
You are required to complete at least 4 hours in Tier III or Tier III–equivalent course(s). At least 2 of the 4 hours must be taken at senior rank (135 hours). This catalog contains a complete list of Tier III and equivalent courses available by going to Course Descriptions and placing T3in the keyword or phrase search or by clicking here . Approved courses are marked in the Course Descriptions section with T3 as the general education code. You may fulfill this requirement by taking at least 4 hours in Tier III–equivalent course(s) in your major; you should see your major adviser for information as to whether your discipline offers such a course or courses.