- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
40 credits
A D V I S I N G N O T E S
F O U R - Y E A R G R A D U A T I O N P L A N
C L A S S S C H E D U L E
T R A N S C R I P T S / G R A D E S
A P / T R A N S F E R C R E D I T E V A L U A T I O N
General Education at the University of Maryland
serves to unite the intellectual and creative goals that
we have for our students and define the University of
Maryland education.
The General Education program has the following
goals for all students:
Develop the skills necessary to succeed in academic
careers and in professional lives by establishing habits
and understanding of clear writing, effective speaking
and presentation, and critical and analytic reasoning.
Strengthen knowledge in major areas of study.
Broaden knowledge of civilizations past and present.
Establish the ability to thrive both intellectually and
materially and to support themselves, their families,
and their communities through a broad understanding
of the world in which they live and work.
Define the ethical imperatives necessary to create a
just society in their own communities and in the
larger world.
2020-21 | Academic Year
Academic Writing (FSAW) 3 credits
Attempt by 30 credits, complete by 60
All students must earn C- or better in Academic Writing
Professional Writing (FSPW) 3 credits
Oral Communication (FSOC) 3 credits
Math (FSMA) 3 credits
Attempt by 30 credits, complete by 60
Analytic Reasoning (FSAR) 3-4 credits
Natural Sciences w/lab (DSNL) 4 credits
Natural Sciences (DSNS) 3 credits
History and Social Sciences (DSHS) 3 credits
History and Social Sciences (DSHS) 3 credits
Humanities (DSHU) 3 credits
Humanities (DSHU) 3 credits
Scholarship in Practice (DSSP) 3 credits
Outside Major Requirements
Scholarship in Practice (DSSP) 3 credits
total credits
I-Series (SCIS) 3 credits*
I-Series (SCIS) 3 credits*
Understanding Plural Societies (DVUP) 3 credits*
OR Cultural Competence (DVCC) 1-3 credits*
*All students must complete two Distributive Studies courses that are approved for I-Series courses.
The Understanding Plural Societies and Cultural Competence courses may also fulfill Distributive Studies categories.
Revised
March 2020
Fundamental Studies courses ensure that
students have the basic skills in written and oral
communication, in mathematical analysis, and in
critical thinking that are important to their
success across the curriculum and in their
professional lives.
The goal of the Mathematics requirement is to
convey the power of mathematics, demonstrated
by the variety of problems that can be modeled
and solved by quantitative means. Ability in
mathematics is a critical measure of how well
students are prepared to meet the challenges
they will face in their lives beyond school. Must be
attempted by 30 credits and successfully completed
by 60 credits.*
Courses in Analytic Reasoning foster a student’s
ability to use mathematical or formal methods or
structured protocols and patterns of reasoning to
examine problems or issues by evaluating
evidence, examining proofs, analyzing
relationships between variables, developing
arguments, and drawing conclusions
appropriately.
If a student passes an Analytical Reasoning
course that requires Fundamental Studies Math
as a prerequisite, the Math requirement has also
been fulfilled.
The Fundamental Studies Academic Writing
requirement prepares students with a
foundational understanding of the writing skills
needed for success in further studies at
Maryland and beyond. Must be attempted by 30
credits and successfully completed by 60 credits.
Students must earn a C- or better in Academic
Writing.*
* No exemption is allowed for SAT scores. Scores on AP and IB exams may provide exemption. Refer to the Undergraduate
Catalog for exemption information:https://academiccatalog.umd.edu/
The Fundamental Studies Professional Writing
requirement strengthens writing skills and
prepares students for the range of writing
expected of them after graduation.
Human relationships, from the most formal to
the most personal, rest in large measure on
skilled listening and effective speaking. Skillful
listening and speaking support success in
personal relationships, educational
undertakings, professional advancement, and
civic engagement.
Natural Sciences courses introduce the concepts and
methods of studying the natural world. Courses include
the traditional physical and life sciences, environmental
science, animal and avian science, and plant science,
among others. One of the two courses selected must
include a substantial, rigorous laboratory experience.
History and Social Science courses introduce students to
history and to the social science disciplines, with their
combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. They
include courses in criminology, economics, history,
psychology, sociology, and other social sciences.
Humanities courses study the history and the genres of
human creativity. They include courses in literatures in
any language, art and art history, classics, and music and
music history, as well as in the disciplines of linguistics
and philosophy, among others.
Scholarship in Practicecourses offer students the
opportunity to apply their learning about a field in a
meaningful, tangible way and to gain insider knowledge
about the field. Such courses might, for example, give
students an experience of what a writer does, what an
engineer does, or what a researcher does by undertaking
such work. Scholarship in Practice courses may include
semester-long projects and team-based work allowing
students to learn skills that are widely applicable. These
courses are offered in all fields and at all levels (100-400).
• Students must complete two
courses in each area for a total of
eight courses in Distributive Studies.
One of the courses in the Natural
Sciences must include a laboratory
experience.
• Two of the eight courses must be I-
Series courses. AP credit may not be
used to satisfy the I-Series
requirement.
• AP credit for Distributive Studies is
limited to six of the eight courses.
• Coursework within one’s major is
permitted to satisfy both the major
and general education requirements.
• A Diversity requirement may be
fulfilled by a course that is approved
for both a Diversity category and for a
Distributive Studies category.
• One of the two Scholarship in
Practice courses selected must be
outside the student’s major
requirements.
Students learn about a variety of disciplines, the methods
they use, the kinds of questions they ask, and their
standards for judging the answers.
Rather than affirm or celebrate difference, courses in the Diversity
requirement investigate the complexities of human difference and
commonality. The Diversity requirement emphasizes the promises
and problems of plural societies and the challenges that must be
addressed to achieve just, equitable, and productive societies.
Courses in the Diversity requirement explore the struggles through
which plural societies are established and maintained.
Two categories of courses comprise the Diversity requirement:
Understanding Plural Societies and Cultural Competence.
Understanding Plural Societies courses recognize that life in the
globally competitive society of the 21st century requires an ability to
comprehend both theoretical and practical dimensions of human
difference. From that perspective, Understanding Plural Societies is
the centerpiece of the university’s Diversity requirement. Courses in
this category speak to both the foundations—cultural, material,
psychological, historical, social, and biological—of human difference
and the operation or function of plural societies.
Cultural Competence provides opportunities to gain an increased
understanding of cultures and cultural practices, while learning to
communicate effectively across cultural differences in a diverse
society and world. This diversity category reflects a developmental,
on-going process through which students learn about the lived
experiences of individuals as members of socio-cultural groups and
the complex interactions between groups.
• Students must complete two
Understanding Plural Societies
courses (6 credits total).
OR
• One Understanding Plural
Societies course (3 credits) and one
Cultural Competence course (1-3
credits).
Courses fulfilling the Diversity
requirement may double
count in an approved Distributive
Studies category.
The I-Series is the signature program of General Education at the
University of Maryland.
I-Series courses are lively and contemporary. They speak to important
issues that spark the imagination, demand intellect, and inspire
innovation. They challenge students to wrestle with big questions, and
examine the ways that different disciplines address them.
I- Series courses are not surveys of particular fields of knowledge.
Instead, I-Series courses provide students with the basic concepts,
approaches, and vocabulary of particular disciplines and fields of study,
as well as an understanding of how experts in those disciplines and
fields employ terms, concepts, and approaches.
The goal of the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy is to promote undergraduate student
success. The policy establishes a structured framework and criteria to guide all students to completion of an
undergraduate degree within a reasonable period of time.
Full-time degree seeking students normally are expected to complete the undergraduate program in four
years. Within this timeframe, all students are expected to demonstrate continuing progress in their majors by
completing prerequisite or required courses with the appropriate grades, and by completing other
requirements consistent with graduation progress or benchmarks established by their academic units. It is
ultimately the responsibility of the student to meet these requirements.
Students must complete two
Distributive Studies courses
that are approved in the I-
Series category.
STUDENTSUCCESS.UMD.EDU
• For the full policy: www.ugst.umd.edu/academicsuccess.html
• To review frequently asked questions about the policy:
www.ugst.umd.edu/faqs-successpolicy.html
• To find the 4-year plan for your major:
www.ugst.umd.edu/4yearplans.html
The General Education program provides students
with fundamental skills in writing, math and
communication. It also allows students to
experience a variety of academic disciplines
including the humanities, social sciences and the
natural sciences. All students must complete the
General Education requirements.
The I-Series requirement is the signature
program of General Education at the University
of Maryland. I-Series courses are lively and
contemporary. They speak to important issues
that spark the imagination, demand intellect, and
inspire innovation. They challenge students to
wrestle with big questions, and examine the ways
that different disciplines address them.
Scholarship in Practice coursesreinforce and
enhance learning in the humanities, natural
sciences, and history and social sciences with
courses that put these areas of learning into
practice.
Students have the opportunity to experience
authentic work of a discipline; faculty will reveal the
processes of their work whereby abstract
knowledge is transferred into a tangible form.
In Scholarship in Practices courses, students
will take risks, innovate, apply, collaborate, revise
and perfect their work, communicate ideas,
consider how work is affected by ideas of others,
and produce an original product or analysis.
In order to provide students with an understanding
of an applied discipline other than their own,
students are required to take at least one of the
Scholarship in Practice courses outside their major
requirements.
Some Distributive Studies (DS) courses have more
than one DS designations that provide students
flexibility when selecting courses. Because
students need a minimum of 8 DS courses,
students are unable to use one course to meet
two DS requirements.
General Education at the University of Maryland
serves to unite the intellectual and creative goals
that we have for our students and define the
University of Maryland education.
total credits
Name
Phone/ email
Advising contact
Phone/ email
COURSES TO INCLUDE MY FIRST YEAR
General Education Requirements:
Requirements for the major:
Special program/ citation requirements (Honors College programs, College Park
Scholars,FIRE, Carillon, CIVICUS, etc.), and requirements for a minor:
Don’t forget prerequisite courses:
Electives:
C A L L 3 0 1 - 4 0 5 - 9 3 6 3
O R E M A I L : G E N E D @ U M D . E D U
