Curriculum
The liberal arts curriculum reflects the distinctive mission of Wilson College. Through requirements that bridge the sciences, humanities, and social sciences, students develop effective written and oral communication skills, learn to reason critically and quantitatively, appreciate cultural distinctions and markers, and explore the history, creativity, and experimental modes of their own diverse environments.
Liberal Arts Curriculum (Overview)
I. Foundations
- First-Year Seminar
- Writing Skills
- Quantitative Skills
II. Liberal Studies Requirements
Courses are required in the following categories:
1. Communication
a. Writing-Intensive courses
b. Foreign Language courses
2. Critical and Creative Thinking
a. Natural Science Lab courses and Environmental Studies Lab courses
b. Natural Science and Environmental Studies courses
c. Art courses
d. Literature courses
3. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Knowledge
a. Health & Wellness courses
b. Foundations of Western Cultures courses
c. History of Western Cultures courses
d. Contemporary Cultures courses
4. Ethical Awareness
a. Ethics courses
5. Engaging Diversity
a. Cultural Diversity courses
b. Non-Western Cultures courses
c. Women’s Studies courses
III. Major Area of Study
- Major
- Minor (optional)
- Synthesis of the Liberal Arts with the Major
Explanations
I. Foundations
- First Year Seminar
Requirement: All first-time students must complete First Year Seminar in the first semester of enrollment. This requirement is waived for most transfer students.
It is important to introduce students to the College, its resources, and its expectations for academic work. Therefore, First Year Seminar informs students about the College’s Honor Principle, traditions, history, and mission. FYS also promotes student identification of their academic and personal strengths, interests, and areas for potential growth. Assignments emphasize the development of skills in writing, oral communication, library and database research methods, study skills, time management, and critical thinking. Led by a faculty member and peer teacher, the course explores aspects of Wilson College life, examines issues that affect the transition to college, and seeks to deepen self-understanding.
2. Writing Skills
Requirement: All students must complete ENG 104 or ENG 108.
The ability to communicate effectively in written format is essential to student success in the professional world. Therefore, based upon placement, students enroll in either ENG 104, EAP: English Composition in the Academic Environment or ENG 108, College Writing. Students who enroll but do not complete English 104 or 108 must enroll in the appropriate course during the first semester it is subsequently offered and continue to enroll in the appropriate course until the requirement is completed.
Students who complete ENG 104 or ENG 108 continue to develop their writing skills by taking additional writing-intensive courses.
All students who are placed in ENG 104 are also required to complete ENG 106: Academic Research Writing.
Note: Students in ENG 106 who are visiting Wilson for a year are also permitted to enroll in other 100- and 200-level English, communications, or writing-intensive courses.
3. Quantitative Skills
Requirement: All students must complete of one quantitative skills course (PSY 115, MAT 101, MAT 103, MAT 115, or above).
Additional quantitative skills courses may be required by the major or recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate or professional studies.
It is vital for well-educated people, particularly in their careers, to be comfortable with mathematics as a tool for describing and analyzing their environment. Wilson students are expected to demonstrate the ability to solve basic mathematical problems. Students learn to interpret and present numerical data in research settings or in everyday situations in which critical evaluation is required.
Full-time students must enroll in the quantitative skills requirement, or any prerequisite coursework, by the end of their second semester of enrollment. Part-time students must begin the quantitative skills requirement, or any prerequisite coursework, prior to earning 27 semester hours at Wilson College.
Students who enroll but do not complete the requirement must enroll in the appropriate course during the first semester it is subsequently offered. As necessary, they must then continue to enroll in the appropriate course until the requirement is completed.
II. Liberal Studies Requirements
The general requirements for categories A-E that follow are:
- Courses must be taken in at least six different disciplines.
- At least four of the courses must be at the 200 or above.
- Each requirement must be satisfied by a different course.
- Courses required by the major that are outside the primary discipline may be used to satisfy liberal studies requirements. Two courses in the primary field of study may be used to satisfy liberal studies requirements. Courses designated as writing-intensive may also fulfill other liberal studies requirements.
- Communication
o Writing-Intensive (WI)
Requirement: Students must complete at least nine semester hours in courses that are designated writing-intensive (WI).
Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement exam in English will take at least one writing-intensive course.
Continuing to develop writing skills is critical for student success in the professional world. Therefore, writing-intensive courses are designed to improve writing skills through writing instruction and substantial writing requirements in the context of a course in English or another discipline. Writing-intensive courses promote student understanding of the process of writing and the integration of writing and thinking. Students learn the importance of sustained evaluation and feedback from peers and instructors.
Writing-intensive courses may concurrently satisfy other requirements in liberal studies or in the major field of study.
o Foreign Language
Requirement: All students must complete two courses, three to four semester hours each, based on placement, in one foreign language, or achieve placement above the intermediate level.
Additional foreign language courses may be required by the major or recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate or professional studies.
Knowledge of and exposure to foreign languages and cultures are essential components of a liberal education. Preparation for leadership and service in a global society is not genuinely attainable without knowledge of the language and culture of the people with whom we interact, whether on an economic, political, or social basis. Study in a foreign language promotes global understanding, provides insight into ethnic diversity within the U.S., prepares students for work or study in a multilingual setting, and develops skills that may be useful or Requirement: Two courses in one foreign language or placement above the intermediate level.
Additional foreign language courses may be required by the major or recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate or professional studies.
Knowledge of and exposure to foreign languages and cultures are essential components of a liberal education. Preparation for leadership and service in a global society is not genuinely attainable without knowledge of the language and culture of the people with whom we interact, whether on an economic, political or social basis. Study in a foreign language promotes more global understanding, provides insight into ethnic diversity within the U.S., prepares students for work or study in a foreign setting and develops skills that may be useful or essential for certain careers or vocations.
- Critical and Creative Thinking
o Natural Science Lab or Environmental Studies Lab (NSL, ESL)
Requirement: All students must complete one laboratory course, a minimum of four semester hours. Students must fulfill one of the following two categories in their coursework:
Natural Science Lab (NSL)
Environmental Studies Lab (ESL)
It is crucial that students participate in hands-on, practical experiments that reinforce and expand upon their scientific studies. Crucially, these courses assist students in making connections between abstract theory and application of theory, promote learning and understanding of experimental methods, foster direct participation in data collection and analysis, and develop deep analytical skills.
o Critical and Creative Thinking Across the Disciplines (NS/L, ES/L, ART, LIT)
Requirement: All students must complete two courses, a minimum of three semester hours each. Students must fulfill two of the following three categories in their coursework.
Natural Science (NS/L) or Environmental Studies (ES/L)
Art (ART)
Literature (LIT)
In the twenty-first century, it is essential that students are able to think critically and problem solve creatively. Students will learn to analyze and interpret texts, images or experiences with increasing facility and innovation. They will also gather evidence and analyze it to make well-reasoned judgments and solve theoretical or practical problems.
Natural Science or Environmental Studies (NS/L / ES/L)
Students explore the natural world with the aim of increasing scientific literacy, learning basic concepts and principles. They achieve an understanding of the methods and limits of scientific discovery, and they are exposed to the history and philosophy of science. Relationships among science, technology, and society are also considered.
Art (ART)
Students explore art history, studio art, graphic design, creative writing, music, dance or visual arts. In art history courses, students learn to evaluate works aesthetically and to comprehend and recognize influences of contributing forces (physical, political, intellectual and spiritual) on artists and the viewing public. In graphic design, creative writing, visual arts, dance, and music courses, the creative experience is emphasized along with concerns of artistic activity.
Literature (LIT)
Students explore literature, emphasizing the shaping authority of cultural texts. Students take courses where they read and study texts from a particular sociohistorical period, learning how to interpret these works, how to examine them critically, and how to share their knowledge with others.
- Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Knowledge
o Health and Wellness
Requirement: All students must complete ES 281 or two semester hours of physical activity courses.
Health and Wellness and the activity requirements are designed to help students develop lifelong strategies for overall wellness and physical fitness. Opportunities for students to strengthen their capacity for physical, intellectual, and creative pursuits are, therefore, provided through activity course offerings in dance, equitation, and physical education.
Academic credit is assigned to activity courses at the rate of one semester hour or two semester hours per course. No more than six semester hours in physical activity and wellness courses, including ESS 281, may be applied toward the 120 semester hours required for graduation. However, students may take as many activity courses as they wish for academic credit beyond the 120 semester hours required for graduation.
Students with physical limitations may meet the physical education activity requirement by arranging a special program of modified activities (PE 100: Special Program).
Physical education activity courses may be taken on a credit/no-credit basis.
Note that DNC Orchesis does not count toward the physical activity requirement.
o Cultural Foundations across the Disciplines (FWC, HWC, CC)
Requirement: All students must complete two courses, a minimum of three semester hours each. Students must fulfill two of the following three categories in their coursework.
Foundations of Western Cultures (FWC)
History of Western Cultures (HWC)
Contemporary Cultures (CC)
Intellectual dexterity and flexibility are central to student success in the twenty-first century. Students will achieve breadth of knowledge through foundational study of cultures in the social sciences and humanities.
Foundations of Western Cultures (FWC)
In order to comprehend the current state of Western society, students must first understand its roots, studying the foundational periods of its history, including the Ancient and Medieval eras. In addition, coursework considers the numerous, complex, and diverse influences from other cultural traditions that shaped early Western culture in areas such as anthropology, technology, art, literature, religion, philosophy, and scientific thought.
History of Western Cultures (HWC)
In order to function capably in a globally interdependent society, students benefit from an understanding of the institutions, histories, and traditions of various cultures, including our own Western society. Many of the courses in this category address the economic, political, and social influences on Western culture and society, asking students to problematize the ethnocentric nature and development of knowledge, ideas, and experience in the modern period (since 1600).
Contemporary Cultures (CC)
Courses in contemporary cultures aim to familiarize students with the diverse and varied cultures of the United States today, with the understanding that students’ knowledge of U.S. institutions (e.g., history, economic system, political system, society, legal system) and cultural features (e.g., religion, mass media) is often very limited due to high school curricula. Knowledge of one's own society is important in providing students with an appropriate basis for conducting themselves as citizens and presenting themselves as well-educated and informed individuals. Knowledge of one’s own culture is also an essential foundation for comparative analyses with other cultures and societies.
- Ethical Awareness (ETH)
Requirement: All students must complete one course, a minimum of three semester hours, in Ethics (ETH).
Perhaps today more than ever, it is crucial that students are able to identify and analyze ethical issues in their own lives and as they pertain to questions that arise within their field of study and future professions. They must be able to recognize and analyze ethical problems from multiple perspectives and develop the ability to work productively and cooperatively with others.
- Engaging Diversity (CD, NWC, WS)
Requirement: All students must complete two courses, a minimum of three semester hours each. Students must fulfill two of the three following categories in their coursework.
Cultural Diversity (CD)
Non-Western Cultures (NWC)
Women’s Studies (WS)
The ability to engage diversity—diverse peoples and their concomitant cultures—is crucial for student success in the hyper-globalized, twenty-first century. In order to foster empathy and understanding, it is essential that students be exposed to other ways of knowing and being in the world, particularly those of marginalized groups, both within the United States and the world over.
o Cultural Diversity (CD)
In cultural diversity courses, students are exposed to perspectives and voices of populations historically excluded from academic discourse, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, lesbians and gay men, the socioeconomically disenfranchised, the physically challenged, and others who are disadvantaged and/or disempowered within our society. Considering the impact of socio-political and economic systems in creating inequalities within the U.S. context, students will elevate their consciousness regarding persons in our society who are underprivileged and consider explanations and aspirational resolutions for the systems of privilege and inequality.
o Non-Western Cultures (NWC)
Courses in non-western cultures endeavor to study the histories, languages, societies, religious practices, literatures, and arts of cultures distinct from the Western tradition. In becoming more aware of their positionality within a global, multicultural landscape, students will gain appreciation for the diverse cultures of the world and empathy and understanding for those cultures distinct from their own.
o Women’s Studies (WS)
Through feminist pedagogy and an understanding of feminist theory, students learn about the social construction of gender as it intersects with class, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and nationality in a variety of settings, cultures, and time periods. Moreover, students investigate the historical marginalization of women in patriarchal society and its ramifications for contemporary society, developing an understanding of how inequality is perpetuated, as well as potentially overcome, within that society.
III. Major Area of Study
- Major
Depth of knowledge in one of the student’s principal intellectual and professional interests is sought through the selection of a major in a single discipline or a major that combines two or more disciplines.
- Single-discipline majors involve in-depth study in a specific academic discipline. Some include the option of a specific track within the major.
- Combined majors integrate two interrelated or complementary disciplines (e.g., history and political science). Within some majors, areas of concentration permit in-depth study within a specific field of knowledge.
- Special majors cover topics not ordinarily offered as a major at the College. Special majors are individually designed interdisciplinary majors composed of two or more related fields of knowledge. Students design special majors in consultation with faculty members from appropriate disciplines. The proposed major is subject to approval by the Committee on Academic Policy and Procedure.
- Double majors may be pursued under some circumstances, although they may take longer than four years to complete. Students confer with academic advisers for each major and meet the major requirements of both major fields of study.
- Senior Experience (optional)
The supervision and implementation of a senior experience resides within the major area. Students in many majors at Wilson complete a senior thesis, senior seminar, or internship as a capstone experience. These experiences bring together the student’s accomplishments and learning from within and outside the major. The senior experience may also be designed to assist students with the transition from the undergraduate experience to graduate school, professional school, or career.
- Minor (optional)
Students may select one or more minors. The minors are designed to provide opportunities for in-depth study outside the major field. In selecting a minor, students are encouraged to venture into disciplines that are unrelated to their major field of study. Courses required by the major that are outside the primary discipline may be used to satisfy requirements for the minor.