Welcome to the Foundational Studies Program – Your Signature Academic Program

Signature

Customize your program from carefully - designed courses to fit your personal and professional goals, leading to your Signature work.

Program

Thoughtfully designed around essential learning outcomes to develop broad knowledge and essential and higher-order skills.

Use the links on the right to discover more about the categories of the Foundational Studies Program, including requirements, courses, learning objectives,. and policies.

The Program

The Foundational Studies Program is a unified academic program.

Foundational Core: Composition, Communication, Quantitative Literacy, Non-Native Language

Ways of Knowing: Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Literary Studies, Fine and Performing Arts, Historical Perspectives, Ethical and Social Responsibility, Global Perspectives and Cultural Diversity

Integrative Studies/Signature Work: Upper-Division Integrative Elective, High-Impact Practice (as of fall 2022)

Foundational Core

These courses prepare you for your academic and professional career by developing your writing, speaking, numeracy, language and cultural competency. Foundational Studies core courses should be completed within your first four semesters.

Ways of Knowing

Each academic discipline trains students to look at important issues through its disciplinary lenses, or “way of knowing.” In each of the Ways of Knowing categories, you will learn how to “see” and understand through those disciplinary lenses. While some of those disciplines may be your major focus, the combination of these disciplines builds your critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Today and future problems require creative, interdisciplinary approaches.

Integrative Studies/Signature Work

These courses bring together your work in Foundational Studies with opportunities to integrate ways of knowing in a written or applied project. This is your chance to demonstrate the “signature” of your program: what are you passionate about? Where will your internship or study abroad take you?

LINKS