Wright State Core

Wright State converted to a semester calendar at the beginning of fall term 2012 and introduced the Wright State Core, the semester program that replaced General Education.

The Wright State Core is an integrated program of courses and experiences that provides students with the breadth of skills, knowledge and understanding expected of university graduates. The program helps students develop the knowledge and skills essential for critical thinking, creative problem solving, meaningful civic engagement, multicultural competence, appreciation for the arts, and life-long learning.

Wright State graduates will be able to demonstrate mastery of the following University Learning Outcomes (ULO):

1. communicate effectively
2. demonstrate mathematical literacy
3. evaluate arguments and evidence critically
4. apply the methods of inquiry of the natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities
5. demonstrate global and multicultural competence
6. demonstrate understanding of contemporary social and ethical issues
7. participate in democratic society as informed and civically engaged citizens

The Wright State Core is divided into six Elements. The Elements are the foundational skills, the broad areas of knowledge and practice, and the global, historical, and cultural perspectives that together provide Wright State University students with the ability to negotiate their roles successfully and constructively in a changing world. Even more than in the past, graduates must be proficient in all methods of communication, must be able to use and interpret mathematical and statistical information, and must understand the methods of inquiry of the historian, the scientist, and the humanist.

Below is listed the six Elements and Learning Outcomes for each Element:

Element 1: Communication

The foundational skills students need in academic discourse, research, and documentation in an electronic environment

• Adapt rhetorical processes and strategies for audience, purpose, and type of task
• Organize and produce texts that meet the demands of specific genres, purposes, audiences, and stances
• Employ appropriate mechanics, usage, grammar, and spelling conventions
• Find, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize appropriate source material from both print and electronic environments
• Use reliable and varied evidence to support claims, incorporate ideas from sources appropriately, and acknowledge and document the work of others appropriately
• Present focused, logical arguments that support a thesis
• Use electronic environments to draft, revise, edit, and share or publish texts

Element 2: Mathematics

The foundational skills required to use and interpret mathematics and statistics

• Identify the various elements of a mathematical or statistical model
• Determine the values of specific components of a mathematical/statistical model or relationships among various components
• Apply a mathematical/statistical model to a real-world problem
• Interpret and draw conclusions from graphical, tabular, and other numerical or statistical representations of data

Summarize and justify analyses of mathematical/statistical models for problems, expressing solutions using an appropriate combination of words, symbols, tables or graphs

Element 3: Global Traditions

Historical analysis and global perspectives necessary to understand our diverse world

• Critically describe some of the political, social or economic systems, historical, cultural or spiritual traditions, and/or technological innovations around the world
• Demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of people or traditions in our world in ways that promote effective engagement, both locally and globally
• Use political, social, economic, historical, cultural, spiritual or technological knowledge to evaluate contemporary issues

Element 4: Arts and Humanities

Tools for analysis and appreciation of the arts, philosophy, and religious thought

• Critically analyze significant creative, literary, philosophical or religious works
• Understand and discuss the complex blend of imaginative vision, socio-cultural context, ethical values, and aesthetic judgment in creative, philosophical or religious works
• Recognize, evaluate and respond to creative, philosophical or religious works

Develop appropriate and ethical applications of knowledge in the humanities or the arts

Element 5: Social Science

Perspectives on human behavior and culture informed by the disciplines of the social sciences

• Critically apply knowledge of social science theory and methods of inquiry to personal decisions, current issues, or global concerns
• Explain and critique the methods of inquiry of social science disciplines
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical issues involved in the acquisition or application of social science knowledge

Demonstrate, from a social science perspective, an understanding of the responsibilities of an informed and engaged citizen to the success of democratic society

Element 6: Natural Science

Introductions to the scientific understanding of the physical and biological phenomena

• Understand the nature of scientific inquiry
• Critically apply knowledge of scientific theory and methods of inquiry to evaluate information from a variety of sources
• Distinguish between science and technology and recognize their roles in society
• Demonstrate an awareness of theoretical, practical, creative and cultural dimensions of scientific inquiry
• Discuss fundamental theories underlying modern science

Students must complete a minimum of 38 hours in the Core distributed across the six Elements as displayed below:

Element	Required Distributions	Hours
Communication	One first-year composition course One second-year writing course	6
Mathematics	One course	3
Global Traditions	One interdisciplinary Global Studies course One history course	6
Arts/Humanities	One course	3
Social Science	Two courses from different disciplines	6
Natural Science	Two lecture/lab science courses	8
Additional Core Courses	Two additional approved Wright State Core courses from any of the Elements (some programs may designate these courses)	6
Multicultural Competence	As part of the Core, in addition to the interdisciplinary Global Studies Course (Element 3), students must take a second designated multicultural competence class in any Element or as an additional course.	n/a
Writing Across the Curriculum	As part of the Core, students must take two Integrated Writing (IW) Core courses	n/a
TOTAL	12 courses	38

Transfer Students, see University Policy 3240 Transfer Student Requirement for Completion of WSU Core