General Education Requirements

The General Education Program, required of all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is designed to help students hone their fundamental academic skills and expand their intellectual breadth. In addition, it creates common points of reference for students pursuing different majors.

该项目确保学生拥有深造所需的工具，并让他们接触到思考世界的不同方式. This curriculum allows students to develop the kind of intellectual flexibility they will need for meeting future challenges.

该计划有两个主要特点:(1)它强调每个学生在大学计划早期展示基本能力的重要性, either through course work that teaches these competencies or through performance on standardized tests; this is an important part of the Curriculum since it provides tools essential for successful work in advanced courses, as well as promoting skills that are valuable after graduation. (2) It requires each student to have exposure to at least six areas of knowledge; this is intended to provide a broad foundation both for more advanced study and for a lasting intellectual engagement with scholarly and cultural issues.

The General Education Program is divided into two parts: Basic Competencies and Areas of Knowledge. Students are expected to complete the Basic Competencies during the first two years of study. Students are encouraged, although not required, to complete the Areas of Knowledge during their first two years, 因为这提供了一个智力探索的机会，因为学生考虑他们想要专注于他们的专业的学术领域. These requirements are normally satisfied through course work; some may be met through proficiency examinations (which carry no academic credit).


The CLAS Basic Competencies requirements are in the areas of Written Communication, Quantitative Reasoning, and Foreign Languages. The ability to write well, communicate in another language, and use quantitative reasoning to problem solve are important skills greatly valued in today’s world. Most students continue to hone their skills in writing, quantitative reasoning, 通过学院提供的中级和高级课程学习超出基本通识教育要求的语言. 在线课程系统(Banner)中的“属性”代码帮助学生搜索和识别满足这些特定领域要求的适当课程.

I. Written Communication

Banner Listing - Degree Requirement (Attribute) CLAS: 01

每位学生必须通过成功完成ENGL 102或同等水平(由英语学部教员批准)来证明写作能力。. Depending on college entrance exam scores, students are placed in the appropriate level writing course. Normally students enroll in ENGL 101 and 102 in their first year in the College.

Students with the following scores must take both ENGL 101 and ENGL 102:
SAT Writing: 499 or lower
SAT Verbal or SAT Read-Write: 539 or lower
ACT English: 25 or lower

Students with the following scores should take ENGL 102:
SAT Writing: 500-699
SAT Verbal or SAT Read-Write: 540-739
ACT English: 26-29

Students with the following scores are exempt from ENGL 101 and 102, having demonstrated sufficient college level writing competency:
SAT Writing: 700 or higher
SAT Verbal or SAT Read-Write: 740 or higher
ACT English: 30 or higher

英语部不接受在线课程的学分转换，以满足通识教育写作能力, the Literature Area of Knowledge requirement, or the Arts Area of Knowledge requirement. This policy applies to students after matriculation at Alfred University, 并且是基于课堂讨论和辩论的写作II和200级文学和创意写作课程的学习成果的中心地位. In some cases, the Division of English will accept transfer credit for online coursework for Writing I, the first half of the Writing Competency. In exceptional circumstances, the Division of English may choose to review this policy on a case-by-case basis.

II. Foreign Language

Banner Listing - Degree Requirement (Attribute) CLAS: 02

文理学院的每个学生必须在大学水平的外语第一学年第二学期成功地证明英语以外的语言能力. 学生应该在大二之前开始语言学习，并在随后的每个学期继续学习语言，直到满足要求. Students may also demonstrate this proficiency through a language placement exam or a challenge exam, arranged through the Division of Modern Languages, although successful completion of the Language Placement Exam does not confer academic credit.

Language placement exams, offered every semester, help to determine the appropriate language course and level for students. 分班考试是学生与他们的指导老师和现代语言系的教授一起使用的工具，用来确定与学生个人技能相对应的最佳课程. Even if you plan to wait to take a language course in your sophomore year, 强烈建议您在第一学期的第一周参加分班考试，以避免高中语言知识的丢失.

If a student is continuing a language taken for more than two years in high school, or is a native speaker of Spanish, French, or German, he or she must take the Language Placement Exam. Students do not need to take the Language Placement Exam if they plan to study a language they have not previously studied. 想要证明自己精通艾尔弗雷德不提供的语言的学生应该咨询现代语言部门的主席.

To be considered for membership in Phi Beta Kappa students must have, among other qualifications, 通过200级的课程或在语言考试中达到80%的成绩，证明具有中等水平的外语能力.

现代语言学部不接受为完成通识教育外语能力而在网上修习的课程. 现代语言学部对网络课程的立场是基于美国外语教学委员会(ACTFL)所制定的国家语言学习标准。. In exceptional circumstances, the Division may choose to review this policy on a case by case basis.

文理学院的学生，如果其母语不是英语，但同时精通英语和英语，则可以免除语言要求. Requests for a waiver must be approved by the Chair of the Division of Modern Languages and the Dean.

Foreign Language Requirement Waiver Request Policy

III. Quantitative Reasoning

Banner Listing - Degree Requirement (Attribute) CLAS: 03

Students must demonstrate basic competency in quantitative reasoning. The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is fulfilled by one of the following:

  • A score of 630 or higher on the SAT Math
  • A score of 28 or higher on the ACT Math
  • A score of 4 or higher on the Advanced Placement Exam in either Calculus AB or Calculus BC
  • The successful completion of an AU designated Quantitative Reasoning (QR) course. The following courses are currently designated as QR courses; the list is updated annually and posted on the Alfred website.
    • BIOL 226 Biostatistics
    • BUSI 113 Business Statistics
    • ENVS 205 Environmental Data Analysis
    • MATH 101 Communicating with Numbers
    • MATH 102 Mathematics for Teachers: Grades K-6
    • MATH 104 Quantitative Methods for Business
    • MATH 131 Discrete Mathematics
    • MATH 151 Calculus I
    • PHIL 282 Introduction to Logic
    • POLS/SOCI 230 Introduction to Data Analysis and Statistics
    • PSYC 221 Psychological Research Methods and Statistics I
    • SCIE 127 Doing Science

不同知识领域(A-F)的通识教育要求为学生提供了不同思维方式的介绍, knowing, and seeing, laying the foundation for a lifetime of inquiry and learning. While many courses are offered in these different academic disciplines, only certain courses in the CLAS curriculum are designated as fulfilling the General Education requirement.

Degree Requirement Academic Field (Attribute) Code

  1. Literature (4 credits required)
  2. Philosophy or Religious Studies (4 credits required)
  3. The Arts (4 credits required)
  4. Historical Studies (4 credits required)
  5. Social Sciences (8 credits; 4 credits each from two of the following categories):
    • Psychology (E1)
    • Political Science or Economics (E2)
    • Sociology or Anthropology (E3)
  6. Natural Sciences (8 credits; at least 2 credits from F-I)
    • Scientific Inquiry (F-I)
    • Scientific Knowledge (F-II)
    • Science and Society (F-III)

First -Year Experience Program (FYE)

学院的第一年体验计划旨在促进智力参与，以便学生能够在学术上取得成功，并在文科中为自己找到有意义的角色 & Sciences community and as citizens of the world. Each FYE course is taught by a
faculty member dedicated to the success of first-year students.

Along with a peer leader associated with the course, each FYE faculty member helps new students engage with the Alfred community and transition to college-level learning.

The goals of the FYE program are to:

  • Help students produce high-quality college-level work and develop a positive work ethic.
  • 鼓励学生组成“学习社区”，让学生在学术努力中分担责任并相互支持.
  • Provide first-year students with the opportunity to participate in a small, 研讨会式的课堂，可以集中注意每个学生，学生和教师之间可以建立密切的工作关系.
  • 通过向学生介绍和鼓励学生参加各种各样的课外活动，鼓励学生充分融入大学社区.

The FYE program also provides a foundation for the General Education curriculum. To that end, all FYE courses, successfully completed, fulfill one of the General Education or University requirements.

Transfer Student Program

The CLAS Transfer Student Program is designed to help new transfers make the transition to Alfred University. Students will take the Transfer Seminar (CLAS 101) during their first semester at Alfred. As the cornerstone of the Transfer Student Program, the seminar provides an opportunity for students to get to know the intellectual community they have joined, while introducing them to campus resources that will help them succeed at Alfred. Throughout the seminar, students will
further develop core skills that lead to academic and professional accomplishment. The Transfer Student Program also facilitates mentoring relationships among the transfer students and their faculty and peers.