General Education

In keeping with the University’s educational mission, all undergraduates are required to complete a program of study that emphasizes the values of what historically has been called “a liberal education.” A liberal education consists of developing a range of skills and an introduction to academic disciplines that span the spectrum of human knowledge. This type of education teaches students to write and think critically, developing a basic understanding of human society and activity in all its dimensions. The courses and experiences included in this program of study provide a solid and broad education that will equip students to become lifelong learners while preparing them to complete a more focused study in the major.

The Common Curriculum (CC) is the twenty-first-century version of the traditional liberal arts curriculum. Through the Common Curriculum, SMU ensures that all undergraduates meet the general education requirements stipulated by the U.S. Federal Government and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Based on these standards, students must complete a general education curriculum consisting of a minimum of 30 credit hours as part of their degree requirements. This general education curriculum ensures breadth of knowledge and introduces students to the humanities and fine arts, the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. According to these standards, the courses in general education must not focus on the skills, techniques, and procedures specific to that student’s occupation or profession. SMU’s Common Curriculum meets these standards while ensuring that students cultivate the knowledge and skills needed to become successful in the workplace and to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world.

The Common Curriculum requires most students to complete a minimum of 34 credit hours of general education. However, students with advanced language proficiency (who can demonstrate appropriate proficiency on an approved proficiency test) may be able to complete their general education curriculum in 30 hours. SMU faculty, through the Council on General Education, are responsible for determining whether SMU courses meet Foundation, Breadth and Proficiency and Experience requirements.

The Common Curriculum

The motto of Southern Methodist University, Veritas Liberabit Vos (“the truth shall set you free”), epitomizes the ideals of an SMU education and is the guiding principle for the Common Curriculum. The wisdom to acquire and critically reflect on existing knowledge and the insight and capacity to create new knowledge - the hallmarks of an educated person - exemplify the characteristics SMU seeks to instill in its students.

The Common Curriculum contains both general education and graduation requirements. The general education comprises approximately one-third of the baccalaureate degree plan for all SMU students. It consists of two main coursework components, Foundations and Breadths.

The Foundations requirements include Academic Writing (AW), Critical Reasoning (CR), Quantitative Reasoning (QR), and a Second Language (SLR) of intermediate proficiency in languages other than English. These Foundation requirements build on the diverse educational backgrounds of students who enter the University and ensure that all students have the knowledge and skills required to complete an SMU degree.

The seven Breadth requirements introduce SMU students to the known range of academic disciplines and give them various intellectual frameworks from which to approach the world and solve the problems they encounter. These requirements are Creativity and Aesthetics (CA), Exploring Science (ES), Historical Contexts (HC), Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI), Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI), Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS), and Technological Advances and Society (TAS).

In addition to the graduation requirements, referred to as Proficiencies and Experiences (P&Es), students can apply the soft skills necessary to be compassionate and engaged world citizens. The Common Curriculum contains seven graduation requirements: Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE), Community Engagement (CE), Global Perspectives (GPS), Human Diversity (HD), Oral Communication (OC), Quantitative Applications (QA), and Writing (W). P&Es may be satisfied with coursework or with the completion of co-curricular activities. These requirements are often met in tandem with either general education, major, or minor requirements.

*TAS may be fulfilled by a second ES-tagged course of at least three-semester credit hours.

The number of courses and/or credit hours required to complete the Common Curriculum will vary according to the individual student’s academic background, preparation, major and curricular choices. For instance, students may request the transfer of coursework taken at another regionally accredited institution after high school graduation, either before or after matriculation at SMU. Students may further request that such transferred coursework be evaluated to fulfill specific CC requirements, subject to the limits described herein.

All CC student requests for fulfillment through transfer work must include a complete syllabus that contains the name of the instructor, name of the course, daily schedule, assigned readings, assignments, and grade breakdown, as well as concrete evidence that the proposed alternative course or experience satisfies the specific Student Learning Outcomes and Content Criteria associated with the CC requirement being petitioned. These requests will be reviewed and evaluated by the Office of General Education. Appeals of decisions by the Office of General Education may be made to the Committee on Academic Petitions.

The Office of General Education recommends that students work closely with divisional/departmental and academic advisers to navigate the Common Curriculum requirements and plan their coursework each term using Degree Planner. Each student has access to a regularly updated and individualized Degree Progress Report (DPR) that charts their progress and identifies courses they use to meet the various requirements.

The list of Common Curriculum courses will vary by term and be listed on the Common Curriculum website and in the course search function of my.SMU.

Common Curriculum Requirements

General Education Requirements

Foundations

A university education must provide students in all majors with the tools to embark on a lifetime of learning. Common Curriculum Foundations courses assure that students read and write, think critically, and possess essential awareness of the multi-faceted nature of our complex world.

Because these skills are essential for a successful college experience, Foundations requirements should be completed within a student’s first four terms of enrollment. See the table above for recommended and required completion details.

Pre-matriculation transfer work may, in some cases, be used to satisfy the Academic Writing (AW), Critical Reasoning (CR), Quantitative Reasoning (QR), and Second Language (SLR) Foundations. For policy details, students should consult the Office of General Education, Credit by Examination table, or the tables below.

* External credit is defined test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit.
** Transfer credit is college credit completed after high school graduation but before matriculation to SMU. This does not include dual or concurrent credit.
*** Dual/concurrent credits are course credits completed prior to high school graduation. Dual credit is work completed through a college (which could be taken at the college or at the high school) that counts for college credit and high school graduation requirements. Concurrent credit is work completed through a college that the high school does not give credit for graduation purposes.

Students may not request that non-approved SMU courses be allowed to satisfy CC Foundation requirements. Only courses proposed by an SMU faculty member and approved by the Council on General Education may be used to satisfy these requirements.

Academic Writing and Critical Reasoning

Students will develop competency, clarity, coherence, and organization in their writing and will demonstrate university-level critical reasoning proficiencies through written expression. The Common Curriculum emphasizes Academic Writing (AW) and Critical Reasoning (CR) in the first year sequence of courses, often within the Writing and Reasoning (WRTR) department. The AW and CR sequence introduces students to academic thought and written communication in seminars where students work closely with faculty. All Academic Writing and Critical Reasoning courses aim to assist students in developing critical reading and expository and analytical writing.

Students will satisfy this requirement by taking WRTR 1312  in the fall term and WRTR 1313  (or equivalent) in the spring. Students scoring lower than a 580 on the SAT-R or lower than 21 on the ACT English section will begin in WRTR 1311  and go on to complete WRTR 1312  and WRTR 1313 . Students scoring at or above 580 (SAT-R) or at or above 21 (ACT English) will begin in WRTR 1312 . Students scoring a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) English Language/English Literature Test and students scoring 5, 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate (IB) English A Literature higher-level exam will receive credit for their scores. However, they must still take both WRTR 1312  and WRTR 1313  (or equivalent) at SMU.

Transfer students who transfer in at least 24 hours of credit and have SMU transfer credit for two semesters of Freshman writing may apply those credits toward completing the Academic Writing and Critical Reasoning requirements.

Following SMU matriculation, students must meet the AW and CR requirements through SMU coursework. 

Students participating in the University Honors Program satisfy this requirement with WRTR 2305  and WRTR 2306  in the fall and spring of their first year. Students in the Hilltop Scholars Program may fulfill the requirement with WRTR 2303  in the fall term, and WRTR 2304  in the spring. Students must be enrolled each term and may not drop Academic Writing or Critical Reasoning-tagged courses until they have completed the requirement. A minimum grade of C- is required to pass each course.

• WRTR 1311 - Foundations of Written and Oral Discourse  
• WRTR 1312 - Introduction to Academic Writing   
• WRTR 1313 - Writing and Critical Reasoning  
• WRTR 2303 - Hilltop Scholars Academic Writing  
• WRTR 2304 - Hilltop Scholars Writing and Critical Reasoning  
• WRTR 2305 - University Honors Humanities Seminar I  
• WRTR 2306 - University Honors Humanities Seminar II  

Quantitative Reasoning

Quantitative Reasoning (QR) is the ability to understand, evaluate and use quantitative information. Quantitative information takes many forms, and quantitative reasoning skills span a vast spectrum, from basic numerical manipulations to advanced statistics and mathematics. One three-credit course is required to ensure that students possess these necessary skills.

Students may use AP, IB, dual, transfer, and SMU credit to fulfill the requirement. Students scoring a 4 or 5 on the Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or Statistics AP tests and those scoring 5, 6, or 7 on the IB Mathematics higher-level exam will satisfy this requirement. Students may petition to count qualifying Math or Statistics transfer or dual or concurrent enrollment courses toward this requirement. Math placement testing is also available through SMU’s Mathematics credit examinations.

Second Language

Second Language (SLR) is the ability to negotiate meaning in a language other than English in familiar contexts and will demonstrate cultural competence in the related target culture. Second-language learning is a multi-faceted intellectual endeavor that promotes enhanced communication skills in native and target languages and fosters cross-cultural communication and understanding. Second-language learners analyze the nature of language by comparing the target language and their own language. Second-language learners evaluate information and diverse perspectives from the language and its cultures. Learners engage in critical analysis of culture and identity; they are, therefore, more readily able to participate in multiple multicultural communities and are, as a result, adaptable to the challenges of a changing world.

SMU students fulfill the Second Language requirement by demonstrating intermediate proficiency in a second language by passing an approved proficiency exam, using AP and IB credit, transferring or taking a course equivalent to the second-semester course at SMU. See policy details below.

At SMU, students can demonstrate language proficiency in one of the following ways after matriculation:

1. Placing into and successfully completing a course in the second semester level of a language (or above) satisfies the Second Language requirement with that course. SMU offers Arabic, Chinese, Classical Greek, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, American Sign Language, and Spanish
2. Placing into the fourth term or beyond on the SMU World Languages and Literature Department’s placement test and also earning an appropriate score on an SMU designated Second Language Proficiency Test. Students must pay a non-refundable registration fee for their proficiency test and take the test within one year of matriculation at SMU.
3. Taking two additional Global Perspectives (GPS) tagged courses beyond the one required of all students if this substitution is recommended by the Office of Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS).
4. Achieving a score of Intermediate-Mid or above on the ACTFL OPI examination in a language not taught at SMU.
5. Transferring in two consecutive semesters for a minimum of six-credit hours of the same language taken post-high school (regardless of the transfer equivalency). These courses must have been taken after high school graduation.

Students can fulfill the Second Language requirement before matriculation in one of the following ways:

1. Presenting an appropriate score on a recognized second language proficiency exam (4 or 5 on AP exam; 5, 6, or 7 on IB HL exam).
2. Transferring a dual credit or post-high school transfer course equivalent to 3rd (2401) or a higher-level course at SMU.
3. Demonstrating an existing proficiency in a language other than English as documented by:
   1. Matriculation as an International Student from a non-English-dominant country and providing high school transcripts from a non-English-medium high school;
   2. Completion of two consecutive semesters of the same language (other than English) at an accredited college or university, prior to matriculation at SMU but after high school graduation.

SMU students must have enrolled in at least one course toward fulfilling the Second Language requirement by the fall term of their Junior year. It is recommended first-year students who completed language in high school are encouraged to continue SLR in first semester at SMU. Students who begin their SLR at SMU must complete it at SMU.

Please visit the Second Language site for more information. 

Breadths

Students are required to complete Breaths in seven distinct areas of university study that reflect fundamental ideas and approaches associated with core academic disciplines: Creativity and Aesthetics (CA); Exploring Science (ES); Historical Contexts (HC), Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI); Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI); Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS); and Technological Advances and Society (TAS).

Breadth courses may satisfy Proficiency and Experiences (P&Es) graduation requirements (see below), and some of these courses may also count for major or minor credit. The Breadth requirements will be a maximum of 23 credits, reflecting that lab-based science courses may be four credits each. See the approved methods of Breadth fulfillment policies by particular a student’s admit status.

* External credit is defined test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit.
** Transfer credit is college credit completed after high school graduation but before matriculation to SMU. This does not include dual or concurrent credit.
*** Dual/concurrent credit are course credits completed prior to high school graduation. Dual credit is work completed through a college (could be taken at the college or at the high school) that counts for college credit and high school graduation requirements. Concurrent credit is work completed through a college that is not given credit by the high school for graduation purposes.
**** TAS may be fulfilled by a second ES-tagged course of at least three-semester credit hours. 

Students seeking to fulfill Breadth requirements through pre- or post-matriculation transfer work must complete the appropriate academic petitions.

Students may not request that non-approved SMU courses be allowed to satisfy CC Breadth requirements. Only courses proposed by an SMU faculty member and approved by the Council on General Education may be used to satisfy these requirements.

Creativity and Aesthetics

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of a particular art form in a specified context through the production and/or analysis of that form. To develop an understanding of and appreciation for the creative impulse in various artistic contexts, graduates of SMU will demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of art forms and artistic analysis. They will be able to identify, explore and explain concepts fundamental to the visual, communicative, and performing arts through critical analysis, performance or the act of personal creation. CA courses also seek to expose students to creativity’s fundamental role in maintaining a robust, adaptive, and prosperous society. Students must take one three-semester-credit-hour course from the CA category.

Exploring Science

As a result of Exploring Science (ES), students will demonstrate an ability to engage in scientific inquiry. To be active, engaged citizens in a global society, graduates of SMU will demonstrate an ability to engage in scientific inquiry. They will apply the scientific method to understand and interpret scientific information in various contexts. Students should be aware of the evidence-based, empirical methods of science, and of the ways that scientific fields have shaped and informed the world around us. In completing the ES requirement, students must take and pass both lecture and lab courses (if offered separately). 

Historical Contexts

Students will demonstrate an ability to engage in historical thinking upon fulfillment of Historical Contexts (HC). Historical thinking is an acquired (learned) form of analytical reasoning that allows students to analyze data from the past and recognize patterns of cause and effect, and action and consequence. It requires factual knowledge of past events and allows students to use that information to infer consequences and to understand the relationship between past action and present or future action. Moreover, because historical thinking involves a recognition that there are multiple ways of interpreting historical data, it allows for an appreciation of diverse viewpoints on any given topic. However, because it is a fact-based type of analysis, it also teaches students to evaluate arguments and critically assess sources of information. Students take one three-semester-credit-hour course from the HC category.

Literary Analysis and Interpretation

Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI) require students to analyze texts through close readings and demonstrate an understanding of the text’s underlying historical, social, political, and cultural contexts in pursuit of an individually-developed and well-argued analysis and interpretation. To expand their understanding of the world and the modes of communication in it, students will demonstrate an ability to analyze texts through contextualized close reading. Students will analyze meaningful texts such as novels, poems, plays, and films. Students must take one three-semester credit hour course from the LAI category.

Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry

Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI) expects students to demonstrate an understanding of philosophical, religious, or ethical concepts, traditions, or practices and their corresponding methods of inquiry. Philosophical and religious inquiry and ethics are related fields of analysis that invite students to explore and engage critically with the concepts, problems, traditions, and practices constituting those fields of inquiry. These fields provide students with the tools to understand and evaluate philosophical, religious, and ethical claims, to ask pointed questions about the world, and to discover how to attend to the philosophical, religious, and/or ethical convictions or assumptions that inform diverse peoples and traditions. Beyond this, these fields all build students’ analytical and communicative skills and cultivate an ability to engage in respectful dialogue. Students must take one, three-semester-credit-hour course from the PREI category. One course may not satisfy both PREI and CIE.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

The sixth Breadth is Social and Behavior Sciences (SBS). Students will demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of human behavior, culture, and/or institutions. Almost every challenge humankind has ever faced, or will ever face, depends on the actions of people. Whether studying why people built pyramids across the ancient world, how people decide to spend their money, why people vote for one candidate over another, why people cheat on tests, or how groups and organizations alter individual trajectories, we must understand people’s behavior to answer these questions. Exploring how and why people and societies think and behave is fundamental to understanding our past, present, and future. The social and behavioral sciences provide students with the knowledge, methods, and tools to better understand individuals and societies, by advancing generalizable theories about human behavior based on empirical evidence. Common Curriculum students at SMU must take one, three-semester-credit-hour course from the SBS category.

Technological Advances and Society

Technological Advances and Society (TAS) teaches students to describe, analyze, and evaluate the impact of technology on society within a domain. Technological changes have driven societal change since ancient times. These changes continue to accelerate in the contemporary world, creating both opportunities and challenges. Technological literacy is essential to navigating the challenges humanity faces. Technological Advances and Society courses explore how the dynamics of technological advancements impact society on almost every level and in all areas of our lives. The classes will provide students the necessary background to describe, analyze, and evaluate the effects of these technological changes. The students will see just how these advances have reshaped domains in both narrow and broad contexts.

Students must take one three-semester-credit-hour course from the TAS category. Common Curriculum students may substitute a second Exploring Science course to satisfy this requirement.

Proficiencies & Experiences

To prepare SMU graduates for career development and lifelong learning, the Common Curriculum requires all undergraduates to develop and refine life skills beyond the introductory level. All undergraduate students must fulfill these Proficiencies and Experiences (P&Es) graduation requirements. The graduation requirements may be as much as 21 credits, but often less.

Proficiencies and Experiences may be met through credit-bearing coursework or approved, noncredit, co-curricular activities identified as meeting that requirement. A list of tagged courses and pre-approved programs or organizations is available on the Common Curriculum website. See applicable external credit policies related to P&Es below.

* External credit is defined test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit.
** Transfer credit is college credit completed after high school graduation but before matriculation to SMU. This does not include dual or concurrent credit.
*** Dual/concurrent credits are course credits completed prior to high school graduation. Dual credit is work completed through a college (which could be taken at the college or at the high school) that counts for college credit and high school graduation requirements. Concurrent credit is work completed through a college that the high school does not give credit for graduation purposes.

Through a petition on the Common Curriculum website, students may request to fulfill these requirements through transfer courses or individual activities by submitting a formal request to the Office of General Education. In all cases, matriculated students wishing to use activities that are not pre-approved programs or organizations must obtain pre-approval from the Office of General Education before starting the activity.

Civics and Individual Ethics

As a result of Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE), students will demonstrate an ability to engage in ethical reasoning about civic and individual life. Moral judgments confront us everywhere. Ethical reasoning provides students with foundational skills to reflect rigorously on ethical issues and to apply ethical reasoning in civic and individual life. It allows students to identify their own ethical convictions, think self-critically about them, and reflect on their merits. This is a key component of a liberal arts education.

Undergraduates at SMU must take one course or participate in one approved, sustained experience that requires them to reflect meaningfully on the nature of right, wrong, justice, freedom, fairness, privacy, security, tolerance, equality, rights, or concern for the general welfare. Students may also satisfy CIE by completing 30 hours or more of direct service via the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience. One course may not satisfy both PREI and CIE.

Community Engagement

As a result of Community Engagement (CE), students will demonstrate the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation necessary to contribute to the civic life of communities. Undergraduate students at SMU must complete one approved community engagement activity, through a course, a cultivated experience, or, with approval, on their own.

Community engagement encompasses activities wherein individuals participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both life-enriching and socially beneficial to the community; it prepares students for their public lives as citizens, members of communities, and professionals in society. Through community engagement, students gain experience participating in multiple types of civic action and skills. They are given the opportunity to gain experience participating in multiple types of civic action and can integrate their academic learning with direct action and involvement. In this way, students develop collaborative skills and enhanced perspectives that will serve them throughout their lives.

While a limited number of Community Engagement-tagged courses will satisfy this graduation requirement, CE is unique as this P&E primarily intends to be completed in the co-curricular. All undergraduate students have the opportunity to complete the CE requirement through the Engage Dallas program via their affiliated Residential Commons; students are strongly encouraged to explore and leverage this opportunity.

Global Perspectives

Upon completing Global Perspectives (GPS), students will demonstrate an informed perspective on the challenges contemporary societies face in the broader global context. Effective and transformative global learning allows students to analyze and explore complex global challenges, collaborate respectfully with diverse others, apply learning to take responsible action in contemporary global contexts, and evaluate that action’s goals, methods, and consequences. Global learning enhances students’ sense of identity, community, and perspective taking. GPS challenges students to participate in a reflective way by partaking in activities outside or inside the classroom or by engaging intellectually with cultures outside the U.S. or in immigrant communities inside the U.S.

Undergraduates at SMU must take one course or seek approval and participate in a fourteen-day immersive experience in a global culture. GPS may also be satisfied by participating in an SMU Abroad program.

Human Diversity

As a result of Human Diversity (HD), students will demonstrate an understanding of human diversity and the systems of structural inequality that shape human experiences and behaviors. Understanding human diversity gives students the ability to navigate and appreciate the realities of diverse communities and nations that exist in a multi-faceted world. Cultivating this understanding requires knowledge of a variety of cultures, subcultures, and social systems, in local, regional, national and global contexts. Courses and experiences that fulfill the Human Diversity requirement help students better understand the factors that contribute to individual identity as well as the environmental and historical circumstances in which social and cultural systems and provide students with insights into how inequalities are created, enacted and upheld.

Undergraduates at SMU must take one course, participate in an approved organization or program, or seek approval and complete sustained involvement with a clearly defined community (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, religion, social class, ability/disability, sexual orientation, nationality, and /or immigration status).

Oral Communication

Upon successful completion of Oral Communication (OC), students will demonstrate an ability to engage in clear and concise live communication. Oral communication consists of both extemporaneous and prepared communication. It is intended to increase knowledge, foster understanding, or promote change in the listeners’ attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors. Oral communication is fundamental to individual, professional, and social growth. It enables the free expression and exchange of ideas, allowing individuals, organizations, and communities to understand and learn from one another through expression.

SMU undergraduate students must develop oral communication skills through substantial activities, inside or outside the classroom. 

Quantitative Applications

As a result of Quantitative Applications (QA), students will demonstrate an ability to interpret mathematical models in the form of formulas, graphs, and/or tables and draw inferences from them in a specified domain. Students use information to solve problems in disciplines ranging from the Sciences and Engineering, Business to the Social Sciences and Humanities. These courses and experiences promote numeracy and data literacy as skills that enhance understanding of any topic or subject.

SMU undergraduate students are required to participate in one QA course or an experience that provides students the ability to use and apply mathematical and/or statistical analysis tools to a wide range of subject areas.

Writing

The seventh Proficiency and Experience is Writing (W). Students will demonstrate university-level writing proficiencies appropriate to their coursework. We write not only to communicate what we know, but to understand ourselves better, to comprehend our world more fully, and to discover what we think. The ability to write well promotes success in college regardless of major; after college it enhances success in any field that involves sustained thought. Being able to write well is the mark of an educated person. But writing well is a skill that takes time to develop and requires practice. The Writing Proficiency or Experience requirement gives students further opportunities to practice what they have learned in their Academic Writing and Critical Reasoning Foundations requirements and to advance their skills.