Liberal Education Program - Foundations

Foundations courses help students develop the fundamental competencies that are essential to success in Explorations and in their upper-level major courses.  Ideally, a student that is academically prepared for college-level work will complete all of Foundations by the end of freshman year. Practically, many students need to take prerequisite courses for some areas but should complete Foundations by the end of sophomore year, if possible.
    

Foundations Competency

Requirement

First-Year Experience

One course- INQ 101

Waived for transfer students with 15 or more transfer credits.1

Multilingual Communication 

One course in a second-level college language.

See placement page

Quantitative Reasoning Prerequisite

One course in MAT 100P or waived by placement.

See placement page

Quantitative Reasoning

One course.

Technological Fluency

One course.

Written Communication Prerequisite

 

One course in ENG 110 or ENG 119 or waived by placement.

See placement page

Written Communication

One course in ENG 112 or ENG 120

Total Credits:  21
  1. Waiver policies based on transfer credits are based on “initial transfer credits”, which is the number of credits taken and transferred prior to the first semester that a student is matriculated at SCSU.

All students will take at least one course in each of these areas. Your advisor will be able to help you choose which courses will work best for you.

Course Offerings:

To ensure students receive a meaningful education in an ever-changing world, SCSU faculty regularly adapts the course offerings to provide cutting-edge curricula within each LEP area. Students access the most up-to-date course offerings through one of the many advising resources or by meeting with a professional advisor. Also, prospective students can also receive advice by meeting with a member of our transfer student services team.

To view course descriptions of the courses listed below, please view the Undergraduate Catalog here.

Foundations Courses (as of Fall 2023)
In the FYE course, students will learn and practice the process of academic inquiry common to all university disciplines, while exploring their reasons for seeking a university education and the choices they make as first-year university students.

INQ 101 - 3 Credits - Intellectual and Creative Inquiry

ARB 101 - 3 Credits - Arabic II

CHI 101 - 3 Credits - Chinese II

FRE 101 - 3 Credits - French II

GER 101 - 3 Credits - German II

HBR 101 - 3 Credits - Hebrew II

ITA 101 - 3 Credits - Italian II

JPN 101 - 3 Credits - Japanese II

LAT 101 - 3 Credits - Latin II

POR 101 - 3 Credits - Portuguese II

RUS 101 - 3 Credits - Russian II

SED 105 - 3 Credits - Elementary Sign Language II

SPA 101 - 3 Credits - Spanish II

The Quantitative Reasoning Prerequisite includes topics such as real numbers and variables, plus linear, quadratic, polynomial, and basic rational and radical functions with graphing, word problems, and linear systems.

MAT 100P - 3 Credits - Introductory and Intermediate Algebra

MAT 103 - 3 Credits - Mathematics for Liberal Arts

MAT 104 - 3 Credits - Mathematics All Around Us

MAT 106 - 3 Credits - Math for Elementary Ed II

MAT 107 - 3 Credits - Elementary Statistics

MAT 108 - 3 Credits - Math for the Natural Sciences

MAT 120 - 3 Credits - College Algebra

MAT 122 - 4 Credits - Precalculus

MAT 124 - 3 Credits - Finite Mathematics

MAT 125 - 3 Credits - Applied Business Math

MAT 139 - 3 Credits - Short Course in Calculus

MAT 150 - 4 Credits - Calculus I

Technological Fluency courses must require students to solve problems, access information, and communicate information and ideas using various types of technology.

ART 114 - 3 credits - Digital Foundation for Art & Design

COM 135 - 3 Credits - Introduction to Computer Mediated Communication

CSC 101 - 3 Credits - Intro to Computers and Applications

CSC 104 - 3 Credits - Web Technology

CSC 200 - 3 Credits - Information Management and Productivity Software

DGH 100 - 3 Credits - Intro to Digital Humanities

EDU 106 - 3 Credits - New Literacies

GEO 110 - 3 Credits - Geography and Conflict

GEO 170 - 3 Credits - Basic Drone Technology

JRN 135 - 3 Credits - Digital Media Skills

JRN 170 - 3 Credits - Basic Drone Technology 

MAT 140 - 3 Credits - Computational Tools for Mathematics and the Sciences

MUS 117 - 3 Credits - Introduction to Music Technology

PHY 103 - 3 Credits - Physics and Technology for Healthcare Professionals

PHI 117 - 3 Credits - Ethics of Emerging Tech.

PHY 120 - 3 Credits - Nanotechnology

WGS 150 - 3 Credits - Women, Gender, Community, and Technology

WLL 108 - 3 Credits - Technology and Language Learning

Written Communication Prerequisite courses include instruction in multi-stage reading and writing processes in order to comprehend complex texts and write different types of academic essays.

ENG 110 - 3 Credits - Fundamentals of Academic Writing

ENG 119 - 3 Credits - College Composition for Bilingual Students

Written Communication courses require students to summarize, analyze and challenge an argument-based text as well as compose and support their own arguments with a range of evidence.

ENG 112 - 3 Credits - Writing Arguments

ENG 120 - 3 Credits - Writing Arguments for Bilingual Students