Associate Degree Requirements – General Education Policy
Philosophy Statement
The faculty of Portland Community College affirms that a prime mission of the college is to aid in the development of educated citizens. Ideally, such citizens possess:
- understanding of their culture and how it relates to other cultures
- appreciation of history both from a global perspective and from a personal perspective, including an awareness of the role played by gender and by various cultures
- understanding of themselves and their natural and technological environments
- ability to reason qualitatively and quantitatively
- ability to conceptually organize experience and discern its meaning
- aesthetic and artistic values
- understanding of the ethical and social requirements of responsible citizenship
Such endeavors are a lifelong undertaking. The General Education component of the associate degree programs represent a major part of the college's commitment to that process.
Categories and Requirements
Candidates for any of the Associate of Applied Science and Associate of General Studies degree programs must include 18-quarter hours of General Education as part of the minimum quarter hours required for each degree. The General Education credits must come from the following categories:
- Arts and Humanities (See Appendix I)
- Social Sciences
- Mathematics, Natural and Physical Sciences and Computer Studies
The 18 hours must include at least one course from each category and no more than 9 hours from any one category. In order to insure the breadth of learning, which is the cornerstone of the General Education requirements, the following limitations apply:
- Courses taken to satisfy the basic college competencies in com- position and mathematics will not be accepted.
- No more than two courses may come from program prerequisites or from courses required by specific programs.*
*Note: Because of these restrictions, it is possible that a course is acceptable as General Education for some students while it is not accept- able for others. Degree candidates who are unsure of how the General Education Policy applies to their individual cases are responsible for seeking help from an advisor or counselor.
See the General Education Course List at the end of this policy for a complete listing of courses which satisfy the General Education requirement.
The complete and official list of courses approved as General Education courses is maintained by the Curriculum/General Education Committee of the Educational Advisory Council. Courses will be added to the list in the following manner:
Criteria for General Education Course Approval
The criteria listed below were established for general education course approval. General Education courses must:
- Reflect the breadth and scope of the philosophy statement;
- Be transferable and parallel* to at least two members of the Oregon University System;
- Allow enrollment for students from any program although General Education courses may have prerequisites;
- Demonstrate academic rigor and require significant student preparation outside of class;
- Incorporate substantial student evaluation and require students to demonstrate literacy in the dominant language of the course;
- Include a wide spectrum of concepts and various theoretical models. They must examine the relationship of the material to other disciplines and reflect historical perspective;
- Be designed to develop the student's ability to examine, evaluate, and make critical comparisons of concepts relevant to the discipline.
*The term Parallel is defined as meeting any two of the following criteria:
- Courses have been adopted as part of the Oregon University System/ community college common course numbering effort.
- Duplicate courses are or have been offered by an Oregon University System institution within the previous four-year period.
- Content is similar in level and depth of investigation to that covered in other disciplines at the lower division level.
- The course is generally recognized as a lower-division course on a regional or national basis.
General Education Course List
General Education List for Associate of Applied Science, Associate of General Studies and Associate of Science Degrees:
Arts and Humanities
ART 101, 102, 103 Introduction to Art
ART 115, 116, 117 Basic Design
ART 131 Introduction to Drawing
ART 141 Introduction to Photography (Non-darkroom)
ART 142 Introduction to Photography (Darkroom)
ART 143 Photography II
ART 181 Introduction to Painting
ART 204, 205, 206 History of Western Art
ART 207, 208, 209 History of Asian Art
ART 210 Women in Art
ART 211, 212, 213 Modern Art History
ART 231 Drawing
ART 237 Life Drawing
ART 253 Ceramics I
ART 256 Ceramics II
ART 277 Life Painting
ART 281 Painting
ART 284 Watercolor I
ART 287 Watercolor II
ART 293 Sculpture
ART/WLD 295 Sculpture: Welding II
ASL 101, 102, 103, 150, 151, 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 American Sign Language
D 251 Introduction to Dance
D 260 Dance Improvisation and Composition
ENG 104, 105, 106 Introduction to Literature
ENG 107, 108, 109 World Literature: Western
ENG 195, 196, 197 Film as Literature
ENG 201, 202, 203 Shakespeare
ENG 204, 205, 206 Survey of English Literature
ENG 207, 208, 209 World Literature: Asian
ENG 211 Contemporary African Literature
ENG 212 Biography
ENG 213 Literature of the Americas
ENG 214 Literature of the Northwest
ENG 222 Images of Women in Literature
ENG 240 Introduction to Native American Literature
ENG 250 Introduction to Folklore and Mythology
ENG 253, 254, 255 Survey of American Literature
ENG 256, 257, 258 African-American Literature
ENG 260 Introduction to Women Writers
ENG 261 Literature of Science Fiction
ENG 265 International Political Poetry
ENG 275 Bible as Literature
ENL 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 250, 252, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 260, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 272 English as a Non-Native Language
FR 101, 102, 103, 150, 151 First-Year French
FR 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 Second-Year French
FR 255, 256, 257 Accelerated French
FR 260A, 261A, 262A French: Culture
FR 270A, 271A, 272A Readings in French Literature
FR 290A, 291A, 292A French: Composition
GER 101, 102, 103, 150, 151 First-Year German
GER 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 Second-Year German
GER 255, 256, 257 Accelerated German
GER 260A, 261A, 262A German: Culture
GER 270A, 271A, 272A Readings in German Literature
GER 290A, 291A, 292A German: Composition
HUM 106 British Life and Culture
HUM 201 Humanities & Technology: Exploring Origins
HUM 202 Humanities & Technology: Contemporary Issues
HUM 203 Humanities & Technology: Future Directions
HUM 204 African History
HUM 205 African Literature
HUM 206 African Art
HUM 221 Leadership Through the Classics
HUM 230 Transformations of Myth Through Time
JPN 101, 102, 103, 150, 151 First-Year Japanese
JPN 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 Second-Year Japanese
JPN 260A, 261A, 262A Japanese: Culture
MUS 105 Music Appreciation
MUS 106 Opera Appreciation
MUS 110 Fundamentals of Music
MUS 201A, 202, 203 Introduction to Music & Its Literature
MUS 205 Introduction to Jazz History
MUS 206 Introduction to the History of Rock Music
MUS 207 Introduction to the History of Folk Music
MUS 208, 209, 210 African-American Music
PHL 191 Language & the Layout of Argument
PHL 193 Evaluation of Practical Argument
PHL 195 Critical Thinking: Science & the Occult
PHL 197 TV & the Presentation of Reality
PHL 201, 202 Introduction to Philosophy
PHL 204 Philosophy of Religion
PHL 205 Biomedical Ethics
PHL 208 Political Philosophy
PHL 209 Business Ethics
PHL 221 Symbolic Logic
PHL 222 Elementary Aesthetics
RUS 101, 102, 103, 150, 151 First-Year Russian
RUS 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 Second-Year Russian
RUS 262R Russian Culture in Russia
RUS 270A, 271A, 272A Readings in Russian Literature
SP 100 Introduction to Speech Communication
SP 111, 112, 113 Fundamentals of Speech
SP 140 Introduction to Intercultural Communication
SP 227 Non-verbal Communication
SPA 101, 102, 103, 150, 151 First-Year Spanish
SPA 201, 202, 203, 250, 251 Second-Year Spanish
SPA 255, 256, 257 Accelerated Spanish
SPA 260A, 261A, 262A Spanish: Culture
SPA 260M Spanish Culture (Mexico)
SPA 270A, 271A, 272A Readings in Spanish Literature
SPA 290, 291, 292 Spanish: Composition
TA 101 Theater Appreciation
WR 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246 Creative Writing
WS 101 Intro to Women's Studies
Social Science
ATH 101, 102, 103 General Anthropology
ATH 207, 208, 209 Cultural Anthropology
ATH 210 Selected Topics in Ethnography
ATH 211, 212, 213 Introduction to Field Archeology
ATH 214, 215, 216 Human Environments
ATH 230 Native Americans of Oregon
ATH 231 Native Americans of the Northwest
ATH 232 Native North Americans
EC 115 Outlines of Economics
EC 200, 201, 202, 203 Principles of Economics
EC 216 Introduction to Labor Economics
EC 230 Contemporary World Economic Issues
GEO 105, 106, 107 Introduction to Human Cultural Geography
GEO 202 Geography of Europe
GEO 206 Geography of Oregon
GEO 208, 209 Physical Geography
GEO 210 The Natural Environment
GEO 214 Geography of Mexico
GEO 221 Field Geography
GEO 265 Introduction to GIS
GEO 290 Environmental Problems
HEC 226 Child Development
HST 101, 102, 103 Western Civilization
HST 104, 105, 106 History of Eastern Civilization
HST 201, 202, 203 History of the United States
HST 204, 205, 206 History of Women in the US
HST 218 Native American History
HST 220 Labor History
HST 225 History of Women, Sex and the Family
HST 240 Oregon's Social History
HST 246, 247 Religion in the United States
HST 270 History of Mexico
HST 274, 275, 276 Afro-American History
HST 277 Oregon Trail
HST 278, 279 Russian History I, II
HST 285 The Holocaust
PS 201, 202 American Governments
PS 203 State and Local Government
PS 204 Comparative Political Systems
PS 205 International Relations
PS 211 Peace and Conflict
PS 220 American Foreign Policy and World Order
PS 225 Political Ideology
PSY 101 Psychology and Human Relations
PSY 201, 202, 203 General Psychology
PSY 201A, 202A, 203A General Psychology: Gender Perspectives
PSY 213 Brain, Mind & Behavior
PSY 214 Introduction to Personality
PSY 215 Human Development
PSY 216 Social Psychology
PSY 220 Psychology: Applied
PSY 222 Family and Intimate Relationships
PSY 231, 232 Human Sexuality
PSY 239 Intro to Abnormal Psychology
PSY 240 Interpersonal Awareness and Growth Techniques
SOC 204, 205, 206 General Sociology
SOC 213 Diversity In America
SOC 218 Sociology of Gender
SOC 223 Social Gerontology/Sociology of Aging
SOC 228 Introduction to Environmental Sociology
SOC 230 Introduction to Gerontology
SOC 232 Death and Dying
SOC 240 Sociology of Work and Leisure
WS 101 Introduction to Women's Studies
Mathematics, Natural and Physical Sciences, and Computer Studies
ASC 101 Natural Science Inquiry
BI 101, 102, 103 Biology
BI 121, 122 Introduction to Human Anatomy & Physiology I, II
BI 141 Habitats: Life of the Forest
BI 142 Habitats: Fresh Water Biology
BI 143 Habitats: Marine Biology
BI 200 Principles of Field Biology
BI 201, 202, 203 Botany
BI 211, 212, 213 Principles of Biology
BI 222 Human Genetics
BI 231, 232, 233 Human Anatomy and Physiology I, II, III
BI 234 Microbiology
CH 100 Fundamentals of Chemistry
CH 101 Inorganic Chemistry Principles
CH 102 Organic Chemistry Principles
CH 104, 105, 106, 201, 202, 203, 221, 222, 223 General Chemistry
CH 241, 242, 243 Organic Chemistry
CIS 120 Computer Concepts I
CIS 121 Computer Concepts II
CIS 122 Software Design
CS 251 Logical Structures
CS 252 Computational Structures
ESR 171 Environmental Sci: Biological Perspectives
ESR 172 Environmental Sci: Chemistry Perspectives
ESR 173 Environmental Sci: Geological Perspectives
G 201, 202 Physical Geology
G 203 Historical Geology
G 207 Introduction to Geology of the Pacific Northwest
G 208 Volcanoes and Their Activity
G 291 Elements of Rocks and Minerals
GS 101 Survey of Astronomy
GS 106 Physical Science: Geology
GS 107 Physical Science: Astronomy
GS 108 Physical Science: Oceanography
GS 109 Physical Science: Meteorology
MTH 108 Matrices
MTH 109 Conics
MTH 111A College Algebra for Liberal Arts
MTH 111B College Algebra for Business
MTH 111C College Algebra for Math, Science, and Engineering
MTH 112 Elementary Functions
MTH 116 Calculus Preparation
MTH 211, 212, 213 Foundations of Elementary Math I, II, III
MTH 231 Elements of Discrete Mathematics I
MTH 241 Calculus for Management, Life and Social Science
MTH 243, 244 Statistics I, II
MTH 251 Calculus I
MTH 252 Calculus II
MTH 253 Calculus III
MTH 254 Vector Calculus I
MTH 256 Differential Equations
MTH 261 Applied Linear Algebra I
PHY 101 Fundamentals of Physics
PHY 121, 122, 123 Fundamentals of General Astronomy
PHY 201, 202, 203, 211, 212, 213 General Physics