The university also requires students to take courses to learn about the diverse cultures that make up the United States. With careful planning, some of the general education courses and ethnic studies courses may overlap. That is, you may take a course that meets both general education and ethnic studies requirements. While the credits you earn count once toward graduation, they may be used to satisfy requirements in these two areas.

The global perspective requirement for undergraduates stems from the goals of UW-Stout's distinctive mission and array of programs that combine theory, practice and experimentation.

The official list of General Education, Ethnic Studies and Global Perspective courses in PDF format is available online. It is updated twice yearly.

General Education Credit Distribution

A. Communication Skills		8 Credits
ENGL-101 ENGL-111	Freshman English -- Composition or Freshman English -- Honors I	3
ENGL-102 ENGL-112 ENGL-113	Freshman English -- Reading and Related Writing or Freshman English -- Honors II or Honors Seminar I	3
SPCOM-100	Fundamentals of Speech	2
B. Analytic Reasoning		6 Credits
Courses must be from areas including math, logic, statistics and computer science.
C. Health and Physical Education		2 Credits
Courses must be from areas of health, physical education or nutrition.
D. Humanities and the Arts		9 Credits
Courses must be from three or more areas including art history, creative arts, history, literature, music appreciation, performing arts, and philosophy. When external accreditation standards warrant a depth requirement with sequenced courses, the nine credits must be taken from two or more areas.
E. Social and Behavioral Sciences		9 Credits
Courses must be from three or more areas including anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology and sociology. When external accreditation standards warrant a depth requirement with sequenced courses, the nine credits must be taken from two or more areas.
F. Natural Sciences (with Lab)		4 Credits
Additional science courses may be without a lab.
G. Technology		2 Credits
H. Interdisciplinary Studies		Electives
I. General Education Electives		0-6 Credits
Courses must be from categories A, B, C, D, E and H. Additional H/PE electives must be in a department different than that of H/PE course(s) used to meet the H/PE requirements.
Total Credits:		40-46

Some degree programs have specific general education courses that must be taken in order to satisfy certification, accreditation or prerequisite standards. These exceptions are noted in the general education requirements of each program.

The official list of General Education, Ethnic Studies and Global Perspective courses in PDF format is available online. It is updated twice yearly.

In the course description section of this bulletin, general education courses are coded to identify which category the course is from. The codes indicate the particular general education category the course applies to, as indicated in the following chart.

COMMSK WRIT = Communication Skills -- Writing
COMMSK RDG = Communication Skills -- Reading
COMMSK SPK = Communication Skills -- Speaking
COMMSK LNG = Communication Skills -- Language

ANRSN STAT = Analytical Reasoning -- Statistics
ANRSN MATH = Analytical Reasoning -- Mathematics
ANRSN LOG = Analytical Reasoning -- Logic

H/PE ACTV = Health and Physical Education -- Activity
H/PE HLTH = Health and Physical Education -- Health

HUMART ARTMU = Humanities and the Arts -- Art History/Music Appreciation
HUMART CRPRF = Humanities and the Arts -- Creative/Performing Arts
HUMART HIST = Humanities and the Arts -- History
HUMART LIT = Humanities and the Arts -- Literature
HUMART PHIL = Humanities and the Arts -- Philosophy

SBSCI ANTH = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Anthropology
SBSCI ECON = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Economics
SBSCI GEOG = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Geography
SBSCI POLS = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Political Science
SBSCI PSYC = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Psychology
SBSCI SOC = Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Sociology

NSCI LFSC = Natural Sciences -- Life Sciences
NSCI LFSC LAB = Natural Sciences -- Life Sciences Laboratory
NSCI PHYSC = Natural Sciences -- Physical Science
NSCI PHYSC LAB = Natural Sciences -- Physical Science Laboratory

TECH = Technology

INTER = Interdisciplinary Studies

Ethnic Studies Requirements

ESA courses directly address diversity in American culture. ESB courses focus on a subject other than diversity, such as business, education or history. However, in the context of the subject area, the course will emphasize an understanding and appreciation of diversity. The primary goal of ESC courses is to teach a professional skill or theory though the courses include a multicultural component. Students are required to take either:

1. Two ESA courses or
2. One ESA course and one ESB course or
3. One ESA course and two ESC courses or
4. One ESB course and two ESC courses or
5. Three ESB courses or
6. Two ESB courses and one ESC course.
   
   
   

   The official list of General Education, Ethnic Studies and Global Perspective courses in PDF format is available online. It is updated twice yearly.

Transfer students who have fulfilled the ethnic studies requirement at another UW System university are exempt from meeting UW-Stout's criteria.

Global Perspective Requirement

Both the globalization of work and the career education that is part of UW-Stout's mission make it desirable that students appreciate cultural, economic, political, environmental and social differences. Increasingly, graduates will work with people who do not speak English well or whose culture is quite different from their own. Learning a second language and developing an understanding of another culture can provide students with skills they will be able to use in international situations. Therefore, to earn a bachelor's degree, students must fulfill a global perspective requirement, choosing one of the following options:

Second Language Option

• Complete two years of the same second language in high school with a grade of "C" or above, or
• Complete four university credits of a second language with a grade of "C" or above, or
• Demonstrate competency in a second language by means of a standardized examination. International students who are not native speakers of English must have a TOEFL score of 500.
  

Global Experience Option

• Complete a program of university-approved work or study abroad, or
• Complete six credits of courses approved by the CIC as fulfilling the global perspective requirement. These courses are coded GLP in the course description section of this bulletin.