General Education

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General Education Curriculum - 36 Semester Hours

General Education Requirements: Minimum of 36 Hours

First-Year Seminar - 2 Semester Hours

Students must complete both UNIV 110 (1) and UNIV 120 (1). Honors Program students must complete HON 110 (1) and HON 120 (1) in place of UNIV 110/120.

* Transfer students with 12 or more transfer hours are exempt from the two-credit First-Year Seminar requirement, reducing their required General Education credit hours by two (2) but not the need for a minimum of 120 total credit hours to graduate.

**First-time freshmen who have dual enrollment credit hours (including associate degree recipients) must complete the two-hour first-year seminar requirement.

UNIV 110 - First Year Seminar I Credits: 1
UNIV 120 - First Year Seminar II Credits: 1
HON 110 - Honors Colloquium I Credits: 1
HON 120 - Honors Colloquium II Credits: 1

English Composition - 6 Semester Hours

Must Complete both 102/H and 103/H with a grade “C” or better

ENGL 102 - Composition I Credits: 3
ENGL 102H - English Composition and Grammar Honors Credits: 3
ENGL 103 - Composition II Credits: 3
ENGL 103H - English Composition and Vocabulary Honors Credits: 3

Humanities and Fine Arts - 9 Semester Hours

A. Choose two (2) courses from the list below:

(1 Course Must Be ENGL 201/H, ENGL 202/H, or ENGL 203)

ENGL 201 - World Literature I Credits: 3
ENGL 201H - World Literature I Honors Credits: 3
ENGL 202 - World Literature II Credits: 3
ENGL 202H - World Literature II Honors Credits: 3
ENGL 203 - Major Figures in Black Literature Credits: 3
COM 200 - Interpersonal Communication Credits: 3
COM 201 - Intercultural Communication Credits: 3
SPAN 101 - Elementary Spanish I Credits: 3
SPAN 102 - Elementary Spanish II Credits: 3
SPCH 200 - Public Speaking Credits: 3
^Any 100-200-level course with the PHIL prefix Credits: 3
Additional foreign language course options may be available through the UNC Language Exchange.
B. Select One (1) Course from the List Below:
ART 132 - Art Appreciation Credits: 3
MUS 136 - Introduction to Music Literature Credits: 3
MUS 136H - Introduction to Music Literature Honors Credits: 3
MUS 216 - The African American in Music Credits: 3
MUS 218 - Secrets of Musical Theater Credits: 3

Health and Physical Education - 3 Semester Hours

A. Required Course

HLTH 185 - Health Concepts Credits: 2
B. Choose One (1) Physical Education Activity Course
- Physical Education Activity Credits: 1

Social and Behavioral Sciences - 9 Semester Hours

A. Choose One (1) Course from the List Below:
HIST 141 - Making of the Modern World Credits: 3
HIST 141H - Making of the Modern World, Honors Credits: 3
This course fulfills the UNC System’s Foundations of American Democracy (FAD) requirement (UNC Policy Manual 400.1.5). Effective Fall semester 2025, all first-year and transfer students entering ECSU are required to complete HIST 141 unless they have earned an A.A. or A.S. from a North Carolina community college, have transferred 60 or more credits from another institution to ECSU, or have completed the FAD requirement at another UNC System institution.
B. Choose Two (2) Courses from the List Below (May Not Choose 2 HIST Prefix Courses)
BFIN 210 - Personal Financial Management Credits: 3
ECON 201 - Principles of Economics I Credits: 3
ECON 202 - Principles of Economics II Credits: 3
EM 202 - Disaster and Movies: Facts and Fiction of Survival Credits: 3
GLBS 200 - Introduction to Global Studies Credits: 3
HIST 140 - World History Origins Credits: 3
HIST 140H - World History Origins, Honors Credits: 3
HIST 250 - African American History to 1877 Credits: 3
HIST 251 - African American History since 1877 Credits: 3
HIST 255 - American History to 1877 Credits: 3
HIST 256 - American History Since 1877 Credits: 3
PSY 212 - General Psychology Credits: 3
POLS 100-200 Any course in Political Science Credits: 3
SOC 100-200 Any course in Sociology Credits: 3
SUST 100 - Introduction to Sustainability Credits: 3

Mathematics and Natural Sciences - 7-8 Semester Hours

A.Choose One (1) Course from the List Below:
MATH 114 - Math for Liberal Arts Credits: 3
MATH 115 - College Algebra Credits: 3
MATH 118 - Precalculus Credits: 3
MATH 121 - Number Systems and Algebra Credits: 3
MATH 165 - Calculus of Single Variable I Credits: 4
B. Choose One (1) Course and lab (3+1 credit hours) or four-credit course below:
PHYS 152 - Principles of Physical Science Credits: 3
PHYS 152L - Principles of Physical Science Lab Credits: 1
PHYS 152H - Principles of Physical Science Honors Credits: 3
PHYS 181 - General Physics I Credits: 3
PHYS 181L - General Physics I Lab Credits: 1
PHYS 182 - General Physics II Credits: 3
PHYS 182L - General Physics II Lab Credits: 1
BIOL 100 - Principles of Biological Science Credits: 3
BIOL 100L - Principles of Biological Science Lab Credits: 1
BIOL 101 - General Biology for Majors I Credits: 4
GEOL 158 - Principles of Geological Science Credits: 3
GEOL 158L - Principles of Geological Science Lab Credits: 1
CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I Credits: 3
CHEM 101L - General Chemistry I Lab Credits: 1
CHEM 102 - General Chemistry II Credits: 3
CHEM 102L - General Chemistry II Lab Credits: 1
ENSC 101 - General Environmental Science Credits: 3
ENSC 101L - General Environmental Science Laboratory Credits: 1
ENSC 110 - Basic Biology and Chemistry of the Environment Credits: 4
ENSC 120 - Organismal Biology and Chemistry of the Environment Credits: 4
GEOL 140 - Introduction to Earth Science Credits: 4

Note

Additional courses may be accepted to satisfy specific General Education curriculum requirements as deemed transferable and appropriate by Elizabeth City State University.The transferability and application of courses between ECSU and North Carolina’s community colleges is governed by the state Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA).

Academic Catalog

General Education