The Stevenson Educational Experience Requirements for Bachelor's Degrees

As part of the Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE), Stevenson University requires all bachelor’s degree-seeking students to complete 15 credits of writing and communication coursework and a minimum of 37-39 credits in distribution areas in liberal arts and sciences. It is expected that courses in a student’s major field of study will round out the learning goals and outcomes that constitute the Stevenson Educational Experience.

SEE credits/courses may be included in the major program requirements unless otherwise specified (see major program descriptions); however, within the liberal arts and sciences distribution requirement, no single course may count in more than one distribution area for the purpose of fulfilling the SEE requirement. Within the writing and communication requirement, it is permitted but not required for a single course to fulfill either a WI or CI requirement and a liberal arts and sciences distribution requirement.

Students must earn a minimum grade of "C" in courses that are used to fulfill the SEE requirement.

Writing and Communication Requirement (15 credits).

All bachelor’s degree-seeking students must complete courses that fulfill the SEE Writing and Communication requirement: two writing instruction courses, two writing-intensive (WI) courses, and one communication-intensive (CI) course.

• Two writing instruction courses:
  • ENG 151 (3 credits)
  • ENG 152 (3 credits)
• Two WI courses and one CI course
  • WI Courses:

    o A minimum of 2 WI courses are required. Courses that fulfill the WI requirement are certified by the WI label in the course description.

    o At least one WI course must be in the student’s major area of study.

    o One WI course must be at the 200-level

    o One WI course must be at the 300-level or 400-level.

  • CI Course:

    o One CI course is required. Courses that fulfill the CI requirement are certified by the CI label in the course description.

Please note: A single course may fulfill either a WI or CI standard. No single course may count as both writing intensive and communication intensive. It is permitted but not required for a single course to fulfill either a WI or CI requirement and a liberal arts and sciences distribution requirement.

Liberal Arts and Sciences Distribution Requirement (37-39 credits).

All bachelor’s degree-seeking students must complete courses that fulfill the SEE liberal arts and sciences distribution requirement. No single course may count in more than one distribution area for the purpose of fulfilling the SEE requirement, even though a course may meet the standards in more than one distribution area. Students must complete the required number of credits in each of the four areas described below: humanities, science and mathematics, social sciences, and fine arts.

Humanities (HUM; 12 credits)

• Four courses in at least three different discipline areas are required. The discipline areas are represented by the course prefix designators that precede the course number in the catalog (e.g., PHIL, REL). Courses that fulfill the humanities distribution requirement are certified by the HUM label in course descriptions.
• ENG 151 and ENG 152 may not be used to fulfill this requirement.

Science and Mathematics (SR, SR-L, QL; 10–12 credits)

• Three courses in at least two different discipline areas are required. The discipline areas are represented by the course prefix designators that precede the course number in the catalog (e.g., BIO, PHYS). Courses that fulfill the science distribution requirement are certified by the Scientific Reasoning (SR) or Scientific Reasoning-Laboratory (SR-L) label in course descriptions. Courses that fulfill the math distribution requirement are certified by the Quantitative Literacy (QL) label in course descriptions.
• One course must be a laboratory science (SR-L)
• One course must carry the MATH designation and QL label (excluding MATH 132 or MATH 201).

Social Sciences (SS; 6 credits)

• Two courses in two different discipline areas are required. The discipline areas are represented by the course prefix designators that precede the course number in the catalog (e.g. GEO, SOC). Courses that fulfill the social science distribution requirement are certified by the SS label in course descriptions.

Fine Arts (FA; 3 credits)

• One course in the fine arts is required. Courses that fulfill the fine arts distribution requirement are certified by the FA label in course descriptions.

Foreign Language (6 credits)

• Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree must complete six credits of foreign language at the 200-level or higher.

Please note: SEE requirements were implemented in the 2014-2015 academic year. For the 2014-15 academic year, courses that had previously counted as fulfilling the University’s general education requirements counted toward fulfilling SEE requirements. For the 2015-2016 academic year and beyond, the only courses that will fulfill the SEE requirements (in addition to ENG 151 and ENG 152) are those certified with the appropriate label in the course description (CI, FA, HUM, QL, SR, SR-L, SS, WI).

Guide to Abbreviations

C – Communication

CI – Communication Intensive

CR – Career Readiness

EIP – Ethics in Practice

FA – Fine Arts

HUM – Humanities

ID – Intellectual Development

QL – Quantitative Literacy

SR – Scientific Reasoning

SR-L – Scientific Reasoning-Laboratory

SS – Social Sciences

SSNW – Self, Societies, and the Natural World

WI – Writing Intensive