• foster a sense of academic purpose, intellectual curiosity, and appreciation for life-long learning;

• encourage the acquisition of a broad base of knowledge, appreciation of the differences and dynamic tensions which characterize intellectual inquiry, and training in the methodological assumptions and traditional literature of the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences;

• encourage interdisciplinary investigation, pragmatic evaluation, and creative problem solving;

• help students develop the ability to think and communicate clearly in a multiplicity of ways regarding a wide range of classical and contemporary issues;

• stress the importance of critical reading, quantitative, and language skills;

• facilitate morally informed and ethically responsible decision-making, concerning personal priorities and behavior as well as matters of global importance; and

• help students develop a clearer sense of personal identity and enhanced perspective concerning the complex relationships between individuals and the inclusive communities in which they work, study, and live.

Because education can and often does occur on more than one level, requirements are divided into the primary categories of perspectives and skills. Overlap between the two categories is extensive and unrestricted. Courses with both types of attributes satisfy both types of requirements. Additionally, overlap of 6 s.h. is permitted between General Education and requirements of specific fields (majors, minors, etc):

• A Plurality of Perspectives
  • 9 s.h. - Nature and Mathematics (N attribute)
  • 9 s.h. - Society and Human Behavior (S attribute)
  • 9 s.h. - Human Value and Expression (V attribute)
  • 9 s.h. - Integrative Perspectives
    (3 s.h. each from at least two of the following)
    Cultural Diversity Perspectives (ICD attribute) - required
    Environmental Perspectives (IE attribute)
    Historical Perspectives (IH attribute)
    Interdisciplinary Perspectives (II attribute)
    Moral and Ethical Perspectives (IM attribute)
    

• Thinking and Communicating Clearly
  • 9 s.h. - Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills (T and TQ attributes)
  • 9 s.h. - Communication Skills (C and CW attributes)

Many Philosophy courses help satisfy General Education requirements. Specifics, together with the appropriate attributes, are listed the following chart.