Undergraduate Requirements and Shared Core Courses

General Education Requirements

The general education requirements, along with the core program curriculum at Saint Mary’s University, reflect a commitment to Saint Mary’s mission to “awaken, nurture and empower learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.” The general education requirements ensure that graduates have acquired a breadth of knowledge and skills enabling them to think critically to engage the world around them, to understand the ethical implications of their actions, and to communicate with diverse audiences. This core learning provides a broad foundation upon which students build expertise in their professional field while allowing them to explore new areas as lifelong learners.

Five themes have been identified that reflect areas of knowledge that are foundational to a well-educated individual of the 21st century. The themes encompass learning throughout multiple disciplines and are Creativity and Human Expression, Global Human Perspectives, Ethics and Civic Responsibility, the Natural World, and Engaging the Future.

A minimum of 30 semester credits for general education requirements must be distributed among the themes as follows:

Creativity and Human Expression - 12 cr.

• 6 cr. humanities and fine arts
• 6 cr. oral and written communications

Global Human Perspectives - 3 cr.

Ethics and Civic Responsibility - 6 cr.

• 3 cr. ethical and civic responsibility
• 3 cr. history, social, or behavioral sciences

The Natural World - 6 cr.

• 3 cr. math
• 3 cr. science

Engaging the Future - 3 cr.

• 3 cr. from among information literacy, creative problem solving, or multi-disciplinary learning

Transfer students who have completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum or an Associate of Arts degree from an accredited institution are considered to have met Saint Mary’s University general education requirements.

These competencies can be demonstrated by

• transferring credit for coursework and/or training;
• completing the prior learning assessment (PLA) process to recognize competence through life experiences;
• completing a Saint Mary’s University course; and/or
• completing successfully standardized examinations such as CLEP or DSST.

The general education competencies may be addressed in courses within the major. The course content and expectations are designed to facilitate application of the competencies.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

Saint Mary’s University recognizes that many students come to the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) with college-level learning that has occurred outside of the traditional college classroom.  Students may obtain college credit for this learning by participating in the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) process.

Students seeking credit through the PLA process must first obtain approval from their program director.  Once approved, students take COM325  – Prior Learning Exploration during which they create a portfolio that documents evidence of their learning.  PLA assessors then review the portfolio for college credit.  Students may be granted up to 35 credits for their PLA portfolios. 

Students who transfer PLA credits from other colleges or universities are ineligible for Saint Mary’s University’s PLA process.

Communication Core Courses

• COM309 Professional Writing (3 cr.)
• COM310 Oral Communications (3 cr.)
• COM325 Prior Learning Exploration (3 cr.)
• COM330 Academic Writing (3 cr.)
• COM409 Technical Writing (3 cr.)
• HHSM302 Communication Skills for Health and Human Service Professionals I (3 cr.)
• HHSM303 Communication Skills for Health and Human Service Professionals II (3 cr.)

Management Core Courses

• BU300 Accounting Principles (3 cr.)
• BU400 Business Law (3 cr.)
• BU403 Applied Business Statistics (3 cr.)
• BU407 Financial Management (3 cr.)
• HR340 Strategic Human Resource Management (3 cr.)
• HR440 Employee and Labor Relations (3 cr.)
• HR455 Human Resource Development (3 cr.)
• MG305 Managerial Ethics (3 cr.)
• MG311 Economics for Managers (3 cr.)
• MG401 Principles of Management (3 cr.)
• MG405 Organizational Culture and Change (3 cr.)
• MG408 Project Management (3 cr.)
• MG412 Critical Thinking for Organizational Leaders (3 cr.)
• MG415 Total Quality and Team Development (3 cr.)
• MG445 Entrepreneurship (3 cr.)
• MG450 Operations Management (3 cr.)

General Education Courses

General Education courses provide exposure to a variety of approaches to learning, culture, and experience.

• PSY315 General Psychology (3 cr.)
• PSY317 Lifespan Development (3 cr.)
• GN330 Arts and Social Change (3 cr.)
• GN380 Environment and Energy (3 cr.)

Electives in Other Majors

With approval of the program director, students may register for courses in other majors. Students must still complete all requirements within their own majors. They must also meet all prerequisites for non-major courses for which they are registering.