GENERAL CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
Every degree or certificate at Northern is structured to provide a certain minimum spread of knowledge and competency for our graduates. In general, if you receive a diploma in a certificate program from Northern, you will have been provided all the job skills and the minimal level of competency in English and mathematics that will be required to obtain entry level employment in the field. If you earn a degree, your background will be much broader, with exposure to several different types of academic disciplines.
1. Certificate requirements (minimum)
- An English course which meets or exceeds the competencies of ENG 108N, Basic English I; and
- A math course which meets or exceeds the competencies of MATH 100N Fundamentals of Mathematics; and
- Program course requirements
2. Degree requirements
The following minimum General Education spread are minimum requirements throughout all Associate of Applied Science degree majors shown in this catalog.The standards for Associates of Art/Science: are much more detailed.
- Communications 6 #
- Humanities 3
- Math/Computer Science/Lab Science 6***
- Social/Behavioral 3
Total 18
- *** Six credit hours in mathematics, computer science
- and/or laboratory sciences.
- # Must include ENG 111 (English Composition I)
3. Health, Physical Education, or Recreation courses:
all degrees require a minimum of 1 credit. Any HPER activity course and/or DANC activity course, plus HSCI courses in nutrition, CPR, or First Aid/CPR may be used
to satisfy this requirement, -- unless the course has been used to satisfy some other requirement within the same degree.
In order to facilitate your choice of appropriate courses to fulfill these General Education requirements for the applied science degrees, we have defined certain course disciplines from which courses may be chosen to satisfy general education requirements.
The following are discipline areas acceptable for associate of applied science degrees. Only courses from these breakdowns may be used to satisfy the discipline requirement for General Education electives in an applied science degree (course numbers ending in an “N” may never be counted). For example, neither Education nor Criminal Justice are shown below; therefore, neither may be used as elective credits where any specific discipline allows “elective credit.” Also, note that although “Foreign Language” is listed under Communications, ENG 111 is the minimal acceptable course in this area for all degrees.
Communications Humanities
English * Art (theory only)
Foreign Language History
Speech Humanities
Literature
Music (theory only)
Mathematics * Philosophy
MATH 130 or higher Theatre (theory only)
*Excludes Literature courses and Creative Writing
Laboratory Sciences ** Social/Behavioral
Astronomy Anthropology
Biology Economics
Chemistry Geography
Environmental Science Political Science
Geology Psychology
Physics Sociology
** In an AAS degree not requiring a specific laboratory experience, any approved math, science, computer, or engineering course will satisfy this requirement.
NORTHERN’S GENERAL EDUCATION COMMON CORE OFFERINGS
For purposes of selecting appropriate courses to meet Northern’s Associate of Arts and/or Associate of Science and Northern’s baccalaureate degree requirements for the General Education Common Core, you will select courses from each area shown below.
Northern New Mexico College’s general education requirements reflect the values of the college and its faculty. The purpose of these courses is to help you achieve a foundation of knowledge that broadens and enriches your abilities to communicate, to think ritically, to problem solve, and to broaden your world view regarding global awareness, human values, and social consciousness. These selections call for you to develop written and oral communication skills, problem solving skills, scientific, historical, cultural, and ethical thinking. Although many of these courses have deliberately been designed around the Transfer Common Core to enhance transferability, Northern has added courses which it feels present you with a greater choice of electives. If you will be transferring these courses to another college/university, you may be required to verify such courses at the gaining institution.
Area I: Communications (9 hrs)
Required
ENG 111 English Composition I
SPCH 130 Public Speaking
Elective
ENG 112 English Composition II
ENG 116 Technical Writing
Area II: Mathematics (3 hrs)
Elective
MATH 145 Introduction to Probability & Statistics
MATH 150 College Algebra
MATH 155 Trigonometry
MATH 162 Calculus I
MATH 163 Calculus II
MATH 264 Calculus III
Area III: Laboratory Science (8 hrs) *
Elective
ASTR 110/L Introduction to Astronomy with Lab
BIOL 110/L Current Topics in Biology with Lab
CHEM 110/L Introduction to Chemistry with Lab
ES 112/L Intro to Environmental Science I w/Lab
GEOL 101/L Physical Geology with Lab
GEOL 102/L Historical Geology with Lab
PHYS 110/L Introduction to Physics with Lab
This area (*) can also include courses designed for
students pursuing science majors: e.g., BIOL 201/L,
CHEM 121/L, PHYS 121/L, etc.
Area IV: Social/Behavioral Sciences (6-9 hrs) *
You must select courses from at least two different
discipline areas from the following:
ANTH 101/L Physical Anthropology with Lab (4)
ANTH 102 Intro to Social/Cultural Anthropology (3)
ANTH 110 Indian Culture of the Southwest (3)
ANTH 207 Cultures of New Mexico (3)
ECON 200 Macroeconomics (3)
ECON 201 Microeconomics (3)
GEOG 111 World Geography (3)
PSCI 110 The Political World (3)
PSCI 120 Contemporary Political Issues (3)
PSCI 200 American Politics (3)
PSCI 210 State and Local Government (3)
PSCI 212 The American Presidency (3)
PSY 105 General Psychology (3)
PSY 210 Theories of Personality (3)
PSY 229 Adolescent Psychology (3)
PSY 230 Psychology of Adjustment (3)
PSY 232 Abnormal Behavior (3)
PSY 270 Social Psychology (3)
PSY 290 Developmental Psychology (3)
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology (3)
SOC 213 Deviant Behavior (3)
SOC 216 Ethnic and Intercultural Relations (3)
SOC 220 Social Problems (3)
SOC 225 Marriage and the Family (3)
Plus, topic courses with student advisor’s approval
Area V: Humanities and Fine Arts (6-9 hrs) *
You must select courses from at least two different
discipline areas from the following:
ART 105 Introduction to Art (3)
ART 107 History of Art I (3)
ART 211 History of ART (3)
DANC 240 Dance Appreciation (3)
ENG 270 Children’s Literature (3)
ENG 262 Literature. of the Southwest (3)
ENG 265 Native American Literature I (3)
ENG 265 Native American Literature II (3)
ENG 280 Readings in Literature (3)
ENG 290 Study of Literature (3)
ENG 239 Mythology (3)
HIST 101 Western Civilization I (3)
HIST 102 Western Civilization II (3)
HIST 161 History of U.S. to 1877 (3)
HIST 162 History of U.S. from 1877 (3)
HIST 200 History of World Religions (3)
HIST 220 Southwestern Women’s History (3)
HIST 230 Chicano Experience in the US (3)
HIST 250 American Indian History (3)
HIST 260 History of New Mexico (3)
HUM 105 Humanities and the Southwest (3)
HUM 311 Why the Social Sciences Matter ** (3)
HUM 414 Humanity and Creativity ** (3)
HUM 421 History, Literature, Art & Philosophy ** (3)
MUS 102 Theory of Music (3)
MUS 105 Music Appreciation (3)
MUS 130 History of Music (3)
MUS 140 History of Music (3)
PHIL 110 Introduction to Philosophical Problems (3)
PHIL 111 History of Philosophy (3)
PHIL 220 Ethics (3)
PIS 200 Introduction to Pueblo Indian Studies (3)
THE 120 Introduction to Theatre I (3)
Plus, topic courses with student advisor’s approval
** Students in associate degree programs are advised that upper-division courses are not covered under financial aid. These upper-division courses are for those in baccalaureate programs.
* If your major is in the area of the Humanities/Fine Arts, unless otherwise regulated by a given department, you should select 9 hrs from Area V and 6 hrs from Area IV; if in the Social/Behavioral Sciences, you should select 9 hrs from Area IV and 6 hrs from Area V. Consult your major advisor.
Note: For purposes of meeting graduation requirements, courses which appear on this list and which also appear as part of your program/major core will be used to satisfy only major core requirements. For example, if your major requires ECON 200 and ECON 201, you may not count these courses to also satisfy General Education Common Core requirements.
Programs and their courses listed in this catalog are subject to change through normal academic channels. New courses and changes in existing course work are initiated by the responsible department, approved by the faculty curriculum committee, by the faculty senate, and finally by the Provost.
If you have any questions concerning the application of the General Education Common Core, please check with the Registrar (747-2193) before you sign up for what might be an inappropriate course.
Total to be selected 35 semester hours