General Education

General Education Requirements

Culture & the Common Good: A Liberal Arts Education at Fontbonne University

General Education provides Fontbonne graduates with a true liberal arts education, designed to prepare students to become ethical and informed global citizens who are able to contemplate complex ideas and generate creative solutions. It focuses on developing skills, knowledge and values to this end. General Education requirements include Mission Core, Foundations, Pillars, and Writing Intensive  courses. The most up-to-date course lists for meeting these requirements can be found here (Culture and Common Good ).

The general education curriculum is the curricular core through which Fontbonne students meet the institutional learning goals (About Fontbonne University ). Students completing Culture and the Common Good will meet the following learning outcomes:

Mission Core

The purpose of the Mission Core is to bring a distinctively Fontbonne perspective to the general education program. The values and heritage of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the founders of Fontbonne University, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and Catholic Social Teaching as they apply to the liberal arts and professional programs are key elements of Mission Core courses.

Diversity & Justice

Diversity & Justice courses are explicitly rooted in Fontbonne University’s mission, values, commitments, and learning goals. As an institution, we value diversity and justice, and we are attentive to the ways inequities have shaped the development of knowledge inside and outside of the academy.

Foundations of Knowledge

Foundations requirements - communication, mathematics, and managing information – build critical skills that support all academic disciplines.

Pillars of Knowledge

Pillars requirements expand upon the Foundations to more fully prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century through coursework in the humanities, fine arts, philosophy, the social and behavioral sciences, and physical and biological sciences.

Mission Core: 3 credits

The goal of Mission Core I: Culture & the Common Good is to prioritize attention to issues of historical remembrance, social justice, and diversity, to build alliances with individuals and organizations that are bringing about positive changes in the global community, and to integrate the liberal arts with professional education. Completion of this requirement partially fulfills the state Valuing requirement. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Identify links between one’s personal and professional goals; Fontbonne’s educational mission, as supported by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet; and the common good, a principle of Catholic Social Teaching.
2. Articulate the challenges of reconciling seemingly divergent ideas about the common good within a pluralistic society.
3. Develop awareness of campus resources to foster personal and professional development.

Mission Core I

One course is required of all students with fewer than 30 credit hours of college credit.

INT 105 - Mission Core I: Culture and the Common Good Credit(s): 3

Diversity & Justice: 3 credits

Diversity & Justice courses are explicitly rooted in Fontbonne University’s mission, values, commitments, and learning goals. As an institution, we value diversity and justice, and we are attentive to the ways inequities have shaped the development of knowledge inside and outside of the academy. In the classroom, we seek to foster our students’ abilities to articulate and act upon a personally authentic ethical framework that honors these values and concerns. Diversity & Justice courses develop students’ capacity to apply these abilities in particular contexts.

At the conclusion of courses that meet the diversity and justice requirement, students should be able to:

1. Discuss how concepts related to diversity and justice continue to be defined, disputed, employed, and/or expanded within a given sphere of study or practice
2. Identify ways that the tools of this area of study or practice have been or could be employed to foster diversity and justice in personal, professional, cultural, or societal contexts.

Foundations of Knowledge: 17 credits

These courses form the foundation of a solid liberal arts education.

Written Communication: 6 Credits.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of writing as a social, rhetorical action, including the elements of rhetorical situations (audience, purpose, genre, exigence) and their broader social and historical contexts.
2. Implement the writing process from generating ideas through developing a final written piece.
3. Adapt their writing according to the expectations and conventions (including but not limited to style, usage, grammar, punctuation, syntax, language, content, and citation) of different genres and intended audiences, including those appropriate to their discipline(s) of study.
4. Ethically and effectively use sources to situate writing within a scholarly or professional conversation with clear statements of argument or purpose supported by well-organized and developed reasons and evidence.

Two courses are required

ENG 101 - Composition I Credit(s): 3

ENG 102 - Composition II Credit(s): 3

Oral Communication: 3 Credits.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate research skills, including the appropriate handling and evaluation of sources.
2. Present information using language, style, materials, and content appropriate to the audience and occasion.
3. Develop and present an oral presentation to effectively support a specific purpose.

One course is required (3 credits). See link at beginning of section for courses that meet this requirement.

Mathematics: 3 Credits Minimum.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Identify the use of mathematical applications in a variety of contexts and disciplines.
2. Apply mathematical skills and concepts to solve quantitative problems.
3. Apply mathematical models to real life situations.
4. Communicate mathematics effectively in written and/or oral modes.

One course is required (3 credits). See link at beginning of section for courses that meet this requirement.

Managing Information: 4 Credits Minimum.

Upon completion of LIB 199 Information Literacy in Higher Education, students will be able to:

1. Articulate or discuss the ethical and legal use of information.
2. Demonstrate the ability to access information to address an issue.
3. Discriminate among types of information for their intended purpose.
4. Synthesize information form a variety of sources.

Information Literacy in Higher Education (1 credit) is required.

Upon completion of a specified CIS course, students will be able to:

1. Articulate the legal, ethical, or security issues surrounding the use of electronic information technology.
2. Identify appropriate applications of electronic information technology to a specific situation.
3. Manage data efficiently using contemporary electronic information technology.
4. Communicate effectively by using contemporary electronic information technology.

One course is required (3 credits). See link at beginning of section for courses that meet this requirement.

State and National Government: 1-3 Credits.

Completion of this requirement partially meets the state requirements on Social and Behavioral Sciences. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. With reference to state and federal constitutions, compare and contrast the rights and responsibilities granted to citizens of Missouri with the rights and responsibilities granted to citizens of the US.

One course is required (3 credits).

Pillars of Knowledge: 18 credits.

Pillars courses build on Fontbonne’s Foundations courses. Students select one course from six of the seven categories listed (minimum 3 credit hours each), to include at least one laboratory science course. See link at beginning of section for courses that meet these requirements.

Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Identify how disciplinary knowledge is created in the social and behavioral sciences.
2. Explain how discipline-related theories are used to describe human behavior.
3. Apply core principles of the discipline to the social or behavioral issues.

Literature.

Completion of this requirement meets the state requirements on Humanities and Fine Arts. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Express an understanding of how literary language creates meaning.
2. Understand literary genres.

Philosophy.

Completion of this requirement meets the state requirement on Valuing. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Identify diverse perspectives, values, and belief systems.
2. Explain how values and belief systems influence and are influenced by historical and/or social and/or cultural contexts.
3. Analyze a contemporary social issue through the lens of values and belief systems.
4. Propose a solution to a contemporary social issue using ethical principles.
5. Recognize and defend one’s own personal values and belief system.

History.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Describe the relevance of historical phenomena.
2. Explain how primary sources are used in historical interpretation. 

Fine Arts.

Completion of this requirement meets the state requirement on Humanities and Fine Arts. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Identify artistic techniques across historical and/or cultural and/or multicultural contexts.
2. Express an understanding of the role of creative imagination.
3. Apply critical methodologies to evaluate a work of visual or performing art.
4. Articulate an understanding of how the visual or performing arts influence viewers or audiences across historical and/or cultural and/or multicultural environments.

Life Science.

Completion of this requirement meets the state requirement on Life and Physical Sciences. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate scientific literacy, critical thinking skills, and scientific skepticism.
2. Learn, develop, and/or practice skills necessary for a lab or field experience in the life sciences.

Physical Science.

Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

1. Articulate their understanding of the basic terminology in at least one area of physical science.
2. Solve problems that draw conclusions using mathematical methods or models as well as relevant technology.
3. Demonstrate proficiency with equipment and scientific instruments learned through hands-on experiences in a physical science lab.

Writing Intensive

Students must take two writing intensive courses: one at the 200-level or above and one at the 300-level or above, which may be embedded in major, minor, or other requirements. Upon completion of this requirement, students will be able to:

• Implement the writing process from generating ideas through developing a final written piece.
• Write in language and formats appropriate to the discipline.

Detailed general education requirements are listed in Culture and Common Good  section of this catalog.

A full list of approved writing intensive courses is listed in the Writing Intensive  section of this catalog.