Appendix: Common Curriculum
Note: The Common Curriculum will replace the General Education Curriculum beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Continuing students who entered the university prior to 2025-26 will be expected to complete the existing General Education Curriculum unless they elect to complete the Common Curriculum instead.
The Common Curriculum provides academic breadth with a set of intellectually rigorous and challenging courses that foster skills and attributes associated with leadership and global citizenship.
Every undergraduate student in a baccalaureate degree program in the University, on all campuses, must complete the Common Curriculum. The Common Curriculum requires students to complete six Topics of Inquiry and three Competencies.
The purpose of the Common Curriculum is to ensure that all University of Connecticut undergraduate students are experienced with different ways of knowing and many kinds of knowledge beyond career preparation, and that they enter society and their professions with a strong sense of moral, ethical, and social responsibility. It is vital to the accomplishment of the University’s mission that a balance between professional and general education be established and maintained in which each is complementary to and compatible with the other. A leader and global citizen needs to be able to communicate with and cultivate compassion with those outside their own majors, disciplines, professions, communities, and cultures and to make connections between their own knowledge and perspectives and those of others.
Topics of Inquiry
Students must pass at least three credits of coursework in each of six Topics of Inquiry (TOI)
- TOI-1: Creativity: Design, Expression, Innovation
- TOI-2: Cultural Dimensions of Human Experiences
- TOI-3: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice
- TOI-4: Environmental Literacy
- TOI-5: Individual Values and Social Institutions
- TOI-6: Science and Empirical Inquiry
Requirements
- At least three credits must be passed in each Topic of Inquiry (most courses fulfill two).
- Students must also satisfy a Focus requirement by successfully completing either three courses in a single Topic of Inquiry or three courses within a Theme.
- Topic of Inquiry courses may be counted toward the major.
- Including the Focus requirement, students must pass at least 21 credits of TOI courses.
- The 21 credits of TOI courses must be from at least six different subject areas as designated by subject code (e.g., ANTH). For cross-listed courses, students may count any subject code under which the course is offered toward this requirement regardless of the subject code under which they register for the course.
- Students must complete at least one laboratory course in TOI-6 (see TOI-6 for definition of laboratory class). This does not restrict courses outside TOI-6 from having laboratories, nor does it limit TOI-6 courses to be only laboratory courses.
- No more than six credits with the INTD prefix may be elected by any student to meet the Common Curriculum Requirements.
Topic of Inquiry Courses
All current General Education courses are being considered for transition to the Common Curriculum. At present, the following courses have been approved for these specific areas. Review is ongoing.
TOI-1: Creativity: Design, Expression, Innovation
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AAAS 3375 | Indian Art and Popular Culture: Independence to the Present | 3 |
| AFRA 3131 | African-American Theatre | 3 |
| AFRA 3132 | African-American Women Playwrights, 1900 to the present | 3 |
| AMST 2400 | City and Community in Film | 3 |
| ARE 2525 | Sustainability Policy and Management | 3 |
| ART 1000 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ART 3375 | Indian Art and Popular Culture: Independence to the Present | 3 |
| ARTH 2230 | Curating Contemporary Art: Issues, Themes, Theories, and Practices | 3 |
| CLCS 1101 | Classics of World Literature I | 3 |
| DMD 2020 | Design Thinking | 3 |
| DRAM 1811 | Dance Appreciation | 3 |
| DRAM 3131 | African-American Theatre | 3 |
| DRAM 3132 | African-American Women Playwrights, 1900 to the present | 3 |
| ENGL 1401 | Horror | 3 |
| ENGL 2055WE | Writing, Rhetoric, and Environment | 3 |
| ENGL 2405 | Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 2409 | The Modern Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 2413 | The Graphic Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 2413W | The Graphic Novel | 3 |
| EPSY 1450W | Mind, Body, Health | 3 |
| EPSY 1830 | Critical and Creative Thinking in the Movies | 3 |
| EPSY 2810 | Creativity: Debunking Myths and Enhancing Innovation | 3 |
| HEJS 2201 | Diversity and Inclusion in Israeli Society: A Cinematic View | 3 |
| INDS 3375 | Indian Art and Popular Culture: Independence to the Present | 3 |
| URBN 2400 | City and Community in Film | 3 |
| WGSS 2204 | Feminisms and the Arts | 3 |
| WGSS 2217 | Women, Gender and Film | 3 |
TOI-2: Cultural Dimensions of Human Experiences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AAAS 2201 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| AAAS 3830E | Environmental History in East Asia | 3 |
| AFRA 2222 | Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Power of Looking | 3 |
| AFRA 3050W | African-American Art | 3 |
| AFRA 3131 | African-American Theatre | 3 |
| AFRA 3132 | African-American Women Playwrights, 1900 to the present | 3 |
| AFRA 3213 | Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century African American Literature | 3 |
| AFRA 3217 | Studies in African American Literature and Culture | 3 |
| AFRA 3642 | African-American Politics | 3 |
| AH 2330 | Italy's Mediterranean Food and Our Health | 3 |
| AH 5330 | Italy’s Mediterranean Food and Our Health | 3 |
| AMST 1201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| AMST 1700 | Honors Core: American Landscapes | 3 |
| AMST 2201 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| AMST 2276 | American Utopias and Dystopias | 3 |
| AMST 2400 | City and Community in Film | 3 |
| AMST 3542E | New England Environmental History | 3 |
| ANTH 1000 | Peoples and Cultures of the World | 3 |
| ANTH 1000W | Peoples and Cultures of the World | 3 |
| ANTH 3150W | Migration | 3 |
| ANTH 3902 | North American Prehistory | 3 |
| ARIS 1211 | Introduction to Islam | 3 |
| ART 1000 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ARTH 1141 | From Sun Gods to Lowriders: Introduction to Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARTH 2222 | Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Power of Looking | 3 |
| ARTH 2230 | Curating Contemporary Art: Issues, Themes, Theories, and Practices | 3 |
| ARTH 3050W | African-American Art | 3 |
| CAMS 1101 | Greek Civilization | 3 |
| CAMS 1102 | Roman Civilization | 3 |
| CAMS 1103 | Classical Mythology | 3 |
| CHIN 1121 | Traditional Chinese Culture | 3 |
| CHIN 3270 | Chinese Film | 3 |
| CHIN 3280 | Networking in China | 3 |
| CLCS 1101 | Classics of World Literature I | 3 |
| COMM 1000 | The Process of Communication | 3 |
| DRAM 1811 | Dance Appreciation | 3 |
| DRAM 3131 | African-American Theatre | 3 |
| DRAM 3132 | African-American Women Playwrights, 1900 to the present | 3 |
| ENGL 1201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 1401 | Horror | 3 |
| ENGL 2100 | British Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 2101 | British Literature II | 3 |
| ENGL 2276 | American Utopias and Dystopias | 3 |
| ENGL 2405 | Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 2409 | The Modern Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 2413 | The Graphic Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 2413W | The Graphic Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 3213 | Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century African American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 3217 | Studies in African American Literature and Culture | 3 |
| FREN 3280 | Fiction and Nonfiction by French and Francophone Women | 3 |
| HIST 1503 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| HIST 2210E | History of the Ocean | 3 |
| HIST 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| HIST 3540E | Environmental History of the Americas | 3 |
| HIST 3540WE | Environmental History of the Americas | 3 |
| HIST 3542E | New England Environmental History | 3 |
| HIST 3830E | Environmental History in East Asia | 3 |
| LLAS 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| MAST 2210E | History of the Ocean | 3 |
| MAST 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| NUSC 1167 | Food, Culture and Society | 3 |
| PHIL 1103 | Philosophical Classics | 3 |
| PHIL 1106 | Non-western and Comparative Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 1109 | Global Existentialism | 3 |
| PHIL 2170W | Bioethics and Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| POLS 1202 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLS 3642 | African-American Politics | 3 |
| SPSS 1150 | Agricultural Technology and Society | 3 |
| URBN 2400 | City and Community in Film | 3 |
| WGSS 2217 | Women, Gender and Film | 3 |
TOI-3: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AAAS 2201 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| AFRA 2222 | Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Power of Looking | 3 |
| AFRA 3050W | African-American Art | 3 |
| AFRA 3213 | Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century African American Literature | 3 |
| AFRA 3217 | Studies in African American Literature and Culture | 3 |
| AFRA 3642 | African-American Politics | 3 |
| AMST 1201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| AMST 2201 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| ANTH 3150W | Migration | 3 |
| ARE 2525 | Sustainability Policy and Management | 3 |
| ARTH 1141 | From Sun Gods to Lowriders: Introduction to Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARTH 2222 | Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Power of Looking | 3 |
| ARTH 3050W | African-American Art | 3 |
| CHIN 3270 | Chinese Film | 3 |
| EDCI 2100 | Power, Privilege, and Public Education | 3 |
| EDLR 2001 | Contemporary Social Issues in Sport | 3 |
| ENGL 1201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 3213 | Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century African American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 3217 | Studies in African American Literature and Culture | 3 |
| EPSY 1450W | Mind, Body, Health | 3 |
| FREN 3272 | French Literary Theory | 3 |
| FREN 3280 | Fiction and Nonfiction by French and Francophone Women | 3 |
| HEJS 2201 | Diversity and Inclusion in Israeli Society: A Cinematic View | 3 |
| HIST 1503 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| NRE 1235E | Environmental Conservation | 3 |
| PHIL 1107 | Philosophy and Gender | 3 |
| PHIL 2170W | Bioethics and Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| POLS 1402 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 1402W | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 1602 | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| POLS 1602W | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| POLS 3642 | African-American Politics | 3 |
| WGSS 2204 | Feminisms and the Arts | 3 |
TOI-4: Environmental Literacy
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AAAS 3830E | Environmental History in East Asia | 3 |
| AMST 1700 | Honors Core: American Landscapes | 3 |
| AMST 3542E | New England Environmental History | 3 |
| ARE 1110E | Population, Food, and the Environment | 3 |
| ARE 2434E | Environmental and Resource Policy | 3 |
| ARE 3305E | Economic Development, Environment, and Policy | 3 |
| ARE 3437E | Marine Fisheries Economics and Policy | 3 |
| ARE 3438E | Climate Economics | 3 |
| ARE 4438E | Valuing the Environment | 3 |
| ARE 4462E | Environmental and Resource Economics | 3 |
| EEB 2100E | Global Change Ecology | 3 |
| EEB 2208E | Introduction to Conservation Biology | 3 |
| EEB 2222E | Plants in a Changing World | 3 |
| ENGL 2055WE | Writing, Rhetoric, and Environment | 3 |
| ENGL 2635E | Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENVE 1000E | Environmental Sustainability | 3 |
| ERTH 1000E | The Human Epoch: Living in the Anthropocene | 3 |
| ERTH 1070 | Natural Disasters and Environmental Change | 3 |
| ERTH 2310E | Creating and Sustaining National Parks | 3 |
| ERTH 2800 | Our Evolving Atmosphere | 3 |
| EVST 1000E | Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 |
| GEOG 1070 | Natural Disasters and Environmental Change | 3 |
| GEOG 1300E | Climate, Weather, and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG 2300E | Introduction to Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 2310E | Creating and Sustaining National Parks | 3 |
| GEOG 3350E | Global Change, Local Action: A Geography of Environmentalism | 3 |
| GEOG 3410E | Human Modifications of Natural Environments | 3 |
| HDFS 2142E | Exploring Conservation and Sustainability with Preschoolers | 3 |
| HIST 2210E | History of the Ocean | 3 |
| HIST 3540E | Environmental History of the Americas | 3 |
| HIST 3540WE | Environmental History of the Americas | 3 |
| HIST 3542E | New England Environmental History | 3 |
| HIST 3830E | Environmental History in East Asia | 3 |
| JOUR 3046E | Environmental Journalism | 3 |
| MARN 1001E | The Sea Around Us | 3 |
| MARN 1002E | Introduction to Oceanography | 3 |
| MARN 1003E | Introduction to Oceanography with Laboratory | 4 |
| MARN 2801WE | Marine Sciences and Society | 3 |
| MARN 3000E | The Oceans and Global Climate | 3 |
| MAST 1001E | The Sea Around Us | 3 |
| MAST 2210E | History of the Ocean | 3 |
| MAST 2300E | Marine Environmental Policy | 3 |
| MAST 2460E | Maritime Politics | 3 |
| NRE 1000E | Environmental Science | 3 |
| NRE 1235E | Environmental Conservation | 3 |
| NRE 2215E | Introduction to Water Resources | 3 |
| NRE 2600E | Global Sustainable Natural Resources | 3 |
| NRE 3245E | Environmental Law | 3 |
| PATH 1100E | One Health: People, Animals, Plants, and the Environment | 3 |
| PHIL 1108E | Environmental Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3212E | Philosophy and Global Climate Change | 3 |
| PHIL 3216E | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| POLS 2460E | Maritime Politics | 3 |
| POLS 3208W | Politics of Oil | 3 |
| PSYC 3104E | Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| SPSS 1060 | The Great American Lawn: History, Culture, and Sustainability | 3 |
| SPSS 2500E | Principles and Concepts of Agroecology | 3 |
TOI-5: Individual Values and Social Institutions
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 2276 | American Utopias and Dystopias | 3 |
| ANTH 1000 | Peoples and Cultures of the World | 3 |
| ANTH 1000W | Peoples and Cultures of the World | 3 |
| ANTH 3902 | North American Prehistory | 3 |
| ARE 1110E | Population, Food, and the Environment | 3 |
| ARE 1150 | Principles of Applied and Resource Economics | 3 |
| CHIN 1121 | Traditional Chinese Culture | 3 |
| CHIN 3280 | Networking in China | 3 |
| COMM 1000 | The Process of Communication | 3 |
| DMD 2620 | Human Development, Digital Media, and Technology | 3 |
| EDCI 1100 | If You Love It, Teach It | 3 |
| EDCI 2100 | Power, Privilege, and Public Education | 3 |
| ENGL 2276 | American Utopias and Dystopias | 3 |
| ENGL 2635E | Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENVE 1000E | Environmental Sustainability | 3 |
| EVST 1000E | Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 |
| FREN 3272 | French Literary Theory | 3 |
| HDFS 1060 | Close Relationships Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| HDFS 1070 | Individual and Family Development | 3 |
| HDFS 2620 | Human Development, Digital Media, and Technology | 3 |
| HDFS 3540 | Child Welfare, Law and Social Policy | 3 |
| HIST 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| HRTS 3220W | Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights | 3 |
| LLAS 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| MAST 2300E | Marine Environmental Policy | 3 |
| MAST 2460E | Maritime Politics | 3 |
| MAST 2507 | New England and the Caribbean Plantation Complex, 1650-1900 | 3 |
| NRE 2600E | Global Sustainable Natural Resources | 3 |
| PHIL 1101 | Problems of Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 1103 | Philosophical Classics | 3 |
| PHIL 1106 | Non-western and Comparative Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 1107 | Philosophy and Gender | 3 |
| PHIL 1109 | Global Existentialism | 3 |
| PHIL 1175 | Ethical Issues in Health Care | 3 |
| PHIL 2410 | Know Thyself | 3 |
| PHIL 3216E | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 3220W | Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights | 3 |
| POLS 1002 | Introduction to Political Theory | 3 |
| POLS 1202 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLS 1402 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 1402W | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 1602 | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| POLS 1602W | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| POLS 2460E | Maritime Politics | 3 |
| POLS 3208W | Politics of Oil | 3 |
| SPSS 1150 | Agricultural Technology and Society | 3 |
TOI-6: Science and Empirical Inquiry
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AH 1030 | Interdisciplinary Approach to Obesity Prevention | 3 |
| ANSC 1645 | The Science of Food | 3 |
| COGS 2201 | Foundations of Cognitive Science | 3 |
| EEB 2100E | Global Change Ecology | 3 |
| EEB 2202 | Evolution and Human Diversity | 3 |
| EEB 2208E | Introduction to Conservation Biology | 3 |
| EEB 2222E | Plants in a Changing World | 3 |
| EEB 2250 | Introduction to Plant Physiology | 3 |
| ERTH 1000E | The Human Epoch: Living in the Anthropocene | 3 |
| ERTH 1055 | Geoscience and the American Landscape | 3 |
| ERTH 1070 | Natural Disasters and Environmental Change | 3 |
| ERTH 2800 | Our Evolving Atmosphere | 3 |
| GEOG 1070 | Natural Disasters and Environmental Change | 3 |
| GEOG 1300E | Climate, Weather, and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG 2300E | Introduction to Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 3410E | Human Modifications of Natural Environments | 3 |
| KINS 2227 | Exercise Prescription | 3 |
| MARN 1001E | The Sea Around Us | 3 |
| MAST 1001E | The Sea Around Us | 3 |
| NRE 1000E | Environmental Science | 3 |
| NUSC 1030 | Interdisciplinary Approach to Obesity Prevention | 3 |
| NUSC 1165 | Fundamentals of Nutrition | 3 |
| NUSC 1645 | The Science of Food | 3 |
| PATH 1100E | One Health: People, Animals, Plants, and the Environment | 3 |
| PSYC 1100 | General Psychology I | 3 |
| SPSS 1060 | The Great American Lawn: History, Culture, and Sustainability | 3 |
Laboratory Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 2600 | Microscopy in Applied Archaeobotany Research | 4 |
| BIOL 1102 | Foundations of Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 1108 | Principles of Biology II | 4 |
| BIOL 1110 | Introduction to Botany | 4 |
| CHEM 1124Q | Fundamentals of General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 1125Q | Fundamentals of General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 1126Q | Fundamentals of General Chemistry III | 3 |
| CHEM 1128Q | General Chemistry II | 4 |
| MARN 1002E | Introduction to Oceanography | 3 |
| MARN 1003E | Introduction to Oceanography with Laboratory | 4 |
| PHYS 1201Q | General Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 1402Q | General Physics with Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 1501Q | Physics for Engineers I | 4 |
| PHYS 1502Q | Physics for Engineers II | 4 |
| PHYS 1602Q | Fundamentals of Physics II | 4 |
Competencies
The Common Curriculum requires students to complete competencies in quantitative skills, second language proficiency, and writing.
Quantitative (Q) Competency
All students must pass two Q courses, which may also satisfy Topic of Inquiry requirements. One Q course must be from Mathematics or Statistics. Students should discuss with their advisor how best to satisfy these requirements based on their background, prior course preparation and career aspirations. Students whose high school algebra needs strengthening should be encouraged to complete MATH 1011Q Introductory College Algebra and Mathematical Modeling, as preparation for other Q courses. To receive credit for MATH 1011Q Introductory College Algebra and Mathematical Modeling, it must be taken before successful completion of another Q course. In some cases, advisors may recommend postponing registration in a Q course until after the student has completed a semester of course work at the University.
Second Language Competency
Second Language competency is established by either:
- passing the third-year high school level course in a language other than English, or
- attaining a Seal of Bilteracy, or
- the second semester course in the first year sequence of college level study in a language other than English.
When the years of study have been split between high school and earlier grades, the requirement is met if the student has successfully completed the third year high school level course. With anything less than that, the student must pass the second semester course in the first year sequence of college level study in a single language.
Writing (W) Competency
All students must take either ENGL 1007 Seminar and Studio in Writing and Multimodal Composition or ENGL 1010 Seminar in Academic Writing or ENGL 1011 Seminar in Writing through Literature. Additionally, all students must take two writing-intensive (W) courses, which may also satisfy Topic of Inquiry requirements. One of these must be at the 2000-level and associated with the student’s major. Approved courses for each major are listed in their sections of this catalog. (Note: ENGL 1007 Seminar and Studio in Writing and Multimodal Composition or ENGL 1010 Seminar in Academic Writing or ENGL 1011 Seminar in Writing through Literature is a prerequisite to all writing-intensive courses).
Note on Additional Competencies
Two additional competencies – Information, Digital, and Media Literacy (IDML) and Dialogue - will be embedded in the curriculum.