Undergraduate Academic Features

The Stockton Study Plan

Stockton offers challenging and diverse educational opportunities for its students through program and General Studies course sequences. All students undertake intensive study in a major program area while exploring a rich general and liberal education in the University’s General Studies program and in courses “At-Some-Distance” from their majors.

All undergraduate curricula combine two elements:

• Study in-depth in a specific subject (complemented by related cognate areas as appropriate) sufficient to master the advanced cognitive skills of that discipline and knowledge of its current ideas and issues.

• Study in breadth, which comprises ongoing general education throughout the course of one’s undergraduate years in parallel with study of the major and across the spectrum of modes of learning in the arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics, featuring:

1. Mastery of transferable intellectual skills critical to any line of work, to citizenship in a democracy, and to a life of continuous learning.

2. Access to a variety of modes of learning that could include opportunities for (among others) internship, independent study, service learning, online learning, and other modes that may emerge.

3. Particular focus on skills of writing, quantitative reasoning, and the use of technology as essential tools for access to contemporary academic discourse and effective participation in economic and civil society.

Students at Stockton, with the guidance of a faculty or staff preceptor, develop and pursue individual programs of study according to their own talents, interests, and life goals. Instruction is high in quality because faculty selection and evaluation processes are rigorous and demanding of excellence in teaching.

Stockton’s educational philosophy is based on the concept that students should be challenged, motivated, and assisted through extensive faculty-student contact. Stockton strongly encourages student participation in the decision-making processes that shape academic life; thus, the University provides the individual student with real opportunities to determine the composition and nature of their academic experiences.

Preceptorial System

Stockton’s preceptorial system implements the basic planning and evaluation system in the Stockton study plan. Through this system, a matriculated student works closely and continuously with a faculty or staff preceptor to set educational goals, assesses progress toward goals, and makes adjustments as necessary. Working through the preceptorial system, students learn to build and implement programs of study that relate to what they want to accomplish while maintaining overall goals of a liberal arts education. Students learn that they must accept responsibility for the value of their education. A preceptor and preceptee work together, primarily on an individual basis, planning courses of study and exploring career alternatives. Learning is a lifelong process, and, as such, one of the most important abilities a student can develop is the capability to plan and manage learning experiences. At Stockton, a preceptor can play an important role by helping the student develop this ability. Preceptors and students work together regularly, planning and reviewing throughout the academic year. However, because the registration/pre-registration periods are most demanding of preceptorial advising, special blocks of time are designated during those time periods to aid students and preceptors in their efforts.

Change of Preceptor

All preceptor assignments are administered by the Center for Academic Advising. Any changes must be requested from the Center for Academic Advising.

Center for Academic Advising

The Center for Academic Advising is staffed by full-time professional advisors who provide a variety of advising and other academic support services to all students throughout the year. Advising services include initial preceptor assignments, determining transfer credit equivalencies per NJTransfer, Degree Works course adjustments, individual advising, and intervention for students on academic probation.

Community Mediation Services

Community Mediation Services, founded in 1981 as the Community Justice Institute, pursues Stockton’s educational objectives—teaching, research, and community service—in the area of conflict resolution. The service operates under the auspices of Stockton University, Atlantic County, and the Atlantic County Bar Association. The attempt to resolve interpersonal disputes through means other than formal litigation is gaining increasing acceptance around the country. This acceptance is based on a recognition that people can, with the aid of a neutral third party, resolve their own disputes in a more fair and lasting way than could a third-party decision maker, such as a judge. Thus, Community Mediation Services provides mediation as a means of settling disputes in Atlantic County. Stockton’s Criminal Justice and Sociology/Anthropology programs offer a cross-listed course in Conflict Resolution, which is a prerequisite for internships in Community Mediation Services.

Education Abroad Opportunities

Stockton offers a variety of opportunities to study, intern, research, or service-learning abroad. Education Abroad takes four basic forms: 1) pursuing education at foreign institutions with which the University has exchange agreements; 2) pursuing education through another American college/university program or third-party providers; 3) pursuing education in a foreign country or at a foreign institution selected by the student and approved by the University in advance through the petition process; and 4) participating in faculty and staff led programs that are offered under the aegis of University faculty and staff with the permission of the instructor (POI).

Education Abroad opportunities are developed and/or administered by the Office of Global Engagement (OGE). Students need to complete an Education Abroad Application to the OGE. Students are urged to consult with the OGE early in their planning for study abroad. If applicable, the Office of the Registrar will place students on a special student status to maintain their matriculation. Students remain eligible for financial aid, most of which may be applied to their program costs abroad.

Except for credits earned through the faculty or staff led programs, credits earned abroad will be recorded as transfer credits on the student’s Stockton University transcript. Credits awarded for faculty or staff led programs will be recorded as Stockton credits.

Experiential Education

A significant feature of many Stockton’s degree programs can be described as experiential education—internship, field study, service-learning, or independent research projects—that give students valuable opportunities to apply their formal classroom work. Under the guidance of faculty sponsors, a student may work in private industry or government, serve a local community as a volunteer, or even spend an entire semester off-campus putting formal education to practical use through the Washington Internship program. Furthermore, in applying and testing classroom experiences in practical settings, a student can better evaluate career interests and employment opportunities after graduation.

A feature of Stockton’s internship program that distinguishes it from the usual cooperative education programs of other colleges is its integration of off-campus internship learning experiences with on-campus or in-class seminars. At Stockton, many interns participate in regularly scheduled internship seminars that provide appropriate academic settings for discussion and exchange between students, faculty, and also, at times, the internship sponsors.

A student wishing to initiate an internship project should contact a faculty member in the area of interest for assistance in developing a detailed project statement defining the scope, character and objectives of the project.

The service-learning program offers students the opportunity to work with local nonprofits, social service organizations and schools as part of specific academic courses. Through service- learning, students use new knowledge and skills to help solve pressing social issues faced by the local community while using the service experience to enhance their grasp of the course material. A student interested in service-learning opportunities should contact Service-Learning for further information.

First-Year Studies

The First-Year Studies (FRST) faculty offer a wide variety of courses in writing, reading, and mathematics that are designed especially for first-year students. In addition, FRST offers courses that assist students in meeting the University’s basic skills competency requirement. Information on First-Year Studies and the skills competencies necessary for graduation from Stockton is found in the First-Year Studies chapter of this Bulletin.

First-Year Seminars

An important priority of the university is to ensure that all new students experience an appropriate introduction to academic life. Therefore, Stockton requires a first-year seminar of all first-semester Stockton students to provide them with an early seminar experience in which they will encounter the essential processes of academic discourse, including academic writing, critical reading, effective communication, and information literacy.

The First-year seminars are courses from the Stockton General Studies curriculum and fulfill a graduation requirement. These Seminars serve as an introduction to the life of the mind in which students will be required to develop and demonstrate skills in writing, reading, speaking, listening, and critical reasoning and judgment in a class small enough to allow the full expression of these skills as well as to allow ample individualized attention. Students will also increase their information literacy skills and gain experience as university-level researchers.

The University has developed a full first-year program that brings students together as an intellectual and social community through interlocking events and programs designed to span the academic, co-curricular, and informational aspects of the first-year experience.

Independent Study

Independent study is an approach followed at Stockton to encourage close working relationships between students and faculty. Independent study provides opportunities to develop highly individualized, rigorous, and personal learning experiences. This approach fulfills three needs. It permits students to pursue questions not addressed in faculty-directed classrooms, laboratories, or studios; it helps students to develop valuable research skills; and it enables students to test mastery of principles, methods, and materials presented in regular classes by instructors. Properly done, independent study should lead to that goal sought by all educated persons, namely the capacity for independent learning throughout life. Students who wish to undertake independent study projects should consult the instructor with whom they wish to work. Projects must be carefully formulated on an Independent Study Form and signed by the appropriate instructor, student, and the respective Dean. GIS courses can only be taken as independent studies under exceptional circumstances.

Liberal Studies B.A.

For students whose academic interests do not match one of the degree programs offered by the University, the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies permits them to design a complete program. Information is found in the Liberal Studies chapter in this Bulletin.

Online and Hybrid Learning

Online and hybrid courses have the same standards and expectations as the University’s on-campus courses. Online and hybrid courses uphold the institution’s rigorous academic standards by building a close working relationship between faculty and students through orientation meetings, web-based communication, and continued student support throughout the semester.

Pre-Law

While there is no single major that best prepares students for a career in law, a number of Stockton graduates go on to law school. The University has a pre-law advisor who is knowledgeable about the law school admissions process and active in working with students interested in legal careers. The pre-law advisor assists students in preparing their law school applications, sponsors annual trips to law school admissions days, and through the “career conversations” program in Political Science, brings Stockton alumni back to campus to speak about law school and careers in law. Students interested in law should contact the pre-law advisor early in their college careers.

The Honors Program

The Honors Program challenges students to launch extraordinary lives. Our program provides a supportive, enriching environment for students who are among the most motivated and talented at the University. We ask students to take intellectual risks, seek an understanding of the interdependence of all branches of knowledge, engage with the complexities of difference and diversity, and value a life of continuous learning and personal growth. We encourage our students to seek opportunities for experiential learning, independent research, and community engagement. We encourage our students to develop the creativity, adaptability, and understanding required to thrive in an interconnected world. Stockton Honors is at the forefront of the University’s pursuit of academic excellence, transformative education, and civic engagement. We help our Honors Program students to craft meaningful college learning experiences that connect to global communities and draw on the unique resources and cultures of Southern New Jersey. Honors education is based in the General Studies curriculum, allowing our students to participate in any course of study from Stockton's major, minor, and certificate programs.

Admission to the Honors Program is competitive. Applications are accepted through Stockton University’s Common App. Preference is given to students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity, take an active role in their education, and aspire to make the world a better place. To remain in the program, students must continue to make academic progress, fulfill their Honors co-curricular requirements, and maintain a 3.3 GPA.

Full details about the First-Year Studies curriculum are accessible on the Honors website.

Undergraduate Graduation Requirements

Graduation from Stockton with a bachelor’s degree requires a student to obtain a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade-point average based upon courses taken at, or transferred to, Stockton, and to satisfy the university’s degree requirements: (1) earn a minimum of 128 credits, (2) complete the residency requirement, (3) fulfill the skills competency and proficiency requirements applicable to entering first-year students, and (4) meet all program and General Studies requirements within seven years of matriculation.

The Residency Requirement

Residency requires the following be completed by the student at Stockton:

• Earn 32 of the final 48 credits.

• One General Integration and Synthesis (GIS) course

• One Quantitative Reasoning Across the Disciplines (Q2) course

• Two Writing (W1 or W2) courses, one of which must be at the 3000 level or higher.

• One Race and Racism Education course (R1 or R2)

• Satisfy the Twenty-Five Percent Rule

Curriculum requirements exist to ensure that graduates have met Stockton’s general education intentions for all students, and the following General Studies goals:

• The Twenty-Five Percent Rule

• The Distribution Requirement

• The At-Some-Distance Requirement

• The General Education Goals Requirement: Attributes

• Suggested Credits per G Category

• The Writing Requirement

• The Quantitative Reasoning Requirement

• The Race and Racism Education Requirement

• The First-Year Studies (FRST) Requirement

• The First-Year Seminar Requirement.

The status of a student—beginning first-year student or transfer student, and the student’s degree program, B.A., or B.S.--determines the manner in which these requirements must be met.

The Twenty-Five Percent Rule

Twenty-five percent of all the courses a student takes at Stockton must be General Studies courses. This is called the Twenty-Five percent rule. This rule applies to transfer students as well as first-year students. This rule does not apply to students already holding the baccalaureate degree as such students are exempt from all General Studies requirements.

For first-year students and transfer students with less than 16 credits, the General Studies requirement is 32 credits. For students with 16-63 transfer credits, the transfer credits may fulfill part of the General Studies requirement as follows:

• 1-15 transfer credits: no General Studies equivalents awarded.

• 16-31 transfer credits: up to 1 General Studies equivalency awarded.

• 32-47 transfer credits: up to 2 General Studies equivalents awarded.

• 48-63 transfer credits: up to 3 General Studies equivalents awarded.

The Distribution Requirement

For first-year students and transfer students with less than 64 credits, for all baccalaureate degrees:

• 8 credits in GAH.

• 4 credits in GEN.

• 4 credits in GIS.

• 8 credits in GNM.

• 8 credits in GSS.

At-Some-Distance Electives

For first-year students and transfer students with less than 64 credits, the At-Some-Distance electives, defined as courses that are at some distance in terms of subject area from a student’s major, constitute one-quarter of the degree for a Bachelor of Arts and one-eighth of the Bachelor of Science degree.

For students with 64 or more transfer credits but have not earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, the General Studies requirement is lowered to 16 credits. The At-Some-Distance credits then increases by 16 credits to require 48 credits for the B.A. degree, and 32 credits for the B.S. degree, assisting transfer students who may have many excess elective credits. The distribution requirement is no longer in effect, but all students must take four credits in the GIS category. Students with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited intuition pursuing a second baccalaureate degree are exempt from all General Studies requirements.

Suggested Credits per G- Category

For a Bachelor of Arts degree: it is recommended that no more than 16 credits in any G-category be applied to the B.A. degree.

For a Bachelor of Science degree: it is recommended that no more than 12 credits in any G- category be applied to the B.S. degree.

The General Education Goal Requirement: Attributes

All students must also take and pass one course in each of four areas: Arts (A), Historical Consciousness (H), Values/Ethics (V), and International/Multicultural (I). These courses, while required, do not need to add additional credits to the minimum of 128 credits needed to graduate. Students may take Stockton courses that have been designated by A, H, V, I and apply them to program, cognate, General Studies, and “At-Some-Distance,” as appropriate to satisfy this graduation requirement.

For transfer students, one or more of these courses may have already been taken in transfer. Any unfulfilled categories must be completed at Stockton.

First-Year Studies Courses

First Year Studies (FRST) courses may be applied to the General Studies requirements as part of the At Some Distance requirement.

Skills Competency Requirement

All first-year students and transfer students with 15 or fewer acceptable college credits are subject to basic skills competency requirement in writing, reading, critical thinking and quantitative reasoning via SAT/ACT scores, AP credits or Accuplacer placement testing. Certain transfer courses may also serve to meet respective portions of this requirement.  Students with scores below the placement cut-offs will be placed in the First-Year Studies program where satisfactory performance in FRST 1000-level courses would meet this requirement. With certain exceptions, students who do not meet this requirement within one academic year of matriculation are subject to suspension from the University. Additional information is found in the First-Year Studies section in this Bulletin.

First-Year Seminars

All students who enter the University as first-year students, including those who transfer with 15 or fewer credits, are required to enroll in First-Year Seminars in their first semester. First-Year Seminars are the cornerstone of the First-Year Experience for new students and are courses designed to help students get their college career off to a good start by emphasizing individualized attention, active discussion, and the development of critical thinking, college-level reading practices, information literacy, and communication skills. Coordination of common co-curricular activities and an annual common reading is led by a faculty member serving as First-Year Seminar Coordinator. These courses, numbered 1001-1099 within the various G-categories, are open only to first- year students. Some of these courses also have another number (cross-listing), since they may occasionally be offered as regular General Studies courses open to other students. They may not be repeated for credit.

For those students who are placed into the course FRST 1002 Critical Thinking and Reading, that course will serve as their First-Year Seminar. All other students will be able to choose from a list of courses on a range of topics in the various G-categories. FRST 1002 must be passed with a grade of C or better. A student who does not complete a First-Year Seminar in the first semester must complete one in the second semester.

Writing Program

The Stockton Writing program involves faculty from all schools within the University, as well as a core Writing faculty located in General Studies. Writing-designated courses are offered under both General Studies and program acronyms; therefore, students can fulfill distribution requirements toward graduation while they incorporate writing as a vital part of their education.

Mission Statement

Stockton’s Writing program offers students a variety of writing courses at all levels of the curriculum. These courses help students grow as writers, both by improving their writing and by providing them opportunities to learn about and to practice diverse forms of writing, such as expository writing, creative nonfiction, poetry, research writing, and digital writing. We also offer students opportunities to use their writing outside of the classroom and to develop the foundation for producing purposeful, socially engaged work after they graduate. Whether students take only required writing courses or earn a Writing Minor while they are at Stockton, they can build their confidence as writers; enhance their knowledge of writing genres; and create writing habits that will serve them during school, at work, and in their personal lives.

Writing Requirement for Graduation 

Stockton students write throughout their college careers and are advised to take one or more writing-designated courses each year, depending on their interest and needs. All students must fulfill the University’s writing requirement in order to graduate. They must earn a C or better in each of four writing-designated courses: one W1 course taken during the first year and three other writing-designated courses (W1s or W2s), at least one of which must be a 3000- or 4000-level course. Transfer students are subject to the writing requirement. Up to two transfer courses in composition or writing will be credited as W1 courses and counted toward the requirement. All W2 courses must be completed at Stockton. Writing-designated courses that carry fewer than four credits or transfer courses that carry fewer than three credits do not count toward the writing requirement. 

Writing-Designated Courses

Stockton students may choose from hundreds of writing-designated courses. The course number indicates the level: 1000 level indicates an introductory writing-designated course; 3000 level indicates a more advanced writing-designated course. 

Writing-designated courses are of two kinds: Writing-Intensive courses (W1) and Writing Across- the-Curriculum courses (W2). The designation W1 or W2 indicates the role and function of writing in the course, not the degree of writing difficulty. 

W1 - Writing-Intensive courses focus on writing as the subject of the course. The quality of writing is the major criterion for evaluating the student’s performance, whether it be an introductory W1 course, such as FRST 1101 College Writing, or an advanced W1 course, such as GIS 3307 Why Poetry Matters. 

W2 – Writing Across-the-Curriculum courses focus on disciplinary or interdisciplinary content. They use writing as a way of learning subject matter and expressing that learning. These courses also provide students with opportunities and support to improve their writing skills. The quality of writing, not only the mastery of content, is an important criterion in evaluating a student’s performance in the course. W2 courses assume minimal competence in writing and in most cases should not be attempted by a student concurrently enrolled in FRST 1101 College Writing. 

W1 and W2 courses are offered as part of Stockton’s interdisciplinary General Studies curriculum and in most programs. They are also identified within the Schedule of Courses each term. 

First-Year Placement in Writing-Designated Courses

Based on their SAT, ACT, or Accuplacer scores, some first-year students are required to take FRST 1101 College Writing; all others are required to take  FRST  2120 Rhetoric and Composition. 

The Writing Center

While all students are encouraged to use the Writing Center throughout the writing process, special emphasis is placed on students enrolled in W1 and W2 courses. Staffed by trained undergraduate students who serve as a test audience for their undergraduate peers, the Writing Center offers consultations at all stages of the writing process, with emphasis on early stages, such as planning and thinking through the rhetorical situation. Students are encouraged to drop in for consultations at any of our three locations: Richard E. Bjork Library (lower level, daytime hours); the TRLC (evening hours); and Kesselman Hall, AC (evening hours). Consultations are also available online, with specifics appearing on the Writing Center page.

The Quantitative Reasoning Requirement

Stockton’s quantitative reasoning program is designed to equip students with important quantitative skills that are useful in academic disciplines. Throughout the undergraduate experience, a broad array of General Studies and program courses provide rich encounters with mathematical ideas and their applications.

Before graduating, all students must complete three quantitative-reasoning- designated courses, including at least one Q1 (quantitative-reasoning-intensive) course and at least one Q2 (quantitative-reasoning-across-the-disciplines) course. A Q1 course must be completed during the first year at Stockton.

Transfer students are also subject to the quantitative reasoning requirement. Up to two transfer courses in mathematics and statistics may be credited as Q1 courses and counted toward the requirement. Stockton will not accept any Q2 courses transferred from other institutions. All Q2 courses must be completed at Stockton.

Q-designated courses that carry fewer than 4 credits or transfer courses that carry fewer than 3 credits do not count toward meeting the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement.

Quantitative-Reasoning-Designated Courses

Stockton offers two types of quantitative-reasoning-designated courses: Quantitative-Reasoning-Intensive (Q1) and Quantitative-Reasoning-Across-The-Disciplines (Q2) courses. This designation indicates the role and function of quantitative reasoning in the course, not the degree of difficulty. Q-designated courses appear throughout the curriculum, in program and General Studies courses. Q1 and Q2 courses emphasize mathematical problem solving with special attention given to the development of problem-solving approaches. In addition, these courses stress the importance of the communication of mathematical ideas in both written and oral forms.

Q1- Quantitative-Reasoning-Intensive Courses: Mathematical thinking is the primary focus of study. Q1 courses emphasize the mathematical structures underlying various phenomena. Although focused on mathematical reasoning, Q1 courses provide ample opportunities for investigating diverse applications of the concepts discussed. These courses draw rich connections among different areas of mathematics. In a Q1 course, the majority of class time is spent on mathematical concepts and procedures. Students work on mathematics during virtually every class session. The quality of their mathematical work is the major criterion for evaluating student performance in the course. Examples of Q1 courses are MATH 2215 Calculus I; FRST/GNM 2310 Algebraic Problem Solving; and CIST 1206 Statistics I.

Q2 - Quantitative-Reasoning-Across-the-Disciplines: In a Q2 course, the focus is on disciplinary or interdisciplinary content outside of mathematics. Quantitative reasoning is used as a tool for understanding this content. Q2 courses feature applications that use real-world data and situations, applying a quantitative perspective to the concepts in the course results in a fuller understanding of both the disciplinary concepts and the mathematical concepts. In a Q2 course, at least 20 percent of class time involves quantitative reasoning. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to apply mathematical ideas to the course content. Both mastery of disciplinary content and quantitative proficiency are used to evaluate student performance. Examples of Q2 courses include ARTV 2121 Photography: Film and Darkroom I and CHEM 2110 Chemistry I.

Mathematics Advising

Various degree programs require different kinds of mathematics and quantitative reasoning skills. Students in any major will enhance their education and widen their range of post-college possibilities by strengthening their skills in this area. The accompanying chart lists some of the Q1 courses that are specifically designed to prepare students for subsequent mathematics-based courses and majors.

Other introductory-level Q1 courses may be found in the General Studies Natural Sciences and Mathematics (GNM) curriculum. Students should note that mathematics courses are sequential based on increased complexity of the material covered. Credit will not be given for a lower-level math course if a more advanced math course has already been completed satisfactorily.

Mathematics Skills Advising

The Race and/or Racism Education Requirement

Beginning in fall 2021, all matriculated students must complete two courses in Race and Racism Education, at least one of which must be an R1. The goal is to ensure that all students understand the structural and systematic racism that has been engrained in this country and around the world, which brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets in 2020. Students are required to earn a C or better for courses designated as R1: Race and Racism Intensive courses and a D or better in courses designated as R2: Race and Racism Education-Across-the-Curriculum.

Transfer students also are expected to meet the Race and Racism Education Requirement. Up to one transfer course in Race and Racism Education can be credited as an R1 or R2 course and counted toward the requirement. The second course must be completed at Stockton.

Stockton courses that carry fewer than four credits or transfer courses that carry fewer than three credits do not count toward the Race and Racism Education Requirement.

R1 and R2 courses may simultaneously fulfill the Race and Racism Education Requirement and other graduation and program requirements (i.e., serving as an R1/R2 course as well as a G course requirement, AVHI requirement, W2 requirement, or program course, etc.).

Race and/or Racism Education-Designated Courses

Stockton offers a variety of Program and General Studies courses at all levels that are Race and Racism Education-designated courses. These include Race and/or Racism Education intensive courses (R1) and Race and Racism Education-Across-the-Curriculum courses (R2). The designation R1 or R2 indicates the role and function of the study of race and racism education in the course, not the degree of course difficulty.

R1 – Race and/or Racism Intensive courses, which can be either Program or General Studies courses, focus on race and racism education as the core subject of the course, meaning that the majority of the course materials and assignments are spent discussing these issues in a variety of contexts.

R2 – Race and/or Racism Education-Across-the-Curriculum courses focus on disciplinary or interdisciplinary content. They use the study of race and racism education as a way of learning about another subject (i.e., history, chemistry, social work, or marketing). Explicit connections should be made between ideas about race and racism education and disciplinary content, and at least 25% of course time should be devoted to the study of race and/or racism education and engage students in activities that support learning of these complex fields. This can include assigning focused activities in class and/or as homework assignments, offering direct instruction on these topics, assigning reading about race or racism education, or providing feedback on student drafts for assignments. These courses can be offered in any of the G-acronyms or program acronyms.

General Studies

General Studies courses are intended to enrich one’s learning and to provide the general education foundation for Stockton students. These courses engage students in the broad areas of human knowledge (humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics) and show the relationships among them. General Studies courses are about learning itself, about how people learn, and about what is important to learn. They often provide for the exploration of new fields, provoke and stimulate new thinking, test one’s perspectives, and encourage experimentation. Students, with the help of a preceptor, are encouraged to select and plan courses of study that will broaden their overall perspectives, fill gaps in their knowledge, and enrich their personal lives by meeting educational needs important to all students. University is not only for learning a discipline in-depth or learning how to make a living, it is also for learning how to live. A complete description of General Studies can be found in the General Studies of this Bulletin.

Requirement and Outcomes Requirement of General Studies

The General Studies credit distribution requirement applies to all candidates for bachelor’s degrees. In addition, there is a requirement that coursework be undertaken in certain areas. These requirements are described in detail in the General Studies chapter of this Bulletin.

Transfer Student Requirements

General Studies at Stockton is not considered to be a mere set of introductory courses in various disciplines. Rather, it is viewed as an ongoing process of broadening and enriching education throughout a college career. Therefore, transfer students must take at least 25 percent of their Stockton coursework in designated General Studies (G-acronym) courses.

Each student must satisfactorily complete at least 32 credits at Stockton.  This would normally take one academic year but could be accelerated through a heavier-than-normal load and credit-by-examination at Stockton. If a student’s transfer program is not closely articulated with a Stockton degree program, the student may find that additional time will be required to complete the Stockton degree.

Maximally, 96 credit hours can be transferred from prior 4-year institutions. A maximum of 64 credit hours can be transferred from prior 2-year institutions.

Program Courses

Programs provide specialized areas of study clearly focused on intellectual and/or career goals. Pursuit of these goals requires that a student build knowledge systematically through the mastery of increasingly difficult tasks and concepts. Program Studies requirements are more structured than those in General Studies and tend to emphasize sequences of specific courses. Most of the courses required for a given degree program are offered in the program itself, while some may be offered in related programs.

 Cognate Courses

Cognates are courses closely related to one’s major. Most degree programs require students to supplement coursework offered by the program by taking cognate courses. 

Senior Thesis or Project

Some degree programs require the student to complete a senior thesis or project. In other programs a project is optional or may be required for graduation with distinction. A student enrolled in a degree program normally requires that a senior thesis or project must receive a grade of C or higher in the course in order to graduate. Detailed requirements for the senior thesis or projects are stated in the chapters on each program.

Substitution

The student may request the substitution of a non-cognate Program Studies course or other designated General Studies course for a required General Studies (G- acronym) course.

 A written request must be made by the student’s preceptor to the Dean of General Studies and must be approved in advance of registering for the course. Preceptors may consider a student request to substitute any General Studies courses that exceed the minimum requirements above to satisfy similar Program or Cognate requirements, with approval of the Program Chair and the Dean.

COURSES IN GENERAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES (GAH) GOALS

• GAH courses introduce students to the arts and humanities as areas of study and thus provide them with the basis for intelligent curricular choices.

• They aim to create awareness among students of the importance of the arts and humanities in their education. They seek to develop the ability of students to make critical and aesthetic judgments.

• They introduce perspectives, techniques, and attitudes that can be used in the further study of the arts and humanities and suggest ways of continuing to examine such issues.

• GAH courses describe a number of conceptual challenges and issues that artists and humanists confront, bringing a variety of approaches and viewpoints to bear on these.

• They explore the techniques used in the arts and humanities for solving aesthetic and intellectual problems, expressing feelings and ideas, clarifying meanings, defending judgments, and explaining historical transformations.

Types of Courses

• Tradition and Background Courses: These courses provide students with a broad perspective on substantial portions of the world’s philosophical, historical, literary and artistic traditions, seeking to demonstrate the importance of tradition and historical perspective in understanding oneself and one’s relationship to the present.

• Thematic and Topical Courses: These courses explore some of the conceptual challenges and issues that artists and humanists confront or focus upon a particular theme, topic, or time-period in which material is examined from a variety of disciplines that help to illuminate such themes.

• Experiential and Creative Courses: In these courses, students participate in creative and/or experiential activity in one or more of the arts and humanities disciplines in order to develop their own artistic and intellectual capabilities, thus expanding their capacity to appreciate and value the material of the arts and humanities.

Students should take their two required GAH courses from two different types of courses.

COURSES IN INTERDISCIPLINARY SKILLS AND TOPICS (GEN) GOALS

The GEN category reflects the realization that the frontiers of education are constantly expanding to include new kinds of knowledge, that the process of knowing and communicating knowledge is itself worthy of study, and that affective learning has a legitimate place beside cognitive learning in any well-balanced curriculum. Such perspectives are an essential part of general education and demonstrate the changing nature of knowledge.

Types of Courses

• GEN courses may focus on the modes and methods of learning, thinking, and knowing or upon the acquisition of certain intellectual skills common to such learning and knowing.

• They may also provide advanced or intermediate instruction in various communication skills that will help students better organize their knowledge and present it to others.

• GEN courses may focus upon the student’s personal behavior or experience in an attempt to heighten awareness, consciousness, creativity and intuition. Such courses may supplement the more analytical, linear and intellectual approaches to learning.

• GEN courses may explore general themes and topics of current interest that exist outside the established disciplinary or “G” categories, and thus further demonstrate the dynamic nature of knowledge. These might include courses in new or emergent disciplines, interdisciplinary yet introductory courses and courses in nontraditional academic areas.

• GEN courses may focus upon innovative approaches to the process of intellectual exploration.

COURSES IN GENERAL INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS (GIS) GOALS

• GIS courses are designed for senior students because they constitute the capstone of the General Studies curriculum. GIS courses are designed to assist students already acquainted with the various modes of knowledge to understand their connections. GIS courses seek to help the student transcend specialization and gain perspective on self, areas of knowledge and the human condition.

• GIS courses are not just interdisciplinary but transcend the limits of any one of the existing academic schools at Stockton either in subject matter or content or by directly addressing those human experiences—individual and social— that transcend the boundaries within academic life. GIS courses are focused on questions of enduring value.

Types of Courses

GIS requires extraordinary effort on the part of professor and students to bring together diverse ideas and points of view. GIS requires serious reading, writing, discussion, and sustained interaction with people from different disciplines. GIS courses may be taught in two modes:

• The lecture/discussion where the professor attempts to communicate his or her own integrated view of a particular area or problem, e.g., in courses about the city, energy, the role of science in human life, and ecological consciousness.

• The seminar mode where faculty participate as intellectuals, not specialists, mutually engaged with each other and with students in an investigation of the material studied, with an emphasis on the process of seeking integration around the topic selected. GIS courses can only be taken as independent studies under exceptional circumstances.

COURSES IN GENERAL NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (GNM) GOALS

Science is the study of the natural laws governing the physical universe. The primary reasoning and logical process underpinning science is the “scientific method.” The scientific method includes the observation of events and processes, the formation of testable hypotheses, the design and execution of experiments to test the hypotheses, and the development of theories that attempt to explain the facts derived from observations and experimentation. Science is self-corrective; it does not assume an ultimate set of preconceived truths. In the final analysis, however, science derives successive approximations of the truth because science operates within the limitations of the natural and physical world. Science is one way of studying the universe; it is not the only way. The ultimate goal of a GNM course is to share the nature and processes of science with students.

To this end, GNM courses may share common content with program courses, but GNM courses do not simply provide an introduction to a discipline or a diminished version of a program course. Whereas program courses are often serial links in long chains of knowledge and provide students with an implicit sense of science in general, GNM courses are explicitly concerned with giving students a complete experience that represents the scope of natural sciences and mathematics. The scope of a GNM course thus must allow for the integrated exploration of messages that are usually omitted, abbreviated, or accumulated over many semesters in program courses.

Types of Courses

Probably no one GNM course will attempt to communicate all of the messages; however, a GNM course must explore at least one of the following messages.

• On the nature of science: What science is and is not and why; science as a way of knowing in contrast to nonscientific or pseudoscientific views of the universe; successive approximations of the truth; hypotheses, theory and model development; open-ended questions; cultural and intellectual relationships; the limitations and potentials of science; scientific philosophy.

• On the nature of scientists: observers, experimenters, synthesizers, model builders, and real people.

• On the process of doing science: The scientific method, induction versus deduction, experiments, testable hypotheses, development of theories, self-correction; esthetics, creativity, chance; reductionism and synthetism.

• On the skills of scientific practice: questioning; experimentation; communication; analysis; synthesis.

COURSES IN GENERAL SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (GSS) GOALS

General Social and Behavioral Sciences (GSS) courses aid students in understanding human behavior and interactions—how people live, produce, distribute resources, develop institutions, and resolve conflicts. These courses may focus on topics, problems, and methods of concern to the social sciences. 

The purposes to be served by GSS courses are the following.

• To expose students to what is available in the social sciences and, hence, to provide them with the basis for intelligent curricular choice.

• To create enthusiasm in students about a variety of areas in the social sciences and, hence, to encourage them to sample widely.

• To provide students with an integrative framework that will render more meaningful the information that they have derived or will derive from more specialized courses.

• To accomplish all of the above within the boundaries set by the necessity to maintain the integrity of the materials presented.

Types of Courses

• Multiple Introduction Courses. These courses are designed to expose students to each of the social science disciplines as distinctive, if related, bodies of knowledge. In particular, they will deal with the distinctive subject matter, modes of reasoning, core concepts and vocational values of each of the social science disciplines.

• Topics Courses. These courses are designed to focus on a specific topic and bring the perspectives of the various social sciences to bear on it. In doing this, the instructor may either emphasize the distinctiveness of each perspective or synthesize those perspectives.