UMass Amherst General Education Requirements
In addition to the requirements for the UWW area of concentration (major), all UWW students must fulfill the university general education requirements listed below. (Also see the University general education site.) UWW advisors help students navigate these requirements as they plan their degrees. Some graduates of Massachusetts community colleges may have automatically completed these requirements if they were a part of the Commonwealth Transfer Compact (CTC). Learn more about the CTC ….
Writing—2 courses:
- one college writing (CW—usually transferred in from prior courses)
- one junior year writing (UWW 370 Writing About Experience, taken in 2nd semester of UWW)
Basic Math/Analytical Reasoning—2 courses or an exam and a course:
- one basic math course or exam (R1—can be taken as a one-hour free CLEP exam)
- one analytical reasoning course (R2)
Biological and Physical World—3 courses:
- one biological science (BS, BSL)
- one physical science (PS, PSL)
- one additional science or science interdisciplinary course (BS, BSL, PS, PSL,SI)
Social World—6 courses, including at least one U and one G diversity designation:
- one literature (AL, ALG, ALU)
- one literature or arts (AL, ALG, ALU, AT, ATG, ATU, I*, IU, IG)
- one historical studies (HS, HSG, HSU)
- two social/behavioral science (SB, SBU, SBG, I*, IU, IG)
- one more from any of the categories listed above
* NOTE: UWW 191G Frameworks of Understanding, required of all UWW students, has been designated an I (Interdisciplinary) course.
Are you a graduate of a Massachusetts community college?
Students who earn an associate degree as a part of the Commonwealth Transfer Compact (CTC) from a Massachusetts community college and who have above-average grades are generally strong candidates for admission to UMass Amherst UWW. The CTC is a credit transfer agreement that guarantees students a minimum of 60 transfer credits and completion of the General Education requirements. Associate degrees not conforming to CTC specifications are evaluated based on individual course acceptance. Contact your community college transfer counselor for details.
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