Nov 22, 2024

2024-2025 Catalog

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2024-2025 Catalog

General Education Courses

Student sitting on the steps by the GRCC Library

General Education at Grand Rapids Community College is comprised of two goals. The first is to expand and deepen our students’ understanding of the intellectual traditions that constitute the liberal arts and sciences. To that end, General Education courses at GRCC combine content knowledge with broadly-applicable academic skills such as critical thinking and communication. The second is to provide students with a set of courses that help meet their educational and career goals. In keeping with this goal, GRCC recognizes the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) and includes General Education coursework in its transfer and workforce Associates degree programs. General Education at GRCC builds knowledge, skills, and attitudes that every college-educated person should possess.

The GRCC General Education Program is comprised of English Composition and Communications, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The courses that fall within the distribution groups are listed below:

English Composition and Communications Distribution Course Options

English Composition

EN 101 - English Composition I Credit Hours: 3
EN 102 - English Composition II Credit Hours: 3

Communications

COM 131 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking Credit Hours: 3
COM 135 - Interpersonal Communication Credit Hours: 3

Humanities Distribution Course Options

Art

AT 105 - History of Art Before 1400 Credit Hours: 3
AT 106 - History of Art Since 1400 Credit Hours: 3
AT 270 - History of Architecture Credit Hours: 3

Communications

COM 235 - Gender and Communication Credit Hours: 3

English

EN 118 - Introduction to Literature Credit Hours: 3
EN 233 - Poetry Credit Hours: 3
EN 235 - Drama Credit Hours: 3
EN 242 - Popular Literature Credit Hours: 3
EN 247 - Creative Writing I Credit Hours: 3
EN 248 - Creative Writing II Credit Hours: 3
EN 250 - Exploration of Children’s and Early Adolescents’ Literature Credit Hours: 3
EN 252 - Shakespeare Credit Hours: 3
EN 261 - American Literature I Credit Hours: 3
EN 262 - American Literature II Credit Hours: 3
EN 270 - Multicultural Literature Credit Hours: 3
EN 271 - African American Literature I Credit Hours: 3
EN 272 - African American Literature II Credit Hours: 3
EN 278 - Introduction to Women’s Literature Credit Hours: 3
EN 284 - LGBTQ Literature Credit Hours: 3

Foreign Language

Only one (1) Foreign Language course may be used as a Humanities General Education Elective.

Arabic
ARA 101 - Introductory Arabic I Credit Hours: 4
ARA 102 - Introductory Arabic II Credit Hours: 4
Chinese
CHI 101 - Introductory Chinese I Credit Hours: 4
CHI 102 - Introductory Chinese II Credit Hours: 4
French
FR 101 - Introductory French I Credit Hours: 4
FR 102 - Introductory French II Credit Hours: 4
FR 231 - Intermediate French I Credit Hours: 4
FR 232 - Intermediate French II Credit Hours: 4
German
GR 101 - Introductory German I Credit Hours: 4
GR 102 - Introductory German II Credit Hours: 4
GR 231 - Intermediate German I Credit Hours: 4
GR 232 - Intermediate German II Credit Hours: 4
Spanish
SP 101 - Introductory Spanish I Credit Hours: 4
SP 102 - Introductory Spanish II Credit Hours: 4
SP 231 - Intermediate Spanish I Credit Hours: 4
SP 232 - Intermediate Spanish II Credit Hours: 4

History

For students who are in the 2016-2017 catalog year and after, a History course can now meet either a Humanities or Social Sciences requirement. Please note each History course can only count as either a Humanities or Social Science, not both.

HS 101 - Western Civilization to 1500 Credit Hours: 4
HS 102 - Western Civilization Since 1500 Credit Hours: 4
HS 120 - World History to 1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HS 121 - World History since 1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HS 160 - U.S. History Through Reconstruction Credit Hours: 3
HS 161 - U.S. History From Reconstruction to the Present Credit Hours: 3
HS 215 - The Modern World Credit Hours: 3
HS 220 - Plagues, Spells, and Pills: The History of Medicine and Disease Credit Hours: 3
HS 225 - History of Gender and Sexuality Credit Hours: 3
HS 230 - The History of Latin America Credit Hours: 3
HS 251 - African-American History and Culture Credit Hours: 3
HS 285 - History of American Foreign Relations Credit Hours: 3
HS 290 - History of Russia and East Europe Credit Hours: 3

Humanities

HU 150 - Introduction to Cultural Studies Credit Hours: 3
HU 204 - Civilization and Culture I (Antiquity-AD 1500) Credit Hours: 3
HU 205 - Civilization and Culture II (AD 1500-Present Day) Credit Hours: 3
HU 210 - Introduction to the Humanities Credit Hours: 3
HU 212 - Classical Mythology Credit Hours: 3
HU 214 - Ancient Greek and Roman Culture through Archaeology Credit Hours: 3
HU 219 - Global Studies Through International Travel Credit Hours: 3
HU 245 - Technology and Humanity Credit Hours: 3
HU 274 - American Cinema Genres Credit Hours: 3
HU 281 - Exploring World Religions Credit Hours: 3

Music

MUS 110 - Appreciation of World and Western Music Credit Hours: 3
MUS 111 - Jazz In Contemporary America Credit Hours: 3
MUS 130 - American Popular Music Credit Hours: 3

Philosophy

PL 201 - Introduction to Philosophy Credit Hours: 3
PL 202 - Introduction to Logic Credit Hours: 3
PL 205 - Introduction to Ethics Credit Hours: 3
PL 206 - Biomedical Ethics Credit Hours: 3
PL 207 - Contemporary Moral Choices Credit Hours: 3
PL 209 - Business Ethics Credit Hours: 3

Sign Language

SL 150 - Introduction to Deaf Culture Credit Hours: 3
SL 171 - American Sign Language I Credit Hours: 3

Theater

TH 248 - Introduction to Theater Credit Hours: 3

Social Sciences Distribution Course Options

Anthropology

AN 201 - Introduction to Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
AN 205 - Introduction to Archaeology Credit Hours: 3
AN 210 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
AN 280 - Native American Culture Credit Hours: 3

Economics

EC 251 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credit Hours: 3
EC 252 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit Hours: 3

Exercise Science

EXS 189 - Healthy Living Credit Hours: 3

Gender Studies

GST 200 - Introduction to Gender Studies Credit Hours: 3

Geography

GE 135 - World Regional Geography Credit Hours: 3
GE 210 - Cultural Geography Credit Hours: 3
GE 235 - Globalization and Inequality Credit Hours: 3
GE 253 - Geography of the U.S. and Canada Credit Hours: 3
GE 269 - Africa: A Geographical Exploration Credit Hours: 4
GE 281 - Race, Ethnicity and Immigration in America: A Geography of Social Injustice Credit Hours: 3

History

For students who are in the 2016-2017 catalog year and after, a History course can now meet either a Humanities or Social Sciences requirement. Please note each History course can only count as either a Humanities or Social Science, not both.

HS 101 - Western Civilization to 1500 Credit Hours: 4
HS 102 - Western Civilization Since 1500 Credit Hours: 4
HS 120 - World History to 1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HS 121 - World History since 1500 CE Credit Hours: 3
HS 160 - U.S. History Through Reconstruction Credit Hours: 3
HS 161 - U.S. History From Reconstruction to the Present Credit Hours: 3
HS 215 - The Modern World Credit Hours: 3
HS 220 - Plagues, Spells, and Pills: The History of Medicine and Disease Credit Hours: 3
HS 225 - History of Gender and Sexuality Credit Hours: 3
HS 230 - The History of Latin America Credit Hours: 3
HS 251 - African-American History and Culture Credit Hours: 3
HS 285 - History of American Foreign Relations Credit Hours: 3
HS 290 - History of Russia and East Europe Credit Hours: 3

Political Science

PS 110 - American Government and Politics Credit Hours: 3
PS 200 - State and Local Politics Credit Hours: 3
PS 201 - Comparative Governments Credit Hours: 3
PS 202 - International Relations Credit Hours: 3
PS 230 - Introduction to Political Theory Credit Hours: 3

Psychology

PY 201 - General Psychology Credit Hours: 3

Sociology

SO 251 - Principles of Sociology Credit Hours: 3
SO 254 - Social Problems Credit Hours: 3
SO 260 - Race and Ethnicity Credit Hours: 3

Natural Sciences and Mathematics Distribution Course Options

Math

MA 108 - Trigonometry Credit Hours: 3
MA 110 - College Algebra Credit Hours: 4
MA 124 - Mathematics for Liberal Arts Students Credit Hours: 4
MA 127 - Finite Mathematics with Applications Credit Hours: 4
MA 129 - Survey of Calculus Credit Hours: 5
MA 131 - Precalculus Credit Hours: 5
MA 133 - Calculus with Analytic Geometry I Credit Hours: 5
MA 215 - Statistics Credit Hours: 4

Math (Does not meet MTA Requirement)

MA 107 - Intermediate Algebra Credit Hours: 4

Natural Science (with Lab)

Astronomy

AS 103 - Descriptive Astronomy Credit Hours: 4
AS 106 - The Solar System and Extra-Solar Planets Credit Hours: 4
AS 108 - Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology Credit Hours: 4

Biology

BI 101 - Introductory Biology for Non-Majors Credit Hours: 4
BI 117 - General Human Anatomy and Physiology Credit Hours: 4
BI 121 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Credit Hours: 4
BI 151 - Introduction to Cells, Molecules, and Genes Credit Hours: 4
BI 152 - Biological Diversity Credit Hours: 4

Chemistry

Students fulfilling the Natural Sciences Laboratory requirement, must also successfully complete the corresponding Lecture.

CHM 110 - Chemistry in the Modern World Credit Hours: 4
CHM 120 - Survey of General Chemistry Credit Hours: 5
CHM 130 - General Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
CHM 131 - General Chemistry I Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
CHM 210 - Inorganic, Organic, and Biochemistry Credit Hours: 5

Geography

GE 132 - Physical Geography Credit Hours: 4

Geology

GL 101 - Introduction to Geology Credit Hours: 4
GL 111 - Earth Science Credit Hours: 4

Integrated Science

SCI 201 - Integrated Life Science Credit Hours: 4

Physics

PH 111 - Physics of Everyday Life Credit Hours: 5
PH 115 - Technical Physics Credit Hours: 5
PH 125 - College Physics I Credit Hours: 5
PH 245 - Calculus Physics I Credit Hours: 5

Physical Science

PC 101 - General Physical Science Credit Hours: 4

Natural Science (non-lab)

AS 102 - Introductory Astronomy Credit Hours: 3
BI 110 - Biology in Society Credit Hours: 3
BI 118 - Environmental Science Credit Hours: 3
BI 125 - Personal Health Credit Hours: 3
CHM 100 - Basic Chemistry Credit Hours: 3
GE 225 - Global Environmental Issues Credit Hours: 4
GE 260 - Global Climate Change Credit Hours: 4
GL 106 - Environmental Geoscience Credit Hours: 3