Global Perspective Requirements (6 credits)
For students admitted for Fall 2017 or later, the Global Perspective graduation requirement is slightly revised:
The UW-Stout Global Perspectives requirement plays a critical role in helping students develop an understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of the world. It helps students see local, regional, and global connections, and thus, how their own behaviors, ideas, and activities are globally situated. Understanding global perspectives and how they are formed is not just a prerequisite for becoming a global citizen; it is necessary for becoming an engaged citizen of any local community. Therefore, to earn a bachelor’s degree, students must fulfill a global perspective requirement, by:
- Completing six credits of university-approved work or
- Completing six credits of courses approved by the CIC as fulfilling the global perspective requirement.*
*For a course to fulfill the global perspective requirement, it must engage in at least two of the following four categories, 1-4, and at least one subsection within these categories:
1. Global self-awareness: Requires consciousness of the thoughts, feelings, values and biases one has about oneself in relation to the global community and an appreciation that a person’s worldview is neither permanent, universally shared, nor necessarily lawful, moral, or ethical. It assumes that we know ourselves, in part, by knowing and valuing the histories, identities and values of diverse others.
A. Identify, analyze and evaluate one’s own cultural norms, values, and biases regarding global communities and issues, and demonstrate awareness of how one’s experiences have shaped these norms, values and biases. Demonstrate the ability to think globally, articulating one’s place as a global citizen.
B. Demonstrate the ability to view and critique diverse global issues with awareness, sensitivity, curiosity, ambiguity and complexity.
C. Develop appreciation for diverse voices and stories and the contributions of cultures and countries different from one’s own.
2. Global knowledge: Global knowledge requires understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of the world.
A. Develop a systemic understanding of the interrelationships and contradictions between and within the self, cultures, international and intercultural issues, societal trends and socioeconomic institutions.
B. Recognize social, economic and environmental impacts on the developments, trends and problems facing the world community. Examples include population growth, migrations, global economic structures and disparities, depletion of resources and international conflicts.
C. Demonstrate knowledge of inequities around the world and the historical roots for these inequities. Examples include the impact of globalized capitalism and neoliberalism on economic systems, inter and intra-societal stratification, civil and human rights, and sustainability.
D. Express a critical understanding of the value systems, cultural, political and economic norms and practices, business and technical standards, communication styles, and social formations representative of global societies, in current and historical context.
3. Global viewpoint: Global viewpoint requires the ability to look at global issues from multiple perspectives, through different historical lenses, or in terms of different theoretical frameworks.
A. Critically examine assumptions and intellectual debates about global issues relevant to a discipline.
B. Identify and evaluate different social, ethical and moral questions that underlie cultural, political and/or economic relationships within and between countries.
C. Engage in respectful dialogues with global cultural communities, leading to multiperspective analysis of local, international and intercultural problems.
D. Pose critical questions about the construction of global power relations, and investigate the diverse dynamics of social, economic and political global transactions.
E. Evaluate the need for sustainable communities and economic practices across the globe.
4. Global engagement: Global engagement uses knowledge and skills to take effective critical action, contributing to positive change in globally diverse, interconnected and interdependent natural, social and business environments.
A. Demonstrate an understanding of how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate verbally and nonverbally, and perceive the world around them.
B. Act, personally or collaboratively, in creative and ethical ways, to contribute to problem solving locally, regionally, and/or globally, and assess the impact of actions taken.
C. Plan, apply or evaluate strategies for addressing global conflicts, creating paths to peaceful resolutions, and collaborating and working effectively within and across diverse cultures.
D. Evaluate laws, standards, policies or practices that claim to contribute to social, cultural, economic, political and environmental improvements, locally, regionally or globally.
E. Create or design appropriate technical solutions for local, regional, or global life, and assess the impacts of the design.
The following Global Perspective (GLP) courses count toward the six-credit requirement:
Global Perspective Course List
General Education Requirements (40 credits)
The General Education Program provides the core of what it means to be a well-educated university graduate. The goal is to promote human excellence through a broad foundation of skills and knowledge required to realize a meaningful personal, professional, and civic life. The General Education Program is intended to enable students to contribute to and live responsibly in a diverse, interconnected, and technologically sophisticated global community.
In accordance with the general education program, general education courses should be accessible to a broad audience and should further the goal of providing a well-rounded education regardless of career aspirations or program of study.
In this spirit, academic programs should provide flexibility for students to select from the General Education course array and limit the use of prescribed General Education courses within an academic degree program plan.
Each degree program has a general education component designed to provide you with knowledge and skills in communication, analytic reasoning, natural sciences, arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, cross-disciplinary issues , social responsibility and ethical reasoning. Listed below are the general education requirements and courses that will fulfill these requirements. General education courses are listed by category and area. Not all courses are offered each semester. Changes to the course list can occur at any time. Some degree programs have specific general education courses that must be taken in order to satisfy certification, accreditation or prerequisite standards. These exceptions are noted on your program plan sheet.
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