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Disciplines
In this component, students explore the different scholarly practices and disciplinary thinking that exist throughout the Arts & Sciences. Students explore a wide range of topics and material drawn from seven disciplines that reflect the richness, breadth, and interconnectedness of the liberal arts and sciences. Students will take one class in each discipline, each consisting of many course options across numerous departments, giving students the freedom to tailor this component to their interests and schedule.
Competency Requirements
Students in this general education curriculum must complete three competency requirements: the First Writing Requirement, the Second Writing Requirement, and the Foreign Language Requirement.
Area Requirements
Students in this general education curriculum fulfill Area Requirements by earning the proper number of credits from courses taken in each of five different academic subject areas. The list of subject areas and their related credit requirement is:
- Social Sciences - 6 credits from two different departments
- Humanities - 6 credits from two different categories
- Historical Studies - one 3 or more credit course
- Non-western Perspectives - one 3 or more credit course
- Natural Science and Mathematics - 12 credits from two different departments
Forums Beginning 2016
Creative Processes and Practices
Explore creativity and artistic practice through ensemble collaboration
Epidemics
Research the profound scientific and social impacts of epidemic outbreaks
Human Impact on the Environment
Trace the impact and effects of humanity on the environment
Mobility and Community
Discover links between social and economic systems that have profound effects
Visions of the Good
Tackle the considerations of determining what is “good” in our contemporary world
Forums Beginning 2017
Food, Society, and Sustainability
Investigate the role of food as a vital component of global humanity and an artifact of cultural, natural, and political systems.
Space, Knowledge, and Power
Consider the real and theoretical implications of spatial dimension on the human experience
Visions of the Good
Tackle the philosophical and practical considerations of determining what is “good” in our contemporary world.
Engagements
We have asked faculty from across the College of Arts & Sciences to design their dream courses, then teach them to first-year students as a way of asking questions regarding Aesthetics, Empiricism, Difference, and Ethics.
Small, seminar-style courses that put you face-to-face with many of UVA's premier faculty, the Engagements are different from your typical first-year classes at UVA - they ask big questions with no right answers, asking you to discuss (and even challenge) your ideas and beliefs.
Literacies
In this component, students develop their capacity to understand and engage the world even more deeply. You will equip yourselves with modern languages, learning how to communicate in speech and writing, with numbers, and across barriers.
Forums Beginning 2019
Corruption, Governance and Institutions
Examine the caustic effects of corruption on both government and economic institutions
Ideals and Injustices
Consider ideals that have shaped democracies around the world and the realities of injustices that have accompanied them.
The World Gone Wrong
Question why the world seems unfair and how we build our worlds anew.
Visions of the Good
Tackle the philosophical and practical considerations of determining what is “good” in our contemporary world.
Unique to General Education at UVA are the College Fellows. Faculty from across Arts & Sciences departments join the College Fellows program for a two-year term to teach the core Engagement courses. Before stepping into the classroom, each cohort of College Fellows spends a semester collaborating on syllabi, projects, and big ideas that cut across disciplines in order to bring their dream courses to life.