2. General Education

The Pioneer Path Requirement

The Pioneer Path provides a common intellectual experience for all Marietta College students. The Pioneer Path is designed to support student learning and success by intentionally tying together the various degree components--the General Education, the Major, and the secondary concentration(s)...so that the whole of a Marietta College education is greater than the sum of its parts.

The core courses that form the Pioneer Path provide mile-posts for students to measure their progress toward graduation while fostering student growth in essential intellectual skills as well as personal/social responsibilities vital to success in all areas of life, benefits that will continue long after graduation.

To this end, Marietta College students will complete the following requirements:

PIO 101 Information Literacy

PIO 102 Student Engagement

PIO 201 Integrated Learning Seminar

WRIT 102 College Composition*

COMM 203 Fundamentals of Communication*

A Junior Core Course

A Capstone Course

Transfer students matriculating at Marietta College with 24 or more credits, excluding those completed while a high school student, are exempted from taking PIO 101/102. However, a transfer student section of PIO 102 is available for transfer students who may find the course beneficial in acclimating to the Marietta College community.

Students enrolled in PIO 101/102 may not drop or withdraw from the course without special permission from the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Curriculum.

*Students whose ACT/SAT scores and/or high school GPA are below expected minimums may be required to take WRIT 101 Basics of Composition before enrolling in WRIT 102. A minimum grade of C- is required in WRIT 102 before students may enroll in COMM 203, which also requires completion with a C- or better to fulfill the graduation requirement.

PIO 201 Integrated Learning

PIO 201 will be taken after successful completion of COMM 203 with a C- or better. This integrated learning course will reinforce and further build upon learning outcomes established in the first year. Students will focus on the writing process through projects that integrate the liberal arts and information literacy.

Junior Core

The Junior Core is a 3-credit course at an advanced level that demonstrates the ethical and moral problems posed by the discipline of the major and exposes students to the communication and professional skills prevalent in their field. This requirement will normally be fulfilled with a single course; however, in select disciplines, it may be met by a combination of courses at an advanced level. PIO 201 is a prerequisite to the Junior Core with the exception that a transfer student who enrolls at Marietta College with at least 59 prior credit hours may enroll in PIO 201 and the Junior Core concurrently.

Capstone

All majors will include a capstone course or combination of courses. These capstone experiences will culminate and synthesize the learning that has taken place over the entire undergraduate career, building not only on the courses within the major, but also exercising the student’s abilities in writing, speaking, thinking critically, and solving problems. While the specific form of the Capstone varies across the programs, it should include independent (individual or group) work. Examples include original research, an internship, artistic performance or creation, a teaching practicum, a practical consultancy that applies theory and knowledge to a business or other organization, etc.

The Distribution Requirement

In addition to completing the 18 credits of Core Courses, a student must also complete 28 hours across the following five Distribution Categories:

Artistic Expression - AE (6 Hours)

Artistic Expression courses focus on participation in and examination of aesthetic creation. Through art, individuals and groups explore the intersections of ideas and feelings, as well as the relationship between literal and figurative expression. Courses with the following prefixes generally are eligible for the Artistic Expression distribution category:

ART, DANC, ENGL. GRPH, MUSC, THEA, WRIT (excluding WRIT 101/102)

Civilization & Culture - CC (6 Hours)

Civilization and Culture courses focus on how cultural, linguistic, philosophical, political, economic, and religious structures within localities and regions work with and against each other to form civilizations. It further examines how structures of the past relate to those found in our present world. Courses with the following prefixes generally are eligible for the Civilization & Culture distribution category:

ASN, ARTH, CHIN, HIST, LING, PHIL, PORT, RELI, SPAN

Social Analysis - SA (6 Hours)

Social Analysis courses focus on systematized efforts to understand human behavior and relationships. It converts complex human actions and interactions into observable, testable, interpretable data. Courses with the following prefixes generally are eligible for the Social Analysis distribution category:

ECON, ENTR, ENVS, GEND, MASS, COMM (excluding COMM 203), MNGT, MKTG, POLS, SOCI

Scientific Inquiry - SIB (includes lab) SIC (non-lab) (7-8 Hours including at least one lecture/lab course)

Scientific Inquiry courses focus on systematized efforts to understand the living and non-living natural world. It demonstrates how laws of nature are inferred, isolated, observed, tested, interpreted, and shared. Courses with the following prefixes generally are eligible for the Scientific Inquiry distribution category:

ASTR, BIOL, CHEM, ENGY, ENVR, GEOL, PHYS, PSYC

Quantitative Reasoning - QR (3 Hours)

Quantitative Reasoning courses focus on the process by which problems are described mathematically and solved within a structured mathematical framework, as well as to the manipulation and interpretation of numerical categorical information. Courses with the MATH prefix generally are eligible for the Quantitative Reasoning distribution category.

Course Eligibility Exceptions

Courses outside of these categories may be eligible

Some courses not within these disciplines have been deemed eligible to fulfill Distribution Requirements by the Curriculum Committee and are labeled in the Course Descriptions and online Course Schedule with the appropriate category.

Courses within these categories may not be eligible

Similarly, some courses within these disciplines have been excluded from the distribution category noted. These too are identified in the college descriptions and course schedule.

NOTE: Co-curricular hours can fulfill a maximum of three (3) credit hours per Distribution category. Additionally, internships and other types of individualized study may not be applied toward the Distribution Requirement.

The Experiential Education Requirement

Centered in the Institutional Student Learning Outcome (ISLO) of Integrative Learning, the Experiential Education requirement -- the Pioneer TRAIL -- is a deep learning opportunity that challenges students to engage in the integrative process of experiential education. Building across the curriculum and co-curriculum, students learn to Transfer theory to practice, Reflect on the experience and its impact on their sense of self, Actively experience knowledge through application, Integrate relevant experience and academic knowledge, and foster an appreciation for Life-long learning.

Every student must successfully complete at least one (1) approved transcribed and graded experiential education component in order to graduate from Marietta College.

Students may complete the experiential education requirement in one of five areas:

International Experience

• International Study Abroad Semester
• International Short-Term Trips, including faculty-led trips

Research or Creative Project

• Research—A quality research experience in which a student is involved in:
  • The formation of the research question(s) and hypothesis(es);
  • The methodological design of the research study;
  • Maneuvering through the appropriate review channels (IRB, etc.);
  • The collection, analysis, and interpretation of data;
  • A presentation of the material related to their specific project.

• Creative Project—An applied work or an artistic creation, such as an art show, a music composition, or the writing of a play. The work should include a self-standing explanatory text.

Service Learning

• Service learning is a form of experiential education that offers students a structured and academically rigorous way to engage in community service. Students participate in community-based projects, volunteer opportunities, or research that is integrated into course curriculum and overseen by instructors.

Internship

• An internship is a work and learning experience shaped by reflection and goal-setting. Internships should be completed under the mentorship of an instructor or advisor and an on-site supervisor.

Leadership Development

• Student leadership development will occur through structured and rigorous curricular and co-curricular offerings. Students will participate in leadership and/or followership roles on projects overseen by course instructors and integrated into course design and delivery. Completion of these projects includes a critical reflection that connects leadership and followership with academic content.

The Language Proficiency Requirement

The study of a second language is important for a number of reasons:

• The ability to communicate with people from another culture is valuable.
• Learning other languages vastly increases one’s own understanding of his or her native language and of language in general. Our culture is flooded with examples of people trying to persuade or mislead by taking advantage of the weak understanding people have of their own language.
• The study of languages provides insight into other cultures and cultural differences, which is very valuable in political and economic terms on a global scale.
• Within a more immediate framework, languages require structured learning that will improve study skills. In the longer term and in a more profound sense, it can result in a deeper understanding of vocabulary and meaning. It can lead to rigorous studies of topics such as those of texts in the original language throughout many disciplines, and thus form a foundation and a touchstone for the liberal arts as a whole.
• Employers value candidates who have knowledge of foreign languages; language study will give our graduates an advantage in the international job pool.

Two semesters of college-level language courses in the same language are required with the following exceptions:

• Students matriculating in Fall 2019 or Spring 2020 with two or more years of high school language at a C- level or higher are exempt.
• Bilingual students are exempt: Non-native English speakers will fulfill the language requirement through successful completion of ESL classes or testing out of ESL through the proficiency exam administered by the Director of English as a Second Language.

If a student has started a language not offered by Marietta College and they wish to continue in that language, alternative acquisition options such as study abroad coursework will be considered for completion of the requirement.