CAS General Education Requirements
for Media Arts and Performing Arts
In addition to the information given here and on the following pages, students are referred to individual department handbooks for additional information and requirements.
Students in any Media Arts and Performing Arts degree must earn a minimum of 120 credits. The BFA in Musical Theatre requires a minimum of 121 credits.
General Education Requirements
Students in the Department of Communication must complete the CAS General Education Curriculum as listed under the College of Arts and Sciences. All other majors in Media Arts and Performing Arts must complete these requirements:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| I. ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES: | ||
| Reading and Writing | 6 | |
| Seminar in Writing and Rhetoric | ||
or BHP 100 | Honors Seminar: Great Ideas I | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Seminar in Writing and Research | ||
or BHP 150 | Honors Seminar: Great Ideas II | |
| Literature and Composition | ||
| Mathematical Reasoning 1 | 3-4 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Finite Mathematics | ||
| Algebra and Trigonometry | ||
or MTH 106 | Precalculus | |
| Foreign Language Proficiency 2 | 3-6 | |
| Select one or two Chinese courses depending on placement test: | ||
| Chinese I | ||
| Chinese II | ||
| Chinese III | ||
| Chinese IV | ||
Or CHI 3-400 level course taught in Chinese | ||
| OR select one or two French courses depending on placement test: | ||
| French I | ||
| French II | ||
| French III | ||
| French IV | ||
OR FRE 3-400 level course taught in French | ||
| OR select one or two German courses depending on placement test: | ||
| German I | ||
| German II | ||
| German III | ||
| German IV | ||
| OR select one or two Italian courses depending on placement test: | ||
| Italian I | ||
| Italian II | ||
| Italian III | ||
| Italian IV | ||
| OR select one or two Spanish courses depending on placement test: | ||
| Spanish I | ||
| Spanish II | ||
or SPA 102 | Elementary Spanish II Abroad | |
or SPA 103 | ||
| Spanish III | ||
| Spanish IV | ||
| Or SPA 3-400 level course taught in Spanish | ||
| II. DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES | ||
| Scientific Perspectives: | 3-4 | |
| To fulfill the Scientific Perspectives requirement, students may take either a lecture/lab combination (4 credits) or one 3-credit non-lab courses. Students who have taken a PSY course to fulfill the Social Perspectives requirement may not take a PSY course to fulfill the Scientific Perspective requirement. | ||
| A. 3-Credit Non-Lab Courses | ||
| Chemistry and Conflict | ||
| Idea to Innovation | ||
| Honors Seminar: The Environment: a Conflict of Interest | ||
| The Rhetoric of Science | ||
| Nature and Nurture | ||
| Life Science | ||
| Life Science: Brain and Behavior | ||
| Chemistry & Society | ||
| Future of Natural Resources | ||
| Introduction to Climate Change | ||
| Earth Systems Science | ||
| Geology of National Parks | ||
| Environmental Geology | ||
| Mesozoic Ruling Reptiles | ||
| Oceanography | ||
| Introduction to Psychology | ||
| Astronomy | ||
| The Science of Mental Illness | ||
| Introduction to Forensics | ||
| B. Lecture/Lab Combination Courses | ||
| Chemistry in the Kitchen and Chemistry in the Kitchen Lab | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Sciences and Introduction to Environmental Sciences Lab | ||
| Earth Systems Science and Earth Materials and Processes Lab | ||
| Oceanography and Introductory Oceanography Lab | ||
| Introduction to Sustainability Studies and Intro to Sustainability Lab | ||
| Social Perspectives: | 3 | |
| Select one of the following. The course selected in this category cannot be from the same academic department. Students who have taken a PSY course to fulfill the Scientific Perspectives requirement may not take a PSY course to fulfill the Social Perspectives requirement. | ||
| Nineteen Eighty-Four in Context: George Orwell’s Enduring Legacy | ||
| Under the Influence: Drugs, Deviance, and Culture | ||
| Honors Seminar:Politics/Literacy | ||
| Children and the Media | ||
| Creativity and Design Thinking | ||
| A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Play | ||
| Honors Seminar: The Environment: a Conflict of Interest | ||
| The Online Explosion: Radical Changes in Business and Communication | ||
| The Rhetoric of Science | ||
| The Law and Racial Progress | ||
| Mirrors of the Mind: The Interplay of Literature and Psychology | ||
| Honors Seminar: 20th Century European Ideologies | ||
| Nature and Nurture | ||
| Moral Psychology | ||
| Communication, Culture and Media | ||
| Global Film & Media Industries | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Power and Privilege in a Multicultural Society | ||
or GSS 110 | Race, Class and Gender in Contemporary American Society | |
| Power and Privilege in a Multicultural Society | ||
| U.S. Politics in Crisis | ||
| Power, Politics and Justice | ||
| Explorations in Psychology Honors | ||
| Psychology:The Science of Well-being | ||
| Psychology of Creativity | ||
| Psychology of Women | ||
| Sociological Imagination | ||
| Social Movements Abroad | ||
| Historical Perspectives: | 6 | |
| World History to 1500 | ||
| World History Since 1500 | ||
| Literature | 3 | |
| Select one course from the following list: | ||
| American Memoir and Autobiography | ||
| Poetry and Poetics in American Culture | ||
| Kurt Vonnegut’s America | ||
| Age of Shakespeare: A Study in Cultural History | ||
| Nineteen Eighty-Four in Context: George Orwell’s Enduring Legacy | ||
| Understanding Literature | ||
| Under the Influence: Drugs, Deviance, and Culture | ||
| Honors Seminar:Politics/Literacy | ||
| Honors Seminar: Existentialism in Literature | ||
| Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Age of Empire | ||
BHP 268 | ||
| Shakespeare: Page, Stage & Screen | ||
| Mirrors of the Mind: The Interplay of Literature and Psychology | ||
| Honors Seminar: 20th Century European Ideologies | ||
| Images of Women in Chinese Literature and Film | ||
| Understanding Literature | ||
| Arthurian Legends in Literature | ||
| Major American Authors | ||
| Major British Authors | ||
| Literature and Mythology | ||
| Monsters in Literature | ||
| Satire and Comedy | ||
| Introduction To Shakespeare | ||
| Literature and the Environment | ||
| Literature and Violence | ||
| Literature & Society | ||
| Literature and Psychology | ||
| Crime and Literature | ||
| Science Fiction | ||
| Black American Lit | ||
| Multi-Ethnic Literature in America | ||
| Women In Literature | ||
| Major Poets | ||
| The Short Story | ||
| Human Relationships in Literature (HONORS) | ||
| Global Literature | ||
| An Introduction to French Literature | ||
| Cultural Expression in French Film and Television | ||
| Portrait of the Hero in French Fiction | ||
| Mask & Reality in French Theater | ||
| Self in French Prose & Poetry | ||
| A Quest for Identity: Francophone Literature and Culture | ||
| Sex, Gender, and Fairy Tales | ||
| Masterworks of Western Literature I | ||
| Masterworks of Western Literature II | ||
| Law, Literature, and Film in America | ||
| Introduction to Spanish Literature | ||
| Introduction to Latin-American/Latino Literature | ||
| The Hispanic Short Story: Transatlantic Connections | ||
| The Spanish Golden Age | ||
| From Colonies to Nations | ||
| Latin American/Latino Film and Fiction | ||
| Philosophical Perspectives: | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Honors Seminar: Existentialism in Literature | ||
| Presence of Mind — Artificial Intelligence and Human Creativity | ||
| Moral Psychology | ||
| Plato and Aristotle | ||
| Philosophical Thinking | ||
| Logic and Language | ||
| Ethics | ||
| American Philosophy | ||
| Philosophies of Education | ||
| Political Philosophy | ||
| Social Philosophy | ||
| Asian Philosophy | ||
| Symbolic Logic | ||
| Environmental Ethics | ||
| Modern Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy of the Sexes | ||
| Medical Ethics | ||
| Problems in 20th-Century Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy of Science | ||
| Theories of Knowledge | ||
| Philosophy of Mind | ||
| Theories of Reality | ||
| Indian Philosophy | ||
| Chinese Philosophy | ||
| Contemporary Ethics | ||
| Japanese Philosophy | ||
| Total Credits | 30-35 | |
- 1
College Reading required only of those students scoring 470 or lower on the reading comprehension portion of the SAT.
- 2
Students who place at the 101-level or above are still expected to take a minimum of three (3) credits at the level of placement. Students who are native speakers of languages not offered at Rider University may have the Foreign Language requirement waived upon documentation of proficiency. This documentation could be in the form of a transcript on letterhead sent by the accreditated institution abroad, or fee-based proficiency tests. To initiate a request for a waiver, students should see the chairperson of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
- 3
MTH 100 may be required based upon ACT/SAT scores.