General Studies

generalstudies.gallaudet.edu

Dr. Jane Dillehay, Acting Director
Jordan Student Academic Center, Room 1225

General Studies  prepares students for successful learning in a complex world where traditional academic disciplines are interrelating, merging and overlapping. Instead of focusing on one subject or content area at a time, the General Studies Curriculum challenges students and faculty members to grapple with the complexities of an interdisciplinary academic setting that mirrors and prepares graduates for the complex world we live in -- a world where technology provides instant access to an ever-growing body of information that weaves together the arts, sciences, and humanities.

No Undergraduate Majors or Minors are offered.

General Studies Undergraduate Courses

GSR 101 First Year Seminar (3)
The purpose of this course is to help new college students make a successful transition to the intellectual and personal demands of college. In this course, students will complete a wide variety of experiences that will help them address these essential questions: Who am I, and how did I get here? What is college all about? Where am I going, and how do I get there? This course is offered as part of a Learning Cluster which integrates GSR 101 (First Year Seminar), GSR 102 (Critical Reading and Writing) and GSR 103 (American Sign Language and Deaf Studies). The professors will work together to design reading, writing, ASL assignments that are meaningful and relevant to the students' lives as new college students.

Prerequisite: Qualifying performance on the English assessment or screening.
Course Fee: $10

GSR 102 Critical Reading and Writing (3)
This course is offered as part of a Learning Cluster which integrates GSR 101 (First Year Seminar), GSR 102 (Critical Reading and Writing), and GSR 103 (American Sign Language and Deaf Studies). This course will focus on specific critical reading and writing skills that students need to succeed in their future coursework. Reading and writing activities and assignments will parallel First Year Seminar learning experiences.

Prerequisite: Qualifying performance on the English assessment.

GSR 103 American Sign Language and Deaf Studies (3)
This course is offered as part of a Learning Cluster which integrates GSR 101 (First Year Seminar), GSR 102 (Critical Reading and Writing) and GSR 103 (American Sign Language and Deaf Studies). The purpose of the course is to prepare students to engage in critical, academic thinking through American Sign Language. Students will be introduced to historical, linguistic, literary and academic dimensions of American Sign Language. Students will learn the differences between formal and informal uses of language and gain experiences in critical analysis of American Sign Language texts. This course will also explore the theme of "Deaf Lives" and engage students in thinking about the complexities involved in identity construction and what it means to live Deaf lives today.

Prerequisite: Qualifying performance on the English assessment or screening and passing ASL screening.

GSR 104 Quantitative Reasoning Approach (3)
The Quantitative Reasoning Approach course is designed to achieve mathematical literacy among liberal arts students. It includes the mathematics, logic, problem-solving skills needed to make informed judgments in the contexts of science, technology, and society. Topics include number sense, statistics, probability, geometry, linear and exponential modeling, graphing, and data analysis. This is not a traditional abstract math class, but focuses on using mathematics and quantitative reasoning as valuable tools for comprehending the world in which we live.

Prerequisite: Qualifying performance on the English assessment or screening; passing ASL screening; high school algebra and passing the math screening test; or passing MAT 040.

GSR 110 Non-Credit Career Development Workshop (0)
The course is designed to help incoming and transfer students develop a resume, practice networking and interview skills, and develop a plan that will lead to an internship to explore their career interests. This workshop will be taught and conducted by the Career Center. Upon successful completion students will receive a passing (P) grade and a certificate. Students are required to complete the Career Development Workshop before they can take the GSR 300 Capstone course.

Prerequisites or Co-requisites: GSR 150; or Permission of Career Center Director.

GSR 150 Introduction to Integrated Learning (4)
This course is intended to help students transition from the basic skills courses of the first semester to the more challenging 200-level Integrated Learning Courses. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic/question; topics/questions will vary from section to section and semester to semester. Whatever the topic, the goal will be to start building competency with regard to all five Undergraduate Learning Outcomes.

Prerequisite: GSR 101, 102.
Prerequisites or Co-requisites: GSR 103.

GSR 195 Special Topics (1-5)
Special topics in the discipline, designed primarily for freshmen. Students may enroll in 195 Special Topics multiple times, as long as the topics differ.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

GSR 210 Comparing Multicultural Perspectives (4)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the third Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Identity and Culture. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to understand complex social identities, including deaf identities, and the interrelations within and among diverse cultures and groups. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 211 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 211 Comparing Multicultural Perspectives with Services Learning (5)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the third Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Identity and Culture. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to understand complex social identities, including deaf identities, and the interrelations within and among diverse cultures and groups. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 211 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 220 Methods of Multiples Disciplines (4)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fourth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Knowledge and Inquiry. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to apply knowledge, modes of inquiry, and technological competence from a variety of disciplines in order to understand human experience and the natural world. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 221 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 221 Methods of Multiples Disciplines with Service Learning (5)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fourth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Knowledge and Inquiry. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to apply knowledge, modes of inquiry, and technological competence from a variety of disciplines in order to understand human experience and the natural world. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 221 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 230 Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning in Context (4)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fourth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Knowledge and Inquiry, in particular scientific and quantitative approaches to understanding human experience and the natural world. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 231 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 104 or MAT 130, GSR 150.

GSR 231 Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning in Context with Service Learning (5)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fourth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Knowledge and Inquiry, in particular scientific and quantitative approaches to understanding human experience and the natural world. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 231 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 104 or MAT 130, GSR 150.

GSR 240 Ethical Evaluations and Actions (4)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fifth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Ethics and Social Responsibility. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to make well-reasoned ethical judgments and to apply those judgments to promote social justice. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 241 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 241 Ethical Evaluations and Actions with Service Learning (5)
This is an Integrated Learning Course which emphasizes the fifth Undergraduate Learning Outcome: Ethics and Social Responsibility. Thus, this course focuses enabling students to make well-reasoned ethical judgments and to apply those judgments to promote social justice. This course will be team-taught by at least two faculty members from different disciplines and will focus on a central topic; topics will vary from section to section and semester to semester. GSR 241 includes a Service Learning focus. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that reinforce and enhance the academic content of the course.

Prerequisite: GSR 150.

GSR 295 Special Topics (1-5)
Special topics in the discipline, designed primarily for sophomores. Students may enroll in 295 Special Topics multiple times, as long as the topics differ.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

GSR 300 General Studies Capstone (4)
This course is a culminating experience that ties together all of Undergraduate Learning Outcomes. Community groups, both local and more far-flung, will present us with problems/needs. Students from various majors will sign up for a specific problem, forming project teams, each of which will facilitated by a faculty member. Each project team will then devise and implement an innovative solution to their problem.

Prerequisite: Completion of all other General Studies requirements.

GSR 395 Special Topics (1-5)
Special topics in the discipline, designed primarily for juniors. Students may enroll in 395 Special Topics multiple times, as long as the topics differ.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.