General Education Requirements for Azusa Pacific University Requirement Helpful Hints & Comments First-Year Seminar Course must focus on orientation to college academics while maintaining instruction in orientation, transitions, and holistic wellness. Typically, a 3-unit course. Not required for students who transfer in 30+ units. Writing 1: The Art & Craft of Writing Any first-semester composition course. Often titled "Freshman Composition," "College Composition," or "Reading and Composition." Must include basic research skills and a research paper. Writing 2: Genre, Evidence, & Persuasion Courses titled "Critical Thinking," "Advanced Composition," etc., that follow a basic freshman level writing course. These courses involve the use of logic, critical thinking, rhetoric, and advanced composition. In addition, genre-specific writing courses will introduce students to the genres of writing, rhetorical moves, and forms of evidence in a specific discipline. Possible courses include: Writing in the Humanities, Writing in the Social Sciences, Writing in the Arts, Writing in Theology, Writing in Business, Writing in Nursing, etc. Must include a research component. Writing 3: Writing in the Disciplines This category focuses on preparing students to be professionals in a field by being independent thinkers capable of constructing their own knowledge, including producing polished writing products in the genres of writing that students are likely to use in their future professions. Most courses in this category are required for the specific APU major and are therefore not likely to be fulfilled by a student's transfer work. Oral Communication Any Public Speaking or Oral Communication course. Must contain at least 3 individual public speeches. Also, communication courses in Interpersonal, Small Group, Argumentation and Debate, and Intercultural areas are acceptable (however, some majors may require Public Speaking). Cannot be taken as a hybrid course. Personal Wellness Any physical activity course with a cardio component and instruction in fitness principles. This includes individual activities, team sports, dance, yoga/mat exercise courses, and intercollegiate sports. Activities with limited physical activity such as badminton, golf, bowling, etc. will not fulfill the requirement. Quantitative Literacy Any course from the Math department of the transferring school that has a prerequisite of Intermediate Algebra. However, certain majors require College Algebra. Please refer to the APU catalog to determine whether or not your major requires College Algebra. In addition, Statistics and Applied Statistics courses (e.g. "Statistics for Behavioral Sciences") with an Intermediate Algebra prerequisite will meet this requirement. Biblical, Theological, & Philosophical Formation- Philosophy Requirement Must be a broad philosophy course such as Intro to Philosophy, History of Philosophy, philosophy-based Logic, Critical Thinking, and Ethics. All other courses must be evaluated by the Department of Theology & Philosophy for transfer. Humanities- History, Literature, & Fine Arts Requirement Must choose one course from each discipline (3 courses total): History, Literature, and Fine Arts. History courses must be survey courses in world, western, or U.S. history (typically split into two time periods). Literature courses must be broad, surveys of literature that explore the literary genres of fiction, drama, and poetry. Fine Arts courses must be broad, survey courses in Art, Music, Drama, or Theater (sometimes History of Cinema, Drama, or Theater courses) covering approximately 100 years. These must be lecture courses and not studio or applied courses such as drawing, painting, singing, piano, etc. Examples of acceptable courses from these categories include (but not limited to) World Civilizations to 1648, Intro to Literature, Art History, Music Fundamentals, etc. Social Sciences One course from the following disciplines: Sociology, Psychology, Economics, Anthropology, Communication Studies, or Political Science. Examples of courses include (but not limited to) Intro to Sociology, General Psychology, Intro to Criminal Justice, Cultural Anthropology, Mass Media, etc. Natural Sciences One course: lecture and lab component required. Any basic course in the life or physical sciences. Examples of courses include Fundamentals of Biology, General Biology, Fundamentals of Chemistry, General Chemistry, Introduction to Astronomy, Physical Geology/Geography, Fundamentals of Physics, General Physics, Oceanography, Zoology, Marine Biology. Biology and Chemistry labs cannot be taken online. However, certain majors require specific science courses. Please refer to the APU catalog to determine whether or not your major requires specific science courses.
