General Education Requirements

*Passing a competency examination fulfills the requirement for the core competency, it does not result in the awarding of NIU course credit (i.e., it reduces the required number of general education hours but does not reduce the number of hours required for a degree.) Students with strong academic credentials are encouraged to attempt the competency examinations. Information on competency examinations is available from the Office of Testing Services.

English

The English core competency requirement can be satisfied by:

• Obtaining a grade of C or better in ENGL 103 and ENGL 104 or
• Obtaining a grade of C or better in ENGL 105 or
• Equivalent transfer credit or
• Passing the English Core Competency II Examination or
• Obtaining credit for ENGL 103 and ENGL 104 through credit by examination (Advanced Placement)

NOTE: For students who have earned a D in either ENGL 103 or 104, or both, equivalent courses in which the student earned a grade of C or better at institutions participating in the Illinois Articulation Initiative will be accepted to satisfy the English core competency requirement, but do not earn transfer credit. Equivalent courses in which the student earned a grade of C or better at other institutions may be accepted to satisfy the English core competency requirement, but do not earn transfer credit.

Oral Communication

The oral communication core competency requirement can be satisfied by:

• Passing COMS 100 or
• Obtaining equivalent transfer credit or
• Passing the Oral Communication Core Competency Examination

Mathematics

The mathematics core competency requirement can be satisfied by:

• Passing MATH 101 or
• Obtaining a grade of C or better in MATH 155, MATH 201, MATH 206, MATH 210, MATH 211, or MATH 229 or
• Obtaining credit for one of the mathematics courses listed above, except MATH 101, through credit by examination (Advanced Placement) or
• Obtaining a grade of C or better in STAT 208*, STAT 301, STAT 350, ISYE 335, or UBUS 223; and obtaining a grade of C or better in MATH 110 or
• ACT mathematics score of at least 24 or
• SAT mathematics score of at least 560 or
• A- or B-level placement on the mathematics placement examination or
• Obtaining equivalent transfer credit or
• Passing the Mathematics Core Competency Examination

*If STAT 208 is used in the manner described above to fulfill the mathematics core competency requirement, then it cannot also be used in the sciences and mathematics area of distributive studies.

Enrollment in courses offered at NIU which fulfill NIU’s core competency requirement in mathematics requires an entry-skill level, determined through placement testing and/or explicit prerequisites, at least equal to that expected from the successful completion of an intermediate algebra course. Such a course is not offered by NIU.

Distributive Studies Area Requirements

There is a required minimum of 29 semester hours in the distributive studies areas (humanities and the arts, sciences and mathematics, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies), which cannot include more than three courses in any one department.

Students are not permitted to count a course in their major department for fulfillment of distributive studies area requirements unless they are completing a second major.

• This provision does not include a second emphasis within the same major department
• Majors in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures may take FLCL 271, FLFR 371 (except French majors), FLIT 272, and FLRU 261 (except Russian majors) for general education credit.

Individual departments may impose additional restrictions on the courses that their majors may apply to general education requirements. These are described in the departmental sections of this catalog.

The requirements in the distributive studies area may be met by successfully completing the designated courses, by transfer credit, or, for some distributive studies courses, through credit by examination. (See “Credit by Examination.”) Credit for all 100- and 200-level general education courses in the distributive studies area may be earned through credit by examination. For more information, contact the department offering the course.

All students must satisfactorily complete the following requirements in the distributive studies areas:

Humanities and the arts (9-12)

Students must earn from 9 to 12 semester hours in the humanities and the arts area with at least one course taken in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and at least one course taken in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, with no more than 6 semester hours taken in any one department.

Sciences and mathematics (7-11)

Students must earn from 7 to 11 semester hours in the sciences and mathematics area in courses taken in at least two but no more than three departments.

Social sciences (6-9)

Students must earn from 6 to 9 semester hours in the social sciences area with no more than 6 semester hours taken in any one department.

Interdisciplinary studies (3-6)

Students must earn 3 to 6 semester hours in the interdisciplinary studies area.