Recommended first courses in major/minor(s)

First course to take

AFST 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirement.

First course to take

AMST 201

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Historical Inquiry (AIHS) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

Notes

AMST 201 is the recommended first course, but other AMST courses will count toward the major.

First course to take

ANTH 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

Any other ANTH course

First course to take

ARAB 101 

If you have prior knowledge of Arabic or speak Arabic at home, contact the Arabic Studies department for placement.

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed ARAB 221 or the equivalent (including qualifying AP/IB or placement exam scores)

ARAB 231 or ARAB 301

First course to take

ARCH 220, CLSC 301, or CLSC 302

Is this a General Education course?

CLSC 301 and 302 both fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) requirement.

First course to take

ART 121 or 122

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, 121 and 122 both fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement; 122 also fulfills the Integrated Focus: Written Communication (IFWC) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

Contact the Art History department.

First course to take

Some combination of BIOL 199, CHEM 141, and MATH 211

[or BIOL 190 and CHEM 191 if enrolled in IQS; BIOL 192 and CHEM 192 if enrolled in SMART (applications required)]

Is this a General Education course?

Yes. BIOL 199 and CHEM 141 both fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Natural Science (AINS) requirement. MATH 211 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning (AISR) requirement. 

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

See individual departments for policies.

First course to take

BIOL 199 and MATH 211

[or BIOL 190 if enrolled in IQS; BIOL 192 if enrolled in SMART (applications required)]

Is this a General Education course?

Yes. BIOL 199 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Natural Science (AINS) requirement. MATH 211 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning (AISR) requirement. 

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

AP/IB Biology credit is not accepted for a major or minor in Biology.

See other departments for policies.

First course to take

ECON 101 and/or MATH 211

Is this a General Education course?

Yes. ECON 101 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement. MATH 211 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

ECON 102 or ACCT 201

Notes

ECON 101, ACCT 201, and MATH 211 (or 212) are required coursework prior to declaring a major/minor in the Robins School of Business.

First course to take

CHEM 141

[or CHEM 191 if enrolled in IQS; CHEM 192 if enrolled in SMART (applications required)]

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Natural Science (AINS) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

CHEM 205

First course to take

CHIN 101

If you have prior knowledge of Chinese or speak Chinese at home, contact the Chinese Studies department for placement.

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

CHIN 301 or higher

First course to take

CLSC 101 or CLSC 306

Is this a General Education course?

CLSC 101 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Literary & Textual Anaylsis requirement (AILT). CLSC 306 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement. 

First course to take

CMSC 150 or IQS*

*Application required (Integrated Inclusive Science), fall entrance only into the series, first-year students only

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning requirement (AISR).

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

CMSC 221 or CMSC 222

Notes

CMSC 221 can be taken either before or concurrently with CMSC 222.

First course to take

CRWR 300

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Integrated Focus: Written Communication (IFWC) requirement.

First course to take

DANC 248

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

Notes

There are also 200- and 300-level courses that first year students can take. Contact the department chair for more information.

First course to take

DSST 189, PSYC 200 (with qualifying PSYC 100 AP/IB credit), or RHCS 245

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, DSST 189, PSYC 200, and RHCS 245 fulfill the Integrated Focus: Quantitative Data Literacy (IFQD) requirement. 

First course to take

ECON 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

ECON 102

Notes

ECON 101 is a prerequisite for ECON 102

First course to take

EDSO 220

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirement.

First course to take

Any 200-level course taught in the English Department that also fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Literary & Textual Analysis (AILT) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

The department of English does not accept AP/IB courses for major/minor credit.

First course to take

ENVR 201 or 269

Is this a General Education course?

No

First course to take

FMST 201 or FMST 202

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, FMST 201 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Literary & Textual Analysis (AILT) requirement. FMST 202 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) and Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirements.

First course to take

FREN 121

If you have taken some French in high school or speak French at home, please contact the French department for placement. 

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed FREN 221 or the equivalent (including qualifying AP/IB or placement exam scores)

Any FREN 300-level course

First course to take

GSS 200

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

First course to take

GEOG 210 or GEOG 250

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, GEOG 210 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirements. GEOG 250 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Natural Science (AINS) and Integrated Focus: Quantitative Data Literacy (IFQD) requirements.

Notes

GEOG 210 is also cross-listed as GS 210 and GEOG 250 is also cross-listed as ENVR 250.

First course to take

GERM 101

If you have taken some German in high school or speak German at home, please contact the German Studies department for placement.  

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed GERM 202 or the equivalent (including qualifying AP/IB or placement exam scores)

Any GERM 300-level course

First course to take

GS 290

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course meets the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

Notes

Students should also take either PLSC 250 or GS/GEOG 210 

First course to take

GREK 101

If you have taken some Greek in high school or speak Greek at home, please contact the department of Classical Studies for placement.  

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed GREK 202

CLSC 301 or HIST 221, 222, or 223

First course to take

HS 100 or HS 101

Is this a General Education course?

No

First course to take

Any 100- or 200-level course

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, some 100- and 200-level history courses fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement. (Please refer to the course attributes in the university catalog for details.)

First course to take

ITAL 121

If you have taken some Italian in high school or speak Italian at home, please contact the Italian Studies department for placement. 

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed ITAL 221 or the equivalent (including qualifying AP/IB or placement exam scores)

Any 300-level ITAL course

First course to take

JOUR 100 or JOUR 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, JOUR 100 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements. JOUR 101 fulfills the Integrated Focus: Written Communication requirement.

First course to take

LAIS 121 (for beginning Spanish-speakers) or LAIS 301-307 (if the second language requirement is satisfied by examination) 

Is this a General Education course?

Some 300-level courses fulfill general education requirements; please refer to the university catalog for details. 

Notes

For students with advanced or superior proficiency, please review the department website.

First course to take

LATN 101

If you have taken some Latin in high school, please contact the department of Classical Studies for placement. 

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have completed LATN 202 or the equivalent (including qualifying AP/IB or placement exam scores)

Any 300-level LATN course

First course to take

LDST 101 or LDST 102

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, LDST 101 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement. LDST 102 fufills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement. 

Notes

To apply to Jepson, students must have taken, or be enrolled in, LDST 101 or 102 by the fall semester of their sophomore year. Students may take LDST 102 before taking LDST 101.

First course to take

LING 203

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

First course to take

LBST 314 or PORT 302

Is this a General Education course?

No

Notes

LBST 314 is taught in English with no prerequisites; PORT 302 has a prerequisite (see the university catalog for details).

First course to take

MATH 211 or ECON 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, MATH 211 fuliflls the Area if Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning (AISR) requirement. ECON 101 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

MATH 212 or ECON 102

First course to take

MATH 211 

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area if Inquiry: Symbolic Reasoning (AISR) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

Please see the Credit by Exam policy for details.

Calculus Placement

Follow this link to a calculus self-placement test, as well as information about how to prepare for it. If you have taken a class in calculus but are not sure whether to enroll in MATH 211 (Calculus I) or MATH 212 (Calculus II), this is the place to start. You may also find this helpful if you received AP or IB credit for Math 211, but the course you took was some time ago.

First courses to take

MUS 107 (if your music reading skills are limited) or MUS 111; MSAP private lessons on your instrument; and MSEN performance ensemble appropriate to your instrument.

Are any of these classes General Education courses?

Yes, MUS 107 and MUS 111 fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) requirement. Half-unit MSEN courses fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) and Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirements after successful completion of two semesters in the same ensemble. Two half-unit MSAP lessons fulfill the Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

MUS 110: Tonal Harmony I

Notes

Please contact the Music department if you have any questions about the music curriculum. All music students are encouraged to sign-up for private lessons for credit and enroll in an ensemble or chamber music class their first semester on campus.

First course to take

Any 100- or 200-level PHIL course, or an FYS 100 taught in Philosophy

Is this a General Education course?

Some 100- and 200-level PHIL courses fulfill general education requirements; please refer to the university catalog for details. 

First course to take

PHYS 131

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Natural Science (AINS) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

PHYS 132

Notes

Students with excellent preparation should contact the Physics department.

We strongly encourage potential physics majors and engineers to complete both PHYS 131 and PHYS 132 by the end of their first year, because the first courses - PHYS 131, PHYS 132, PHYS 301 - must be taken in sequence, and are prerequisites for all advanced courses. PHYS 301 is usually only offered in the fall.

First course to take

Either PLSC 220 or PLSC 260 (one required for major), or PLSC 240 or PLSC 250 (one required for major)

Is this a General Education course?

PLSC 240, PLSC 250, and PLSC 260 all fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Social Analysis (AISO) requirement.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

PLSC 250, PLSC 260, or PLSC 270 depending on the AP credit(s); please visit the Political Science department website for details. 

First course to take

ECON 101, PHIL 120, or PLSC 220/240/250/260

Is this a General Education course?

ECON 101 fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement. PHIL 120 fulfills the Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirement. Some PLSC courses fulfill general education requirements; please refer to the university catalog for details. 

Notes

Students are encouraged to review the PPEL FAQs or contact the program coordinator. 

First course to take

PSYC 100

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) requirement.

Next course to take if have AP/IB credit

PSYC 200 or PSYC 299

First course to take

Any 100- or 200-level RELG course

Is this a General Education course?

Some RELG courses fulfill general education requirements; please refer to the university catalog for details.

First courses to take

RHCS 100 or RHCS 101

Is this a General Education course?

No

Notes

First-year students interested in enrolling in upper-level RHCS courses should contact the department for more information.

First course to take

RUSN 101

If you have taken some Russian in high school or speak Russian at home, please contact the Russian Studies department for placement. 

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have IB credit

Contact the Russian Studies department.

Notes

Some introductory courses on Russian history and culture are taught in English.

First course to take

SOC 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Area of Inquiry: Social Inquiry (AISO) and Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirements.

First course to take

SUST 101

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, this course fulfills the Integrated Focus: Power, Equity, Identity, & Culture (IFPE) requirement.

First course to take

EDUC 217 or EDUC 218

Is this a General Education course?

No

First course to take

THTR 207 or THTR 208

Is this a General Education course?

Yes, both courses fulfill the Area of Inquiry: Visual & Performing Arts (AIVP) and Integrated Focus: Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirements.

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

AP/IB credit not accepted for major

Notes

There are also 200- and 300-level courses that first-year students can take, contact the department chair for more information.

First course to take

VMAP 211 or VMAP 212

Is this a General Education course?

No

Next course to take if you have AP/IB credit

Contact Studio Art department chair.

Notes

Students can also take a required art history survey: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.