Liberal Education Requirements & Gold Curriculum

Gold Curriculum

Women’s College must complete the GOLD Program Curriculum in order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Gold Curriculum courses are designated by a “W” as the last character in the course number. Please see the table below for the required course hours. The number of required hours are prorated based on the number of transfer hours. Students are encouraged to take as many “W” courses as possible. This requirement can not be waived based on a previous degree.

These courses have a W as the ending character in the course number.

W courses can be searched by clicking on “Courses” in the catalog dashboard

and typing *W in the “Code or Number” box and then clicking the “filter” button.

W courses would replace the “standard” version in the students program. (ex. EH 101W would replace EH 101). W courses emphasize the experience and expertise of women throughout course design and delivery. Students will identify and analyze the contributions and experiences of women. More than 50% of course activities, readings, and assessments emphasize and explore female experience, perspective, or expertise.

Undergraduate students not enrolled in the Women’s College do not complete in the Gold Curriculum.

Liberal Education Requirements:

Brenau University and its faculty are dedicated to the goal of providing students with a thorough background in the liberal arts, as well as academic and professional skills which will help them become enlightened and productive members of society. To that end, the faculty developed a liberal education curriculum based on expectations and learning outcomes.

This liberal education curriculum is divided into four learning portals: World Understanding, Scientific and Analytic Curiosity, Artistic and Creative Imagination and Communication and Language Fluency.

• World Understanding Learning
• Scientific and Analytic Curiosity
• Artistic and Creative Imagination
• Communication and Language Fluency

Courses applied in one portal may not be applied in another portal. However, courses applied in the Liberal Education may be applied toward a student’s major or minor.

Students with an A.A., A.S. or a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are exempt from Liberal Education requirements for Brenau’s bachelor degree programs. This exemption does not extend to any other associate’s degree (ex. A.A.S., A.A.T.). This exemption does not affect transfer credit. All college-level credit that conforms to Brenau’s transfer credit policy will be recorded on the student’s Brenau transcript. This exemption does not affect any major courses required or any major foundation courses required.

Note: If an LE course has a “W” course version, that course can be used in place of the standard course version for the student’s LE requirement. (ex. EH 101 or EH 101W satisfy the LE writing requirement.

Professional Development

Education Majors must earn a grade of “C” or better in all major classes, including concentration electives. See the program plan for courses that can be cross/dual used between the liberal education and the major. In addition to all the course requirements, students must pass the Teaching Field Content Exams for academic content area (GACE) prior to student teaching. Students must have a major and overall grade point average of 2.75.

• ED 200 - Introduction to Teacher Education  §
• ED 206 - Developmental Psychology
• ED 208 - School and Society *
• ED 250 - Introduction to Multicultural Education *
• SE 300 - Teaching Learners with Special Needs
• ED 301 - Instructional Technology
• ED 308 - Classroom Management
• ED 311 - Effective Planning: Curr/Instr/Tech - ECE
• ED 328 - Legal and Ethical Issues in Education
• ED 339 - Foundations and Cultural Issues for Teaching ESOL
• ED 350 - Educational Assessment
• ED 415 - Applied Instruction

• Note: The GACE content exam must be passed prior to student teaching placement.

• ED 429 - Student Teaching Elementary Education

• § Contains Field Experience.

Content and Methods

• ED 345 - Literacy Concepts  §
• GY 201 - Introduction to Geography *
• ED 213 - History and Politics of Georgia
• MS 203 - Mathematics Concepts for Teachers
• MS 207 - Problem Solving *
• PS 105 - Science Concepts

• Methods Courses

• ED 318 - Integrating Fine Arts Across the Curriculum
• ED 383 - Teaching Math - Elementary Education  §
• ED 384 - Teaching Science - Elementary Education  §
• ED 385 - Teaching Social Studies - Elementary Education  §
• ED 413 - Literacy Methodology for Elementary Education  §
• ED 419 - Literacy Assessment and Diagnosis  §
• ED 420 - Teaching Language Arts-Elementary Education  §

• Content and Methods Total: Credits / Units: 42

• § Contains Field Experience.

Additional Content Coursework

This coursework may apply toward LE requirements and is required of all Early Childhood Education students for GACE content preparation. These courses are not included in the major GPA but are subject to the “C or better” grade policy for education major coursework.

• EH 101 - Written Communication *
• EH 102 - Reading and Research Writing *
• MS 101 - College Algebra *
• HY 201 - History of the United States I *
• BY 105 - Human Biology w/Lab *
• BY 105L - Human Biology Lab *

• One of the following physical science courses:

• PS 100 - Physical Science *
• PS 104 - Earth Science *

• One of the following fine arts courses:

• AH 100 - Art Appreciation *
• MC 101 - World Music Appreciation *

• One of the following literature courses:

• EH 201 - Western World Literature *
• EH 220 - American Literature before 1865 *
• EH 221 - American Literature after 1865 *
• EH 245 - Women’s Literary Studies *

• One of the following speaking courses:

• EH 103 - Oral Communication *
• SP 108 - Fundamentals of Speech *

Total Required Hours

A minimum of 120 hours is required to graduate with this major. It is possible that the student may graduate with more than 120 hours based on placement and transfer credit.

Note: Courses marked with an * are Liberal Education courses.