Spartan Studies Core Requirements
The following courses make up the Core Requirements for Spartan Studies. They build upon the foundation laid in the first-year requirements.
AWR 201 Writing and Research The Local and the Global (4 credits)
This course is taken either as a prerequisite to or concurrently with the Core Humanities course and the Core Social Science course.
Description
AWR 201 builds upon the skills and concepts learned in AWR 101/UT*** 110 by inviting students to examine their relation to the community and the world. It teaches the conventions and expectations of academic research writing, guiding students through their own extended research project. The course teaches project discovery, annotation of source materials, processes of drafting and revision, delivery of a polished final product that adheres to the standards of citation style and conversion of the essay into a clear oral presentation for an audience of peers.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- recognize and appropriately define a research topic related to the local and the global
- identify, locate, and distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate sources
- document sources in an appropriate bibliographic style
- select and defend an extended research project
- communicate research in multiple modes, written, oral, and multimedia
Policies
Students are required to complete AWR 101/UT*** 110 or an equivalent as a prerequisite for AWR 201.
UT*** Core Social Science: Examining the Local and the Global (4 credits)
Select this link for a list of courses fulfilling this requirement.
These courses can be found in the UT Spartan Studies section of the Course Descriptions and are identified as Core Social Science in the Spartan Studies section of the description.
Description
Social or behavioral sciences use empirical data and theory to understand the human world. All students will be required to take a course in a social or behavioral science discipline that reinforces evidence-based approaches to understanding the social world of humans and uses reading and writing as a mode of inquiry and learning. Courses included in the social science core requirement will include content on the local and the global. These courses will also introduce students to the importance of civic engagement.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- use quantitative and/or qualitative evidence-based methods to study social issues in local and global contexts
- demonstrate intentional ways to participate in civic contexts and structures locally and globally
- use reading and writing as a means of inquiry into, engagement with, and reflection on social issues locally and globally
- implement disciplinary conventions in their writing
- exhibit the ability to engage in civic conversations, showing the ability to express, listen, and adapt messages based on others' perspectives
- demonstrate a deep understanding of diverse worldviews, experiences, and power structures locally and globally
Policies
Students must have either completed or be enrolled in AWR 201 Writing and Research before enrolling in Core Social Science: Examining the Local and the Global. These 200-level courses cannot have a prerequisite other than AWR 201. Specific versions of this course cannot be used within majors as a required course, an elective course, or a prerequisite to a major course. This requirement must be completed in residence at the University of Tampa and cannot be satisfied by exams, such as AP, CLEP, etc. or through transfer credits. Students who have earned an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida college system institution will have met all general education requirements, including this course.
UT*** Core Humanities: Making Sense of the Local and the Global (4 credits)
Select this link for a list of courses fulfilling this requirement.
These courses can be found in the UT Spartan Studies section of the Course Descriptions and are identified as Core Humanities in the Spartan Studies section of the description.
Description
Humanities courses use written texts, images, or other cultural expressions as evidence or inspiration and as means to make meaning out of the complexity of the human experience. All students will take a course that uses reading and writing as a mode of inquiry and learning to engage the humanistic disciplines. Humanities courses will examine cultural expressions, ideas, or experiences that focus predominately on selected parts of the world outside of the United States.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- use reading and writing to compare and contrast alternate, contradictory, or divergent cultural expressions and ideas in selected parts of the world outside of the United States
- use reading and writing to analyze the international impact of their own or others' local actions on humanity
- use reading and writing to analyze the connections between worldviews, power structures, and the experiences of people from divergent cultural networks in historical and contemporary contexts
- communicate in multiple modes: written, oral, and multimedia
- implement disciplinary conventions in their writing
- learn to respectfully discuss their own worldview in a diverse environment
Policies
Students must have either completed or be enrolled in AWR 201 Writing and Research before enrolling in Core Humanities: Making Sense of the Local and the Global. These 200-level courses cannot have a prerequisite other than AWR 201. Specific versions of this course cannot be used within majors as a required course, an elective course, or a prerequisite to a major course. This course must be completed in residence at the University of Tampa and cannot be satisfied by exams, such as AP, CLEP, etc. or through transfer credits. Students who have earned an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida college system institution will have met all general education requirements, including this course.
UTAMPA 200 Digital Literacy: Coding (1 credit)
Description
This digital literacy course introduces students to the fundamentals of computer programming through rudimentary instruction in a computer language such as Python. By the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of and competency in computer programming.
Learning Outcome
Students will:
- understand the basic principles of computer programming
Policies
UTAMPA 200, or an equivalent, must be completed before students enroll in the Spartan Studies Culminating Experience. Students who successfully complete CSC 101, ITM 251, MAT 285 or PHY 180 will have met this requirement.
UTAMPA 201 Career Readiness (0 Credits)
It is recommended that students complete this course the semester after completing UTAMPA 102 or UTAMPA 103 or UTAMPA 104 to facilitate their search for internships and jobs after graduation.
Description
This online course will introduce students to resources that will help them determine their career goals, identify strategies for developing and articulating Spartan Ready® Competencies, and develop a professional portfolio.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- identify possible career paths based on interests
- identify Spartan Ready® skills that are particularly relevant to areas of interest
- articulate ways in which they have or could develop relevant Spartan Ready® skills
- create a professional cover letter, resume, and reference list appropriate for a job within an area of interest
Policies
UTAMPA 201, or an equivalent, must be completed before students enroll in the Spartan Studies Culminating Experience. Students who successfully complete CAR 201 or CAR 401 will have met this requirement.
Spartan Studies Culminating Experience (4 credits)
Courses designated as Culminating Experience courses will be identified in the Spartan Studies section of the Course Description.
Description
To finalize their general education at the University of Tampa, students will participate in a culminating experience that requires them to apply the skills they acquired during their years as a Spartan. Students can complete this requirement in a number of ways: in an interdisciplinary course (inside or outside of their major), as part of a capstone course within a major, or in a freestanding Culminating Experience course. The Culminating Experience helps students reflect upon and apply the knowledge and skills they have learned throughout their education at UT (in Spartan Studies and in their major). The aim is for students to demonstrate their development as a citizen of both the campus community and the world.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- adapt and apply skills, abilities, theories, or methodologies from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities (at least two of the three) to address issues in the world
- build upon prior experiences to evaluate new and challenging contexts
- create culminating projects in multiple modes, written, oral, or multimedia
Policies
Students must have completed all other Spartan Studies core requirements before enrolling in a Culminating Experience Course or Course sequence. Culminating experiences must be approved by the Spartan Studies committee and be at the 300 level or higher. Some majors may require courses that meet both a major requirement and the Spartan Studies Culminating Experience requirement.