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Select the above link for a single page chart outlining the Gettysburg Curriculum. The top row of boxes gives an explanation of each of the 4 main curricular goals; the bottom row of boxes lists the requirements currently associated with each goal.
Understanding the Goals of the Gettysburg College Curriculum
See below for the Curriculum FAQs; click here for more general advising FAQs.
Curriculum FAQs
General Questions
The Gettysburg College Curriculum is goals-based. What does this mean?
How do I find out if a course counts toward one of the Gettysburg Curriculum Goals?
Can a course taken to fulfill one requirement simultaneously fulfill another requirement?
How do I find out if an AP or Transfer course will count toward one of the Goals?
Can a course I took elsewhere count for the Multiple Inquiries Goal?
Integrative Thinking Goal
What do I have to do to complete the requirements related to this Goal?
What do I have to do to propose my own cluster for the Integrative Thinking Goal?
For the Student Designed Cluster (Option 3), must the two courses be from different departments?
Who determines whether two courses offered in the same Department or Program are acceptable?
General Questions
The Gettysburg College Curriculum is a goals-based. What does this mean?
The requirements for earning a BA or BS at Gettysburg College are guided by an overarching aim based on four main learning goals:
To develop lifelong learners who are able to acquire and process information and ideas in multiple ways (Multiple Inquiries Goal), are integrative thinkers (Integrative Thinking Goal), are skilled in communication (Effective Communication Goal), and are prepared for the responsibilities of local and global citizenship (Local and Global Citizenship Goal).
Individual requirements for the degree are associated as a particular focus with one of these four goals. This is the College's way of making sure that you take opportunities to address intentionally and directly each of the goals since they represent those broad areas of learning, skills, and ways of being in the world that the College believes are fundamental to your becoming a liberally educated person. Of course, each of the goals is much bigger than any one requirement. Throughout your career at Gettysburg you will engage and make progress toward these goals simultaneously and in various combinations through a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences.
How do I find out if a course counts toward one of the Gettysburg Curriculum Goals?
To find out whether a particular course is eligible for the curricular goals, check the Registrar's web page for the particular course to see if it is listed under one (or more) of the Goal headings.
http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/provost/registrar/
courses_fulfillingthegettysburgcurriculum.dot
Can a course taken to fulfill one requirement simultaneously fulfill another requirement?
To find out whether a particular course is eligible for 1 or more than 1 of the Goals, check the Registrar's web page for the particular course. If the same course is listed under more than one of the Goal headings, then it can count toward more than one Goal simultaneously.
For example, Latin American Studies 222 is an eligible course listed under Multiple Inquiries/Humanities AND Cultural Diversity/Conceptual. So the one course can count toward both these goals.
How do I find out if an AP or Transfer course will count toward one of the Goals?
Check the chart on the Registrar's web page. Click this link to go directly to the chart: Fulfillment of Gettysburg
Curriculum Requirements with Test and/or Transfer Credit
http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/provost/registrar/documents/
TestTransferUnderstanding.doc
Can a course I took elsewhere count for the Multiple Inquiries Goal?
Normally, students need to complete courses for the Multiple Inquiries Goal at Gettysburg College. But there is a process whereby you can petition to have a course you took elsewhere considered. Click here for the policy and petition form for evaluating off-campus credit for the Multiple Inquiries Goal. Both are available on the Registrar's web page.
Integrative Thinking Goal
What do I have to do to complete the requirements related to this Goal?
There are three requirements currently associated with the Integrative Thinking Goal:
- a) 2 Interdisciplinary Courses OR a Course Cluster with integrative experience
- b) 1 course from those grouped under Quantitative, Inductive, or Deductive Reasoning
- c) Capstone experience in (each) major
What's the difference between the courses on the Registrar's page called "Cluster-Friendly" and those called "Cluster Pairs?"
Cluster-Friendly courses are courses whose instructors welcome proposals from students who wish to design their own cluster and develop an integrative experience within the course listed under this designation. The student is NOT expected to choose both courses from this list.
Cluster-Pairs are sets of courses in which the instructors collaborate around a common theme and include the integrative experience assignments students must complete.
If I want to create my own cluster, do I have to select courses from the lists on the Registrar's web page?
No. You can make a proposal to cluster any two courses. However, the proposal must be approved by the instructor of one of the courses who will also oversee your integrative experience project. See the next FAQ for the Guidelines you must follow.
What do I have to do to propose my own cluster for the Integrative Thinking Goal?
For the Student Designed Cluster (Option 3), must the courses in the two-course cluster be from different departments?
The Guidelines say any two departments or disciplines because some Programs and some Departments in themselves have instructors and courses representing different disciplines. So there may be cases in which the 2 courses do come from the same department or program but still represent different disciplines. While departments often represent one discipline, they can also represent more than one.
Who determines whether two courses offered in the same Department or Program are acceptable?
The faculty member who will assess the proposed integrative experience makes this determination.
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