General Degree Requirements

for a Bachelor of Science Degree

Purpose of the General Degree Requirements

New Mexico Tech views its general degree requirements as the foundation for a broad and meaningful educational experience for all its undergraduates. The New Mexico Tech general degree requirements prepare students to communicate and reason well, evaluate and apply information, understand human societies and cultures, deepen their sense of values and ethics, and enrich their personal lives. Additionally, the general degree requirements equip students with the analytical, language, science, and mathematics skills necessary for the specific degree requirements of their majors. The courses and their sequence in the general degree requirements are designed specifically to achieve these objectives and to prepare students for success in subsequent courses.

Learning Objectives of the General Degree Requirements

An ability to communicate well
An ability to reason well
An ability to evaluate and apply information
Development of analytical and quantitative skills
Competency of the fundamentals of mathematics and basic sciences
An understanding of human societies and cultures
A recognition of responsible values and ethics

Outcomes of the NMT Learning Objectives (DRAFT)

An ability to communicate well

Analyze and critically interpret texts, data, or other sources of information.
State the primary purpose in a written or oral statement appropriate for the target audience.
Order supporting points logically and convincingly, individually or collaboratively.

An ability to reason well

Able to reason by deduction.

Reasoning in which the conclusion is necessitated by, or reached from, previously known facts (the premises).

Able to reason by induction.

Reasoning in which the premises of an argument support the conclusion but do not ensure it.

Able to reason by analogy.

An inference or an argument from a particular to another particular.

Able to reason by abduction.

Reasoning in which the hypothesis, if true, best explains the relevant evidence.

An ability to evaluate and apply information

Ability to evaluate information sources in terms of accuracy, authority, bias, and relevance.
Formulate and conduct an effective information search that includes a variety of reference sources, such as encyclopedias, library catalogs, indexes, bibliographies, statistics sources, government publications, and the Internet resources.

Development of analytical and quantitative skills

Quantitative skills

Interpret and draw inferences from quantitative information
presented in the form of formulas, equations, graphs, and tables.
Apply mathematical methods to analyze quantitative information.
Describe quantitative information using using formulas, equations,
graphs, and tables.

Analytical skills

Ability to identify integral parts of a whole.
Ability to abstract from a whole to a part.
Ability to identify relations between integral parts of a whole.
Ability to synthesize the integral parts to a whole.

Competency of the fundamentals of mathematics and basic sciences

Develop problem solving skills that include:

Ability to formulate the problem.
Ability to formulate expected results (a priori analysis).
Knowledge and ability to apply solution methods.
Ability to analyze obtained results (a posteriori analysis).
Ability to evaluate, update and reiterate the solution process.

Ability to solve a real world problem

Understand and apply basic concepts, principles, and methods of college algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
Understand and apply basic concepts, principles, and methods of natural sciences.
Understand the process of scientific inquiry.

An understanding of human societies and cultures

Identify, describe, or explain human beliefs, behaviors,or actions in the context of
any of the following: literature or other art forms, history, culture, philosophy, technology, politics, geography, economics, sciences, or social structures.
Compare art forms, modes of thought, modes of expression, or processes across a range of historical periods or structures, such as political, geographical, scientific, technological, economic, social, cultural, religious, or intellectual.

A recognition of responsible values and ethics

Identify and critically evaluate ethical dilemmas or arguments.
Conduct research or design technology correctly, ethically and responsibly.