General Education Competencies

Through the General Education experience at Clemson University, undergraduate students will learn across several areas of study. Throughout this study, your ePorfolio will help you document your progress, using competencies to show the range of your learning.

Effective oral and written communication is the means by which all competencies will be demonstrated. Students should include an example of their best work in each of the following eight areas:

Arts and Humanities

Demonstrate an understanding of the arts and humanities in historical and cultural contexts.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address these competencies include, but are not limited to, work samples from arts and/or humanities courses and reflections on campus art exhibits or performances.

Critical Thinking

Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze the quality and utility of knowledge gained throughout the undergraduate experience and apply this knowledge to a wide range of problems.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address these competencies include, but are not limited to, capstone projects, internships, theses, research papers, interdisciplinary work and reflections that make connections across disciplinary lines.

This competency is one of the "distributed competencies," which means it is not necessarily connected to any one specific course. You will collect your best examples from many courses and activities during your time at Clemson University. Be on the lookout for these in each course that you take.

Cross-Cultural Awareness

Demonstrate the ability to critically compare and contrast world cultures in historical and/or contemporary contexts.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address this competency include, but are not limited to, essays from courses, work in courses designed as cross-cultural and materials from study abroad.

Ethical Judgment

Demonstrate an ability to identify, comprehend, and deal with ethical problems and their ramifications in a systematic, thorough, and responsible way.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address these competencies include, but are not limited to, reflections on the academic integrity vignettes, work samples illustrating application of ethical principles, certificate of completion of human subjects training and a reflection on why this is an ethical issue and what its ramifications, reflections on your activities in creative inquiry or service learning and essays submitted to the Ethics Across the Curriculum essay contest.

This competency is a  "distributed competencies;" which means it is not necessarily connected to any one specific course. You will collect your best examples from many courses and activities during your time at Clemson University. Be on the lookout for these in each course that you take.

Mathematics

Demonstrate mathematical literacy solving problems, communicating concepts, reasoning mathematically, and applying mathematical or statistical methods, using multiple representations where applicable.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address these competencies include, but are not limited to, work samples from math courses, applications of mathematics in other course work, sample presentations and work in your research classes.

Natural Science

Demonstrate scientific literacy by explaining the process of scientific reasoning and applying scientific principles inside and outside of the laboratory or field setting.

• This competency is best addressed by submitting formal laboratory reports or field studies.
• These typically are from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology or Astronomy courses.
• Engineering experiments and labs may meet the competency if they engage in hypothesis, data collection and analysis, and thoughtful discussion of results as they relate to scientific theories.
• Non-experimental research papers may be submitted if they significantly review natural science research and are engaged in discussion and analysis of issues raised by that research, and are best if they propose questions which arise from this analysis using the personal understanding of the student.
• Book reports, Powerpoint presentations, lesson plans and the like do not meet the requirements of the competency. Group assignments must clearly indicate in the rationale statement what science was performed by the student.

Science, Technology and Society

Demonstrate an understanding of issues created by the complex interactions among science, technology, and society.

• A few examples of where you can find evidence to address these competencies include, but are not limited to, work samples from STS courses, applications of science and technology in other course work, sample presentations and reflections on science and technology in society.

Social Sciences

Demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the causes and consequences of human actions.

• The best place to gather evidence to address this competency is from social/behavioral science courses.