Core Curriculum

John Wesley advocated using four sources for reflection that would permit relevant, theologically informed engagement with a rapidly changing world (as named the Wesleyan “quadrilateral” by Albert C. Outler in 1964). Scripture is Wesley’s main source, along with reason, tradition, and experience.

Southern Wesleyan University’s curriculum reflects the belief that our graduates must be able to create a reasoned defense of the Christian faith, demonstrate Christian character traits, and be able to articulate a Christian worldview in their chosen field. Read more…

Required Courses (15-18 Hours)

Required courses, in addition to General Education Requirements:

BIBL 1013 Old Testament Survey 3 credits or BIBL 1183 Old Testament for Majors
BIBL 1023 New Testament Survey 3 credits or BIBL 1393 New Testament for Majors
CPSC 1103 Introduction to Computers and Information Processing 3 credits or EDUC 3423 Instructional Technology for Education Majors 3 credits (for all Education Majors, including Early Childhood and Family Studies, and Music Education) or a passing score on the CPSC 1103 Challenge Exam²
RELG 2403 Basic Christian Beliefs 3 credits or RELG 3183 Theology for Ministry I 3 credits and RELG 3393 Theology for Ministry II 3 credits
SEMR 2323 Foundations for Success 3 credits ¹

General Education Requirements (25-26 Hours)

Specified programs require specific core curriculum courses within the major. Students should refer to their program requirements.

Humanities/Music (15 Hours)

ASTH 2053 Music and Art Appreciation 3 credits or MUSC 2073 History of Western Music I 3 credits
ENGL 1003 Freshman Composition I 3 credits¹
ENGL 1013 Freshman Composition II 3 credits¹
ENGL 2103 Speech Communication 3 credits

Choose one of the following:

HIST 1023 The Western Heritage I 3 credits
HIST 1033 The Western Heritage II 3 credits
HIST 1063 Survey of Western Civilization 3 credits
HIST 2003 American Heritage I 3 credits
HIST 2013 American Heritage II 3 credits
HIST 2053 Survey of American History 3 credits
MUSC 3083 History of Western Music II 3 credits

Natural Sciences (7-8 Hours)

Choose one of the following:

MATH 1023 Algebra 3 credits
MATH 1064 Algebra and Trigonometry 4 credits
MATH 1053 Quantitative Reasoning 3 credits³
STAT 3203 Statistics 3 credits
Any higher level math not specific to a discipline (3-4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

BIOL 1114 General Biology - Molecular 4 credits
BIOL 1124 General Biology - Organismal 4 credits
BIOL 1054 Survey of Anatomy and Physiology 4 credits
BIOL 1044 Introduction to Biology 4 credits
BIOL 2024 Botany 4 credits
BIOL 2034 Zoology 4 credits
BIOL 2074 Environmental Science 4 credits
CHEM 1114 General Chemistry I 4 credits
CHEM 1044 Introduction to Chemistry 4 credits
PHSC 1544 Introduction to Physical Sciences 4 credits
PHYS 2044 Physics I 4 credits
PHYS 2054 Physics II 4 credits

Social/Behavioral Sciences (3 hours)

Choose one of the following:

ECON 2053 Microeconomics 3 credits
ECON 2063 Macroeconomics 3 credits
PSYC 2003 General Psychology 3 credits
SOSC 1003 Introduction to Sociology 3 credits
SOSC 2003 Cultural Anthropology 3 credits
SOSC 2123 Race and Ethnic Relations 3 credits
SOSC 2203 Introduction to U.S. Government 3 credits
SOSC 2513 Family Studies 3 credits

Total Hours: 40-44

Notes:

¹All students must enroll in Freshman Composition (ENGL 1003 followed by ENGL 1013) and Foundations for Success (SEMR 2323 or HNRS 2323) until they earn the minimum required grade. Transfer students with regular admittance who have earned at least 30 SWU transferable credit hours (excluding exam and military credit) are exempt from SEMR 2323. Please note that a required grade of C- or higher is required in ENGL 1003 and ENGL 1013. Withdrawal is not permitted from any of these courses until after the last day to drop without record, but the withdrawal must be completed before the final withdrawal date. Students must first consult both their advisor and the instructor before withdrawing from a course.

²Challenge Exam for CPSC 1103: For a testing fee of $80, students can take a challenge exam for CPSC 1103. Information concerning preparing for the exam or scheduling it is available from the Center for Teaching Excellence, 864.644.5038. Students who have previously failed CPSC 1103 at this institution and students who are currently enrolled in the course are not eligible to take the challenge exam. There is no provision for a retest. Transfer and re-admitted students: Please note that no credit toward our computer literacy requirement will be awarded for computer fundamental classes that are more than five years old at the time of transfer or re-admittance.

³Please note that a required grade of C- or higher is required in MATH 1053.