Humanities and Social Science Elective Guidelines and Requirements
Undergraduate Requirements
All Swanson School of Engineering undergraduates must complete at least six humanities and social science elective courses from the School’s list of approved courses in order to satisfy Swanson School of Engineering and ABET accreditation requirements for breadth and depth. In order to meet these standards, all Engineering undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements when choosing their six elective classes:
Depth Requirement
- Students must complete two or more courses from one of the approved departments or programs in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
- A student may also satisfy the Depth Requirement by completing two or more courses with a related theme, e.g. courses that focus on a geographic region, historic period, or ideological perspective.
- Only one course below the 0200 level may be used to satisfy the depth requirement, except in the departments of Psychology, Linguistics, and languages.
- Some transfer and AP courses may transfer to the Swanson School under Catalog Number 0000 (e.g. ENGLIT 0000). Multiple courses in the same Subject with Catalog Number 0000 may count toward students’ elective requirements, but may not together satisfy the depth requirement.
Breadth Requirement
- Students must select courses from at least three different Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences humanities and social science departments.
- Students must select courses from both the humanities and social science departments.
Departmental Requirements
- It is important to note that some of the Engineering majors have additional guidelines for selecting the six humanities and social science elective requirements. Students are responsible for checking with their departments for any supplemental requirements.
Notes and Restrictions on Selecting Electives
- No more than two of the required six elective courses can be satisfied via high school Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credits.
- Language classes may not be taken in the student’s native language, unless placement is deemed appropriate by the language department in question.
- Independent Study courses, Study Abroad courses, Directed Study, and Research courses will not satisfy humanities/social science elective requirements unless they have been pre-approved by your department’s Undergraduate Coordinator and the Associate Dean for Academics. In the listing below, they are listed as not approved, as are any additional independent study, study abroad, directed study, or research courses. See your department’s Undergraduate Coordinator if these courses interest you.
- All humanities/social science elective courses must be taken for 3 or more credits. Courses that are offered for fewer than 3 credits may NOT be combined to count as an elective.
- Courses that are cross-listed with other departments may be taken under either course number (i.e. ANTH 1524 is equivalent to HAA 1650) and may be used to satisfy the depth requirement in either department.
- All Swanson School of Engineering students must also complete at least one “W”-designated course in which the “W” indicates that a course has a substantial writing component as approved by the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Students should refer to Peoplesoft each term to determine whether a course is being offered as a “W”-designated course. In the Class Search screen, select “High Impact Practices” in the Course Attribute field, and then “Writing Intensive Course” in the Course Attribute Value field. Every Dietrich School department offers “W”-designated courses, which may or may not satisfy Swanson School of Engineering humanities or social science requirements.
Approved Course Listing
- Only an officially listed School of Arts and Sciences course may be used to fulfill a humanities and social science requirement. Approved departments may be found below. Courses from the College of General Studies (including External Studies courses), the College of Business Administration, or the School of Information Sciences cannot be used to fulfill the humanities and social science requirements.
- These courses may be used to satisfy a free or open elective requirement, though students should always discuss these courses with an Academic Advisor before selecting and registering for such a course.
AFRICANA STUDIES (AFRCNA) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
All three-credit courses in AFRCNA below 1760 are approved, including AFRCNA 0000.
AIR FORCE ROTC (AFROTC) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following AFROTC courses are approved (must be taken for a letter grade):
AFROTC 1014 - LEADING AND COMMUNICATIONS 2
AFROTC 1015 - NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS/PREPARATION FOR ACTIVE DUTY
AFROTC 1016 - NATIONAL SECURITY FORCES
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) - HUMANITIES
All three- or four-credit courses in ASL below 1900 are approved, including ASL 0000.
ANTHROPOLOGY (ANTH) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
ANTH courses below 0450 are not approved.
ANTH 1164, 1497, 1498, 1499, 1516 ,1520 , 1534 1537 , 1602 , 1605 , 1609 , 1613 , 1617 , 1627, 1712 , 1750 are not approved.
Other three-credit courses in ANTH between 0450 and 1899 are approved, as is ANTH 0000.
ARABIC (ARABIC) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in ARABIC below 1900 are approved, including ARABIC 0000.
ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES (ARC) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in ARC between 0110-0300, 1118-1191, 1310 , and 1330 are approved, as well as ARC 0201 , 1201 , and 1202 .
ARTS AND SCIENCES (ARTSC) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following are approved courses:
ARTSC 0150 - INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
ARTSC 1501 - SEMINAR: LATIN AMERICA
BOSNIAN/CROATIAN/MONTENEGRIN/SERBIAN (BCMS) - HUMANITIES
BCMS 0212, 0213, 0223, 0231, and 0233 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in BCMS below 1900 are approved, including BCMS 0000.
CHINESE (CHIN) - Humanities
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in CHIN below 1900 are approved, including CHIN 0000.
CLASSICS (CLASS) - HUMANITIES
All three credit courses in CLASS below 1900 are approved, including CLASS 0000.
COMMUNICATION (COMMRC) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following COMMRC Courses and COMMRC 0000 are approved:
COMMRC 0300 - COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
COMMRC 0310 - RHETORIC & SOCIETY
COMMRC 0320 - MASS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
COMMRC 0500 - ARGUMENT
COMMRC 0530 - INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
COMMRC 0540 - DISCUSSION
COMMRC 1102 - ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
COMMRC 1103 - RHETORIC AND CULTURE
COMMRC 1104 - POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
COMMRC 1105 - TELEVISION AND SOCIETY
COMMRC 1106 - SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION
COMMRC 1111 - THEORIES OF PERSUASION
COMMRC 1122 - MEDIA CRITICISM
COMMRC 1123 - RHETORICAL CRITICISM
COMMRC 1148 - RHETORIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMRC 1160 - VISUAL RHETORIC
COMMRC 1161 - COMMUNICATION ETHICS
COMMRC 1730 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION
COMMRC 1731 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN RHETORIC
COMMRC 1732 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN MASS COMMUNICATION
ECONOMICS (ECON) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following ECON Courses and ECON 0000 are approved:
ECON 0100 - INTRODUCTION TO MICROECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 0110 - INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 0120 - INTRODUCTORY ECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 0140 - INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
ECON 0160 - INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS (W sections only)
ECON 0200 - GAME THEORY PRINCIPLES
ECON 0220 - INTRO TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
ECON 0230 - INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ECONOMICS
ECON 0280 - MONEY AND BANKING
ECON 0330 - URBAN ECONOMICS
ECON 0360 - INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS
ECON 0400 - LABOR AND THE ECONOMY
ECON 0430 - WOMEN IN THE LABOR MARKET
ECON 0450 - ECON OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
ECON 0460 - SPORTS ECONOMICS
ECON 0470 - INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 1
ECON 0480 Consumer Economics
ECON 0490 - TRANSPORTATION ECONOMICS
ECON 0500 - INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
ECON 0520 - COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
ECON 0530 - INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
ECON 0630 - EAST ASIA’S DYNAMIC ECONOMIES
ECON 0640 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (MENA) REGION
ECON 0700 Economics of Information Sci. (UHC)
ECON 0800 - INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS
ECON 0810 - CONSUMER ECONOMICS
ECON 0820 - REGULATED INDUSTRIES
ECON 1010 - AMERICAN ECONOMIC HISTORY (HIST 1645 )
ECON 1030 - INTELLCL FOUNDTNS OF CAPITALISM (HIST 1145 )
ECON 1050 - SOCIALISM VERSUS CAPITALISM (HIST 1045 )
ECON 1070 - HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT 1
ECON 1080 - HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT 2
ECON 1100 - INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMICS
ECON 1110 - INTERMEDIATE MACROECONOMICS
ECON 1200 - GAME THEORY
ECON 1210 - MICROECONOMICS
ECON 1230 - PUBLIC ECONOMICS
ECON 1260 - EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS
ECON 1280 - MONETARY THEORY AND POLICY
ECON 1300 - INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL ECONOMICS
ECON 1320 - URBAN ECONOMICS
ECON 1390 - WORK, SELF AND SOCIETY
ECON 1400 Theory of Labor Unions
ECON 1410 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
ECON 1420 - LABOR ECONOMICS
ECON 1440 - ECONOMICS OF CORPORATION FINANCE
ECON 1470 - MARKET STRUCTURE AND COMPETITION
ECON 1480 - ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION
ECON 1500 - INTERNATIONAL TRADE
ECON 1530 - INTERMEDIATE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
ECON 1580 - ECON GROWTH PBLC HLTH DEMOGRAPHY
ECON 1590 - PEOPLE RESOURCES USSR/E EUROPE
ECON 1610 - LATIN AMERICA ECON DEVELOPMENT
ECON 1620 - ECON DEVELOPMENT SOCIALIST CUBA
ECON 1630 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA
ECON 1640 - JAPANESE ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECON 1670 - FORMER SOCIALIST ECON & TRANSTN
ECON 1700 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR IN MICROECONOMICS
ECON 1710 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
ECON 1720 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR IN MACROECONOMICS
ECON 1905 - SPECIAL TOPICS
ECON 1960 - POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF PUBLIC POLICY
ENGLISH COMPOSITION (ENGCMP) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in ENGCMP between 0400 and 1899 are approved, as are ENGCMP 0000 and 0210. Note that no course may be used as both a humanities/social science elective and as a communication elective in the engineering departments that require one. These requirements must be fulfilled through separate courses.
ENGLISH LITERATURE/ENGLISH FILM (ENGLIT/ENGFLM) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in ENGLIT between 0300 and 1899 are approved, as is ENGLIT 0000.
All three-credit courses in ENGFLM below 1900 are approved, including ENGLIT/ENGFLM 0000.
ENGLISH WRITING (ENGWRT) - HUMANITIES
ENGWRT 0053 is not approved.
All other three-credit courses in in ENGWRT below 1700 are approved, including ENGWRT 0000.
FILM STUDIES (FMST) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in FMST below 1900 are approved, as is FMST 0000.
FRENCH (FR) - HUMANITIES
FR 0197, 0452, 1494, 1497, 1498 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in FR below 1900 are approved, as is FR 0000.
GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND WOMEN’S STUDIES (GSWS) - INTERDISCIPLINARY
All three-credit courses in GSWS between 0100 and 1899 are approved, as are GSWS 0000 and 0030.
GEOGRAPHY (GEOG) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following GEOG courses and GEOG 0000 are approved:
0210 Physical Geography
0810 Earth and People
GERMAN (GER) - HUMANITIES
GER 0031, 0197, 1204, 1399, 1531, and 1550 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in GER below 1900 are approved, as is GER 0000.
GREEK (GREEK) and MODERN GREEK (GREEKM) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five- credit courses in GREEK and GREEKM below 1800 are approved, including GREEK 0000.
HINDI (HINDI) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in HINDI below 1900 are approved, including HINDI 0000.
HISTORY (HIST) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
HIST 1000, 1001, 1030, 1449, 1494, 1497, 1498, 1499, and 1745 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in HIST below 1800 are approved, including HIST 0000.
HISTORY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE (HAA) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in HAA below 1900 are approved, as are HAA 0000 and HAA 1913.
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (HPS) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in HPS below 1700 are approved, including HPS 0000.
HONORS (HON) - INTERDISCIPLINARY
The following HON courses are approved:
HONORS 1110 - COMPARATIVE STUDIES-LEADERSHIP
HONORS 1160 - DISCOURSES IN HUMAN KNOWLEDGE
HUNGARIAN (HUN) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in HUN below 1900 are approved, including HUN 0000.
IRISH (IRISH) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in IRISH below 1900 are approved, including IRISH 0000.
ITALIAN (ITAL) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in ITAL below 1900 are approved, including ITAL 0000.
JAPANESE (JPNSE) - HUMANITIES
JPNSE 1494 is not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in JPNSE below 1902 are approved, including JPNSE 0000.
JEWISH STUDIES (JS) - INTERDISCIPLINARY
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in JS below 1900 are approved, including JS 0000.
KOREAN (KOR) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in KOR below 1900 are approved, including KOR 0000
LATIN (LATIN) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in LATIN below 1800 are approved, including LATIN 0000.
LESS COMMONLY TAUGHT LANGUAGES (LCTL) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in LCTL below 1900 are approved, including LCTL 0000.
LINGUISTICS (LING) - HUMANITIES
LING 1330, 1340, and 1441 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in LING between 0080 and 1799 are approved, including LING 0000.
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES (MRST) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in MRST below 1900 are approved, including MRST 0000.
MUSIC (MUSIC) - HUMANITIES
Music voice and/or instrument lessons may count as a humanities/social science elective if they are taken for three credits in a given semester. One- or two-credit MUSIC courses may not be combined to count as a humanities/social science elective.
MUSIC 1401, 1494, and 1497 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in MUSIC below 1900 are approved, including MUSIC 0000.
NAVAL SCIENCE (CMNAVS) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following CMNAVS courses are approved:
CMNAVS 32-310 - EVOLUTION OF WARFARE
CMNAVS 32-402 - LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS
CMNAVS 32-410 - AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE / OPERATIONS AND THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MANEUVER WARFARE
PERSIAN/FARSI (PERS) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit PERS classes below 1900 are approved, including PERS 0000.
PHILOSOPHY (PHIL) - HUMANITIES
PHIL 0500, 1494, and 1497 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in PHIL below 1900 are approved, including PHIL 0000.
PITT SPECIAL COURSES (PITT) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following PITT courses are approved:
PITT 0130 - WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE
POLISH (POLISH) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in POLISH below 1900 are approved, including POLISH 0000.
POLITICAL SCIENCE (PS) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
PS 0700, 1000, 1449, 1494, 1497, 1498, 1499, 1700, 1702, 1800, and 1820 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in PS between 0200 and 1899 are approved, as well as PS 0000.
PORTUGUESE (PORT) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in PORT below 1900 are approved, including PORT 0000.
PSYCHOLOGY (PSY) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following PSY courses and PSY 0000 are approved:
PSY 0010 - INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 0015 Introduction to Psychology as Natural Science (cannot also take 0010)
PSY 0035 - RESEARCH METHODS
PSY 0105 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 0160 - PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSONALITY
PSY 0182 - LAW AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 0184 - PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER
PSY 0205 - PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
PSY 0310 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 0405 - LEARNING AND MOTIVATION
PSY 0422 - COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 0680 - INTRODUCTION INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL
PSY 1050 - TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 1051 - TOPICS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 1110 - PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN SEXUALITY
PSY 1112 - PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN SEXUALITY LAB
PSY 1140 - SOCIAL MOTIVATION
PSY 1155 - PSYCHOLOGY OF SMALL GROUPS
PSY 1205 - ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 1215 - HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 1305 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY LAB
PSY 1312 - CHILD DEVELOPMENT & SOCIAL POLCY
PSY 1315 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH: INFANCY
PSY 1330 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
PSY 1357 - PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING
PSY 1470 - COGNITION AND THE BRAIN
PSY 1630 - PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 1635 - ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
QUECHUA/KICHWA (QUECH) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, and five-credit courses in QUECH below 1900 are approved, including QUECH 0000.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES (RELGST) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in RELGST below 1780 are approved, including RELGST 0000.
RUSSIAN (RUSS) - HUMANITIES
RUSS 0211, 0216, 0221, 0226, 0231, 0236, 0241, and 0246 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in RUSS below 1900 are approved, including RUSS 0000.
SERBO-CROATIAN (SERCRO) - HUMANITIES
SERCRO 0212, 0213, 0223, 0231, and 0233 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SERCRO below 1900 are approved, including SERCRO 0000.
SLAVIC (SLAV) - HUMANITIES
SLAV 0222, 0223, 0224, 0225, 0232, 1050, 1710, and 1720 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SLAV below 1900 are approved, including SLAV 0000.
SLOVAK (SLOVAK) - HUMANITIES
SLOVAK 0211, 0212, 0221, 0222, and 0232 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SLOVAK below 1900 are approved, including SLOVAK 0000.
SOCIOLOGY (SOC) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
SOC 0197, 0230, 0300, 0710, 0715, 0720, 0725, 0726, 0735, 0750, 1114, 1277, 1416, 1455, 1494, 1497, 1498, 1499, 1500, 1515, and 1700 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in SOC below 1800 are approved, including SOC 0000.
SPANISH (SPAN) - HUMANITIES
SPAN 0197, 1494 and 1497 are not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SPAN below 1900 are approved, including SPAN 0000.
STUDIO ARTS (SA) - HUMANITIES
All three-credit courses in SA below 1500 are approved, including SA 0000.
SWAHILI (SWAHIL) - HUMANITIES
SWAHIL 0111 is not approved.
All other three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SWAHIL below 1900 are approved, including SWAHIL 0000.
SWEDISH (SWE) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in SWE below 1900 are approved, including SWE 0000.
THEATER ARTS (THEA) - HUMANITIES
THEA 1480, 1481, 1482, 1483, 1484, 1485, 1486, 1487, 1494, 1497, 1498, 1499, and 1733 are not approved.
All other three-credit courses in THEA between 0800 and 1899, as well as THEA 0000 and THEA 0505 are approved.
TURKISH (TURKISH) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in TURKISH below 1900 are approved, including TURKISH 0000.
UKRAINIAN (UKRAIN) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in UKRAIN below 1900 are approved, including UKRAIN 0000.
URBAN STUDIES (URBNST) - SOCIAL SCIENCE
The following URNST courses and URBNST 0000 are approved:
URBNST 0140 - CRIME, PUNISHMENT, JUSTICE, REINTEGRATION
URBNST 0408 - GLOBAL CITY - FLORENCE
URBNST 0410 - GLOBAL CITY - LONDON
URBNST 1613 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES 1: THEORIES AND CONCEPTS
URBNST 0114 - URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
URBNST 1615 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES 2: FIELD RESEARCH
VIETNAMESE (VIET) - HUMANITIES
All three-, four-, or five-credit courses in VIET below 1900 are approved, including VIET 0000.
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