General Education Program
Minerva’s Academic Curriculum (MAC)
Minerva's Academic Curriculum (MAC) focuses on the development of eleven foundational competencies (in 33–34 credit hours) that are important for learning in college and life. MAC courses represent a wide range of academic fields that will introduce students to discoveries of the past and to cutting-edge research that's happening on campus. Through MAC coursework, undergraduate students will engage in learning experiences to achieve 11 competencies across disciplines, totaling 33–34 credit hours depending on individual course hour structure.
Other requirements and opportunities in the major program, the minor program (if applicable), and the total undergraduate experience build on the foundation of MAC courses and contribute to the attainment of these goals.
Competencies and Requirements
Foundations
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Foundations
Foundations courses connect students to the campus community by combining university transition content, information literacy, and transferable skills to facilitate academic and personal development.
Written Communication
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Written Communication
Written Communication courses intensively focus on the teaching and learning of transferable writing strategies, including invention, arrangement, style, and revision.
Oral Communication
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Oral Communication
Oral Communications courses intensively focus on student development of oral communication knowledge and abilities, including presenting and interacting in contexts such as public speaking, interpersonal communication, and group communication.
Quantitative Reasoning
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning courses prepare students to apply mathematical reasoning to formulate and solve problems from a variety of contexts and real-world situations.
Health and Wellness
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Health and Wellness
Courses in this competency focus on health and wellness as well as information literacy. These courses provide explicit instruction in how to understand decisions as they impact the health and wellness of individuals or communities.
Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Humanities and Fine Arts*
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC CritThink Hum and Fine Art
*Exclusion: Each of the three Critical Thinking and Inquiry competencies must be taken from a different department. (FMS, HSS, and RCO courses are not subject to this exclusion.)
Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Social and Behavioral Sciences*
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Crit Think Soc and BehavSci
*Exclusion: Each of the three Critical Thinking and Inquiry competencies must be taken from a different department. (FMS, HSS, and RCO courses are not subject to this exclusion.)
After completing courses in this competency, students should have a working knowledge of the foundational tools for reasoning, including constructing sound arguments, evaluating the quality of evidence, and forming judgments about the evidence, arguments, and conclusions of others in Social and Behavioral Science disciplines.
Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Natural Sciences*
Requirement: 3 or 4 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC CritThink Nat Sci
*Exclusion: Each of the three Critical Thinking and Inquiry competencies must be taken from a different department. (FMS, HSS, and RCO courses are not subject to this exclusion.)
Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning through the Humanities and Fine Arts or through the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Global and Intercultural
Courses in this competency provide students with knowledge and critical understanding of similarities and differences across world cultures over time and emphasize the development of global perspectives and skills to engage cross-culturally.
Diversity and Equity through the Humanities and Fine Arts OR through the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Requirement: 3 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Diversity and Equity
Courses designated in this competency focus on systems of oppression, structures of power, and institutions, while making connections to US or global societies and examining intellectual traditions that address systems of injustice.
Data Analysis and Interpretation in the Natural Sciences
Requirement: 3 or 4 credits
Schedule Attribute: MAC Nat Sci Data Analysis
Courses in this competency foreground the role of quantitative data analysis and interpretation of empirical information in the development of scientific theories and models. Most courses meeting this requirement will include a laboratory section, so students can have adequate hands-on experience working with data in context.
Students Transferring to UNC Greensboro
Please refer to the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement topic on Course Credit Regulations and Limits page of the Academic Regulations and Policies section.
Students who transfer to UNC Greensboro will automatically have their transcripts evaluated for equivalency with MAC. Students can also petition to have particular transfer courses evaluated for particular competencies, via the General Education Petition for Transfer Credit. Questions may be directed to the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
A North Carolina community college student who satisfactorily completes, with a grade of "C" or better, courses identified in the Universal General Education Transfer Component will receive credit applied toward the MAC course requirements.