College of Arts and Sciences

Communicating Ideas in Context (CIC) 

In addition to developing the core competencies of UNC Greensboro’s Minerva’s Academic Curriculum (MAC) and the specialized knowledge within their field, College of Arts and Sciences majors will also complete the College of Arts and Sciences’ Communicating Ideas in Context (CIC) curriculum.  Answering the important questions of our time and solving the serious problems that we face will require the cooperation and the collaboration of a diverse group of committed, thoughtful, and knowledgeable people. Such cooperation and collaboration are built on excellent communication skills. 

The College of Arts and Sciences’ Communicating Ideas in Context (CIC) curriculum is designed to strengthen your communication skills by developing:

  • your skill as a writer so that you can communicate effectively;
  • your understanding of how and why different types of academic disciplines make sense of our world and the people within it, so that you can work successfully with diverse teams who approach tasks with different assumptions, perspectives, and values;
  • and your ability to communicate multilingually, so that you can be an active, contributing partner in our global community.

CIC Requirements 

1. Complete two (2) courses with a College Writing (CW) attribute.

2. Complete twelve (12) additional credit hours distributed across three (3) categories:

  • CIC Humanities (6 credits)
  • CIC Natural and Data Sciences (3 credits)
  • CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credits)

3. Complete an additional language or culture requirement.


1. CIC College Writing Requirement

  • In addition to the MAC Written Communication competency, students in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 2 courses at the 200 level or above carrying the College Writing (CW) attribute. At least 1 of these courses must be in the student's major.
  • Courses with a College Writing (CW) attribute can also be used to fulfill requirements for the student's majors and/or minors and the CIC Breadth of Knowledge requirement.
  • Students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNC Greensboro are exempt from the CIC College Writing Requirement.

2. CIC Breadth of Knowledge Requirement

  • In addition to the MAC, students must complete 12 additional credits distributed across three categories:
    • CIC Humanities (6 credits)
    • CIC Natural and Data Sciences (3 credits)
    • CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credits)
  • The categories of courses are defined by the following course prefixes/courses:
    • CIC Humanities: ADS, ASL, BLS, CCI, CHI, ENG, FRE, GER, HIS, IAR, JNS, LLC, MST, PHI, REL, RUS, SPA, WGS, RCO 202, RCO 203, RCO 204
    • CIC Natural and Data Sciences: AST, BIO, CHE, CSC, GES, MAT, PHY, STA, RCO 253, RCO 254
    • CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences: ATY, CST, IGS, PSC, PSY, SOC, SSC, RCO 205

The 12 credits can be at any undergraduate level (100-499). Transfer credits that are not equivalent to specific UNC Greensboro courses can also be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirements, as long as they are at the undergraduate level and include these course prefixes: ADS, AST, ATY, BIO, BLS, CCI, CHE, CSC, CST, ENG GES, HIS, IAR, IGS, LLC, MAT, MST, PHI, PHY, PSC, PSY, REL, SOC, SSC, STA, WGS.

Three of the 12 Breadth of Knowledge credits may also be used to fulfill requirements for the student's primary major (i.e., the 3 credits can be used to fulfill both a major requirement and a Breadth of Knowledge requirement).

Credits used to fulfill the College Writing requirement may also be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirement.

However, 101-204 language courses used to fulfill the Additional-Language Requirement cannot be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirement.

Students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNC Greensboro are exempt from the CIC Breadth of Knowledge requirement.

3. CIC Additional Language Proficiency Requirement*

Students are encouraged to take a placement test to determine what level they should start with the additional language. For both BA and BS students, the demonstration of proficiency of an additional language above the 204-level (either via placement test or successful completion of a 300-level language class) will satisfy this requirement.

  • BA students (0-12 hours) - can be satisfied in one of two ways:
    1. Successfully complete a 203 course in an additional language and complete a 204 course in the same language. 
    2. Successfully complete a 203 course in an additional language and complete a CIC Culture course.
  • BS students (0-6 hours) - can be satisfied in one of three ways:
    1. 6 hours of additional language coursework related to a single language, between the 101-204 level, depending on their starting point in the language.
    2. 3 hours of additional language coursework, between the 101-204 level, depending on their starting point in the language, and a CIC Culture course.
    3. 6 hours of CIC Culture courses.
CIC Culture Courses:
Contemporary Africa
The Making of the African Diaspora
Reading Culture and Society
Latin American Art and Archaeology
Modern Asia through its Music
Contemporary Asian Literature
Women, War, and Terror
The World of Alexander the Great
Comparative Studies in World Epics
Roman Republic 754 BC - 44 BC
Major Figures in Chinese Literature
Intercultural Communication
Postcolonial Literatures
Shakespeare: Later Plays
German Culture: Advanced Intermediate-Topics in German Film
Cities of the World
World Economic Geography
The Crusades
Revolution and Reform in Modern Latin America
The World at War, 1914-1918
The World at War, 1939-1945
Roman Republic 754 BC - 44 BC
History of Spain
Russian History to 1900
Russian History since 1900
Topics in the Near and Middle East
Viet Nam: History, Culture, and Resistance
The Modern Transformation of China: 1800 to Present Day
West Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade
Latin America and Caribbean: Selected Topics
Global Awareness and Intercultural Competence
Current Issues in Japan
Politics of Globalization
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Russian Politics
Early Christianity
Topics in Jewish Thought
Religions of Iran: Selected Topics
Topics in Islam: Islamic Thought, Culture, and History
Topics in Christian Thought
Major Authors in Russian Literature
Major Movements in Russian Literature and Culture
Global Inequalities
Global Society
Race, Ethnicity, and Migration in a Global Context
Postcolonial and Transnational Feminisms
*
  • Students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNC Greensboro can satisfy this requirement by successfully completing a 102 level course. Students who transfer 90 or more credits to UNC Greensboro are exempt from this requirement.
  • Students with fewer than 60 transfer credit hours who have previously completed an additional language through the 102 level, with a subsequent learning gap of five years or more (from the completion of the 102 equivalent), may apply to the College Appeals Committee for permission to use courses from the list of approved MAC Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning Competency courses as substitutions for the intermediate-level 203 and 204 language classes. These courses must be taken in addition to the courses taken to meet the MAC Global and Intercultural Competency requirement.

The CIC requirements are waived for students in:

  • the Interior Architecture, B.F.A. program.
  • the Integrated Professional Studies Online major.

The following modification of the CIC requirements apply to students in the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies program:

  1. Students who transfer in 60+ credit hours and do not have 101 and 102 of an additional language can complete 6 credit hours (or 3 credit hours if they have 101 credit) of MAC Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning courses to satisfy the additional language requirement.
  2. The breadth of knowledge requirement and the additional language requirement are waived for reactivated students and students who change their major from outside of CAS with 90 or more credits.

Second Majors

A student may take a second major in conjunction with the first major. This program requires a minimum of 27 credits in each of two approved majors. All requirements of each major must be met; hours from the second major can be applied toward the General Education requirements.

A student with a first major outside the College who chooses a second major in one of the College departments is required to complete all of the departmental requirements for the second major but need not satisfy the Communicating Ideas in Context requirements (CIC). Similarly, students who are seeking either a dual degree or a second degree are exempt from the Communicating Ideas in Context requirements (CIC). In the case of transfer students, at least 15 credits in each major must be taken at UNC Greensboro.