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The BLS common core courses develop fundamental skills in writing, critical thinking, information literacy and leadership and give students the opportunity to explore ideas from multiple perspectives. Additional details about the BLS Common Core Requirement can be found in the General Catalog.

  • Rhetoric: 3-4 s.h.
  • Interpretation of Literature: 3 s.h.
  • Natural Sciences: 3 s.h.
  • Global Perspectives: 3 s.h.
  • Domestic Diversity: 3 s.h.
  • Statistics: 3 s.h.
  • Information Literacy: 2 s.h.
  • Critical Thinking: 3 s.h.
  • Leadership and Career Development: 6 s.h.

Students who have an Associate of Arts degree from an Iowa or Illinois two-year institution participating in articulation agreements with the University of Iowa have satisfied the BLS Common Core/general education Requirements, except Leadership and Career Development.

Please click the course link to view the distance education offering in MyUI. If MyUI displays "no course is found" then a distance education section is not being offered in the semester you searched. Use the “Session” drop-down list to change the semester you are viewing. 

If you login with your HawkID and password, the MyUI Gen Ed drop-down will automatically display University College for BAS and BLS students.

Rhetoric
Rhetoric course work equivalent to Composition II and Speech.  Consult your Degree Audit to verify which Rhetoric course you need to satisfy this requirement. Courses approved for the Rhetoric area of the CLAS General Education Program satisfy the B.L.S. rhetoric requirement. 

Students who have transfer credit in composition, speech, and argumentation may instead be held to one of the following;

Please note: Students who are held to either RHET:1040 or RHET:1060 can still opt to complete the Rhetoric requirement with RHET:1030.

Interpretation of Literature
Students must complete one approved course (3 s.h.) in this area. They may use any 3 s.h. course approved for the Interpretation of Literature area of the CLAS General Education Program. 

Natural Sciences
Students must complete one approved course (3 s.h.) in this area. They may use any 3 s.h. course approved for the Natural Sciences area of the CLAS General Education Program. Students are not required to complete a lab.

Global Perspectives
Students must complete one approved course (3 s.h.) in this area. They may use any 3 s.h. course approved for the International and Global Issues area of the CLAS General Education Program.

Domestic Diversity
Students must complete one approved course (3 s.h.) that addresses diversity and domestic perspectives on current issues. They may use any 3 s.h. course approved for the Values, Society and Diversity area of the CLAS General Education Program.

In addition to the courses approved for the Values, Society and Diversity, students also may use one of these distance education courses, which are not part of the CLAS General Education Program, to satisfy the B.L.S. domestic diversity requirement.

Statistics or Quantitative or Formal Reasoning
Students must complete one approved statistics (STAT) or Quantitative or Formal Reasoning course to satisfy this B.L.S. core requirement.

  • Any 3-4 s.h. course offered by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science with the prefix STAT except STAT:1000 First-Year Seminar.
  • Any 3-4 s.h. course approved for the Quantitative or Formal Reasoning area of the CLAS General Education Program.

Information Literacy
Students must complete one approved course (2-3 s.h.) focusing on information literacy. The following courses are commonly offered by distance education.

  • BAIS:1500 Business Computing Essentials (2 s.h.)
  • CCP:3106 Career Computing Skills (2 s.h.)

Students also may use one of these courses, which are not offered by distance education, to satisfy the B.L.S. information literacy requirement.

  • CS:1020 Principles of Computing (3 s.h.)
  • CS:1110 Introduction to Computer Science (3 s.h)

Critical Thinking
Students must complete one approved course (3 s.h.) focusing on critical thinking. The following courses are commonly offered by distance education.

  • COMM:2070 Social Media and Society (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023*
  • HRTS:2115 Introduction to Human Rights (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023*
  • JMC:1100 Introduction to Media Effects (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023*
  • JMC:2700 Media Ethics and Diversity (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023*
  • PHIL:1033 The Meaning of Life (3 s.h.)
  • RELS:1015 Global Religious Conflict and Diversity (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023*
  • RELS:2260/GHS:2260 Hard Cases in Healthcare at the Beginning of Life (3 s.h.)
  • RELS:2775 Bible and the Holocaust (3 s.h.)
  • RHET:2135/SJUS:2135 Rhetorics of Diversity and Inclusion (3 s.h.) *NEW! Effective Summer 2023
  • SRM:2065 The Experience Economy (3 s.h.)

Students also may use one of these courses, which are not offered by distance education, to satisfy the BLS critical thinking requirement.

  • LING:1050 Language and Formal Reasoning (3 s.h.)
  • PHIL:1034 Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (3 s.h.)
  • PHIL:1636 Principles of Reasoning: Argument and Debate (3 s.h.)

Leadership and Career Development
Students must complete two or more approved courses (total of 6 s.h.) focusing on leadership and career development. The following courses are commonly offered by distance education.

  • CCP:2001 Graduate Admissions 101 (1 s.h.)
  • CCP:3102 Job Search Essentials (1-3 s.h.)
  • CCP:3104 Defining Your Career Path (2 s.h.)
  • CCP:3107 Social Media for Your Job Search (1 s.h.)
  • COMM:1818 Communication Skills for Leadership (3 s.h.)
  • COMM:1819 Organizational Leadership (2-3 s.h.)
  • CSI:1410 Life Design (2 s.h.)-Effective Fall 2021
  • WRIT:3005/CW:3005/INTD:3005 Professional and Creative Business Communication (3 s.h.)
  • ENTR:1350 Foundations in Entrepreneurship (3 s.h.)
  • LS:2002 Career Leadership Academy Part 1: Leadership in Practice (3 s.h.)
  • CSED:2081 Making a Vocational-Educational Choice (2-3 s.h.)
  • CSED:4111 Building Leadership and Success at Work (3 s.h.)
  • CSED:4194 Interpersonal Effectiveness (3 s.h.)  
  • CSED:4197  Citizenship in a Multicultural Society (3 s.h.)
  • SOC:4225 The Social Psychology of Leadership (3 s.h.)