Undeclared

Core Curriculum

Essential skills (9 hours)
Global Engagement (4hours)
Humanities and Fine Arts (6 Hours)
Science, Mathematics, and Technology (11 Hours Total)
Social Science (12 Hours)
TOTAL HOURS 42
(Ashton Taylor, William Dennard, Sidney Mahomes, Chelsea Horsley, Caitie Thomas, Corey Fern, Byron Gilliam)

Degree Plan

Core Curriculum Course Requirements

Academic Advisor

Office of the First Year Experience Office
Williams Center, Room 1001
(912)-478-3939
All undeclared students are advised in the Office of the First Year Experience
(Ashton Taylor, William Dennard, Sidney Mahomes, Chelsea Horsley, Corey Fern, Caitie Thomas, Byron Gilliam)

Writing Assignments

In college, writing assignments are an essential tool to get the student to think about, discover, research ideas and information, and more importantly become a better writer in the end. This takes place in core curriculum classes as well. The assignments may vary depending on the Professor and the course. Writing in the core curriculum ranges from a very broad subject of areas because all students must take these courses. For the Composition courses at different colleges, criterion is almost similar. The different types of writing include practice in composing a variety of expository, argumentative, and analytic texts for different audiences and situations, introduction to the broad range of rhetorical strategies central to academic writing, and tasks associated with process and/or revision. You end up writing a total of 20 - 30 pages or 6000 - 8000 words for the semester. Although this may seem overwhelming, do not feel intimidated. There will be opportunities for one to receive ample help in developing writing skills and strategies to transfer thoughts onto paper. Some papers may be geared towards the personal life of the student. Many types of writing activities, informal and formal, may contribute to the total pages, including tasks associated with process and/or revision, summary, reading response/reaction papers, analysis, synthesis, argumentation/persuasion, annotated bibliography, proposals, editorials, interpretation/ evaluation, self-assessment/letter to readers, and on-line genres. For example, in an ENGL-1101 course at Georgia State University, students had assignments that varied from describing themselves as a writer to a Rhetorical Analysis. The professor provided guidelines for students to follow for both essays, they were to be three-to-four pages and double-spaced. Most Professors provide students with the information that should be included in the essay, but it is the students’ responsibility to make sure the essay flows smoothly. In higher lever core classes the students are expected to do more critical thinking and research. In Savannah State University’s World Literature 1 class, the students had two different writing assignments. They were to write a literary analysis and a research paper. In some cases, students are asked to paraphrase and summarize passages from novels, articles, and scholarly journals the correct way. When writing students are expected to have accurate information and properly present it to inform people about that topic. In Anthropology at Georgia Southern University, the student has to write two papers about different topics they have learned. They must then go further into research than received from the book. The student has to write what they have learned to illustrate to the professor what all you have gained from the assignment.
(Chelsea Horsley,Ashton Taylor, Corey Fern,Sidney Mahomes, Caitie Thomas,William Dennard, Byron Gilliam)

Education

For undeclared students, your first two years of college will be focused on your core classes. These classes range from English and Math to Humanities and Science. The core curriculum requirements depend on where you attend college. The Core Curriculum requirements for Georgia Southern, University of Georgia, and Georgia Perimeter are very similar. At all three of the schools you are required to take English 1101 and 1102, as well as Math. However, at the University of Georgia you have to take 12 hours for Humanities/ Fine Arts, but at Georgia Southern and Georgia Perimeter you only have to take 6. At Southern they require you to take two freshman courses (FYE) and a World History; At Georgia and Perimeter they have a selection of different electives, Perimeter does require a Public Speaking course. For mathematics and science, Southern requires 11 credit hours, while Georgia requires 10 and Perimeter requires 9. In Social Sciences, all schools require 12 credit hours. At Southern, they do have health requirements to add to the curriculum. You have to get at least a “C” to get credit for the courses. If you have AP credits, then you will not have to take those classes. Please note that these are only the basic requirements, when you declare a major they may require you to take more classes in these departments. Also, based on the institution that you pick, you will have different course choices to choose from. You have to be careful when choosing an institution because if there comes a time that you want to transfer, you have to make sure your credit hours will be transferable. The suggested cut off time for wanting to transfer is sophomore year because after that you deal with classes strictly in your major, and most colleges differ in those courses. Therefore, choose wisely and go based on your preference.
University of Georgia Core

Georgia Perimeter Core
(Sidney Mahomes, Caitie Thomas, Chelsea Horsley,Corey Fern, William Denard, Byron Gilliam, and Ashton Taylor)

Publication Manual(s) and Style Guide(s)

MLA Style Guide
APA Style Guide
(Ashton Taylor, William Dennard, Sidney Mahomes, Chelsea Horsley, Corey Fern, Caitie Thomas, Byron Gilliam)

Sources for Choosing a Major

- Step by step directions of how to choose a major that best suits you.
- Describes the difference between choosing a major and choosing a career.
- Gives aspects to consider when choosing a major in college.
- Career exploration course on the Georgia Southern University webpage.
- Detailed guidelines on how to choose your major.
- Five beneficial ways on deciding on the right major.
- Career assessments on the Georgia Southern University webpage.
- Determining what you can do with your major on the Georgia Southern University webpage.
- Describes job shadowing and its advantages on the Georgia Southern University webpage.

(Sidney Mahomes, Caitie Thomas, Chelsea Horsley, William Dennard, Ashton Taylor, Byron Gilliam, Corey Fern)

Blogs

Lynn O’Shaughnessy, 5 Tips on Choosing a College Major
Five quick tips on choosing a major.
-Tips on what and what not to decide before choosing a college and a major. This blog helps you rethink your decisions based on what would be best for you in the future.

Jenny Lancette, What’s Wrong with an Undeclared Major?
Entering college as an undecided major is not a bad thing, there are also reasons it can be beneficial.
-There is nothing wrong with entering college without a major as long as you have a solid plan to help you to get to declaring a major eventually. Here are some steps to take to figure out the major for you.

Sean Brunson. Choosing A Major.
Things to think about while choosing a major: classes, job opportunities, average salary, etc...
-Here are some things to think about for your future before choosing a major such as job opportunities, classes required to take, requirements from classes to be able to graduate and graduate on time. Also, there are tips given on talking to some upperclassmen about the major and/or classes required to take.

Patrick T. Slowinski and W. Kerry Hammock. Advising Undeclared Students. Clearinghouse Academic Advising Resources. Internet.
Advising Undeclared Students
-Just some of the many guidelines on how to approach deciding on a major with your advisor. Exercsises are explained that will help ease the difficult process of declaring a major that is fit for you.
(Ashton Taylor, William Dennard, Sidney Mahomes, Chelsea Horsley, Corey Fern, Caitie Thomas, Byron Gilliam)

List Servs

There are no beneficial List Servs yet

References

Degree Plan
University of Georgia Core
Georgia Perimeter Core
Five quick tips on choosing a major.
Entering college as an undecided major is not a bad thing, there are also reasons it can be beneficial.
There are many things to think about while choosing a major: classes, job opportunities, average salary, etc...
Some things to think about while being advised as an undeclared student.
Blog on the search to finding a major.

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