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Entry Courses to Majors

Chairs of each department provided the information below to help new students choose appropriate entry-level courses for select majors. Students interested in a major should use this list as a starting point and consider taking these specific courses. Follow the links provided or speak with the department chair for more information.

AMERICAN STUDIES
AMST 203 – Conflicts and Cultures in American Society, a course required for the major
(or any other 200 level AMST course)

ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 101 – Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

ART HISTORY
AHIS 101 – Introduction to the History of Art in the West I
AHIS 102 – Introduction to the History of Art in the West II
AHIS 103 – Introduction to Asian Art

BIOLOGY
BIOL 182 – Evolution of Life
CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry I
BIOL 183 – Cellular Basis of Life
CHEM 112 – Introductory Chemistry II

CHEMISTRY/BIOCHEMISTRY
CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry I
MATH XXX – the calculus course recommended by the placement exam

CLASSICAL STUDIES
CLCV 111 – Introduction to Classical Art and Archaeology
CLCV 203 – Mythology
GREK 101 – Introduction to Classical and Biblical Greek I (offered in the spring)
LATN 101 – Fundamentals for Reading Latin
(or any other 100 or 200 CLCV course)

COMPUTER SCIENCE
CPSC 110 – Computing Essentials-Python
CPSC 115L – Introduction to Computing
MATH 131 – Calculus I (or another mathematics course recommended on the basis of the placement exam score)

ECONOMICS
Students interested in Economics must enroll in ECON 101, however it is not required that you enroll in the first semester of your first year. To enroll in ECON 101 as a first-semester, first-year student, you must qualify to enroll in MATH 131, Calculus I.

EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
EDUC 200 – Analyzing Schools

ENGINEERING
PHYS 141 and MATH 131 in the fall and PHYS 231 and MATH 132 in the spring. A 100- level engineering course during the first year. Students who may not yet be ready to take Calculus their first semester should take MATH 127 and CHEM 111 in the fall, and MATH 131 in the spring (and other courses selected in consultation with the engineering department chair).

ENGLISH
The English Major has three tracks: in Literary Studies, in Creative Writing, and in Film and Literature. First-year students may take any 100- or 200-level course that we offer. It is especially recommended that first-year students interested in the English major take ENGL 260, “Introduction to Literary Studies,” as it is a gateway to most upper-level English courses.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
BIOL 182 – Evolution of Life
BIOL 141 – Global Perspectives in Biodiversity & Conservation
CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry I
ENVS 110 – The Earth’s Climate
ENVS 112L Introduction to Earth Science

FILM STUDIES
FILM/ENGL 265 – Introduction to Film Studies
FILM 201 – Basic Filmmaking

HISTORY
Students interested in declaring the History major should enroll in 100- and 200- level HIST courses. The 100-level courses are broader in scope, and the 200-level more specialized, but both are suitable for all students and can be taken in any order.

HUMAN RIGHTS
HRST 125 – Introduction to Human Rights
PHIL 246 – Human Rights: Philosophical Foundations, Issues, and Debates

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
All 200-level INTS courses are appropriate entry courses to the major. Students considering majoring in INTS are also urged to enroll in language courses.

JEWISH STUDIES
RELG 109 – Jewish Tradition
RELG 211 – Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
HIST 213 – Modern Jewish History

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE STUDIES
If students are interested in a LACS major, they can and should enroll in the appropriate language course(s) for their level. If they have any questions, especially after taking the second-language placement exam, they should inquire with one of the professors in the relevant language area.

MATHEMATICS
Students most commonly begin their study of mathematics with courses that are recommended on the basis of their placement exam scores. A student whose placement score indicates calculus-readiness begins with MATH 131. (If the student has earned a 4 or 5 on the calculus AB exam, they should enroll in MATH 132 and if they earned a 4 or 5 on the calculus BC exam, they should enroll in MATH 231.) Very well prepared students considering a major in mathematics may wish to consider taking MATH 205, Abstraction and Argument, in addition to calculus. Permission of instructor is required.

MUSIC
Students interested in the Music major should look at our course requirements,
and should also email the department chair, Professor Eric Galm ([email protected]).
Recommended entry courses include:
MUSC 101 –Basic Musicianship
MUSC 201 – Diatonic Harmonic Practice (for students with advanced music theory experience)
MUSC 107 – Music Lessons
MUSC 113 – Introduction to World Music
MUSC 175 — Introduction to Recording Arts
MUSC 108 – Steel Pan Ensemble
MUSC 109 – Jazz Ensemble
MUSC 111 – Samba Ensemble

NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 182 – Evolution of Life
CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry I
NESC 101 – The Brain
PSYC 261 – Brain and Behavior

It is recommended that most First-Year students take both BIOL 182 and CHEM 111 in their first semester.

PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 102 – Introduction to Political Philosophy
PHIL 103 – Ethics
PHIL 205 – Symbolic Logic
PHIL 255 – Philosophy of Logic

PHYSICS
PHYS 141 – Physics I: Mechanics
MATH 131 – Calculus I

Exceptionally well-prepared students who have advanced placement credit exempting them from PHYS 141 and from both MATH 131 and MATH 132 may start the introductory sequence with the fall course PHYS 232 – Optics and Modern Physics prior to taking PHYS 231 – Electricity and Magnetism in the spring. These students should contact the chair of the department for permission to enroll.

POLITICAL SCIENCE
Students should take any 100- or 200-level courses in POLS. The exception is that POLS 241 and 242, our research methods courses, would not be suitable 200-level courses.

PRE HEALTH
CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry I with lab
BIOL 182 – Evolution of Life with lab
MATH 131 – Calculus I
MATH 107 – Elements of Statistics
MATH 207 – Statistical Data Analysis (For students who don’t plan to major in a discipline that requires calculus)

PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC 101 – Introduction to Psychology

A checklist and diagram​ of the major, for students to use with their adviser, are available on the Psychology web site.

PUBLIC POLICY AND LAW
ECON 101 – Basic Economic Principles
MATH 107 (or 207) – Elements of Statistics (or Statistical Data Analysis)
PBPL 123 – Fundamentals of American Law
PBPL 201 – Introduction to American Public Policy

RELIGIOUS STUDIES​
RELG 101 – Introduction to Religion
RELG 109 – Jewish Tradition
RELG 110 – Introduction to Christianity
RELG 151 – Religions of Asia
RELG 181 – Introduction to Islam
RELG 211 – Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
RELG 212 – New Testament
RELG 256 – Buddhist Thought
RELG 281 – Anthropology of Religion

SOCIOLOGY
Student should start with SOCL 101 – Principles of Sociology.

STUDIO ARTS
Any of the 100-level courses. 200-level courses without prerequisites may also be appropriate.

THEATER AND DANCE
Students interested in the Theater and Dance major are welcome to enroll in any of our 100 and 200 level courses without prerequisites. They are also strongly encouraged to participate in any of our departmental productions, each year.

URBAN STUDIES
URST 101 – Introduction to Urban Studies
URST 201 – From Hartford to World Cities

WOMEN, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY
WMGS 201 – Gender and Sexuality in a Transnational World