OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE COURSES AND CURRICULA

GEP Thematic Track Option (12 credit hours)

Thematic Tracks:

• Global Health
• Impact of Humans on the Natural Environment
• Conservation of Natural Resources
• Food and Nutrition
• Gender and Society

Pending Thematic Tracks:
Race and Ethnicity in American Society

Guidelines for proposing or revising a thematic track:

Information about the Thematic Track Option in the GEP:

Rationale:

The purpose of thematic tracks is to encourage students to connect knowledge from different disciplinary areas while focusing on a unifying theme or topic. It is well suited to students who have an interest in a particular topic and who would benefit by exploring that topic from multiple disciplinary perspectives. In contrast to minors, which are generally centered on a single discipline, thematic tracks involve multiple disciplinary perspectives.  Students will be credited with no more than one thematic track.

All students have three options for thematic tracks within the General Education Program (GEP).  A student may:

• Choose a thematic track that has been approved by the Council on Undergraduate Education (CUE). Completion of one approved thematic track will be noted in the student’s official transcript upon graduation provided that the student selects the thematic track prior to completion of degree requirements. 
• Create a thematic track of their own choice.  In this case, the thematic track will not be noted in the student’s transcript.
• Choose to complete the GEP without a thematic track. 

Requirement for completion of a thematic track: (12 credit hours)

• Choose a total of twelve credit hours in the thematic track category as a combination of four courses (12 credit hours) – which are linked by a common theme or topic. 
• One course must come from the university approved GEP Mathematical Sciences /Natural Sciences/ Engineering lists. One course must come from the GEP Humanities/Social Sciences/Visual and Performing Arts lists. 
• The remaining courses are also to be chosen from approved GEP lists. 

Double-counting:

• A course taken to satisfy a major requirement may be used as part of a thematic track provided the course is on an approved GEP thematic track list.  
• A course that satisfies the thematic track requirement may also satisfy the Global Knowledge or U.S. Diversity co-requisite if the course also exists on either university approved GEP co-requisite course list.  

Objective for thematic tracks

Thematic tracks will provide educational experiences that help students to use critical thinking skills to connect multiple disciplinary perspectives around a common topic or theme.  

Guidelines for proposing or revising a thematic track:

• All proposals for a new thematic track or revision to an existing thematic track may be proposed by faculty and students for consideration by CUE and must be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Courses and Curricula, Box 7105, NCSU Campus. Contact Catherine_Freeman@ncsu.edu for more information.
• A proposal to create or revise a thematic track should be made in memo format and addressed to the Chair of the Council on Undergraduate Education.
• For new thematic tracks, the proposal should provide a title and description of the thematic track, a list of the GEP courses selected, and should make clear how the courses relate to the central theme. 
• Courses listed in a thematic track should be offered every year and must be on one of the approved GEP course lists.  Courses with restrictions or seating limits should not be required to complete a thematic track.
• For revision to a thematic track, the memo should provide the thematic track title anda list of the proposed revisions with reasons.