General Education Requirements

The following courses will meet the core requirements for all Design programs. Additional courses are offered specific to majors. Please consult your advisor before taking courses not on this list. For details on any class on this list, please refer to the Iowa State University Courses and Programs.

Humanities

Courses that introduce students to cultural heritage and history. Below are specific courses.

• African American Studies (AF AM) 201
• American Indian Studies (AM IN) 210
• Classical Studies (CL ST) 273, 275
• English (Literature) 201, 225, 227, 240
• History (HIST) 201, 221, 222
• Music (MUSIC) 102
• Philosophy (PHIL) 201, 230
• Religious Studies (RELIG) 205, 210, 220, 242, 280
• Theatre (THTRE) 106, 110
• Women’s Studies (WS) 201
• World Languages & Cultures (WLC)
  • ARABC 101
  • CHIN 101
  • FRNCH 101
  • GER 101
  • LATIN 101
  • RUS 101
  • SPAN 97, 101,102

Social Sciences

Courses that introduce students to human behavior, and the structure and functioning of institutions. Below are specific courses.

• Anthropology (ANTHR) 201, 230
• Economics (ECON) 101, 102
• Human Development and Family Studies (HD FS) 102, 239, 276
• Political Science (POL S) 215, 235, 241, 251
• Psychology (PSYCH) 101, 230, 250, 280
• Sociology (SOC) 134
• Women’s Studies (WS) 205

Mathematical, Physical & Biological Sciences*

• Astronomy (ASTRO) 120, 150
• Biology (BIOL) 101, 155, 173, 211
• Computer Science (COM S) 103, 106, 107, 113
• Environmental Science (ENSCI) 250
• Geology (GEOL) 100, 101, 108, 201
• Math (MATH) 104, 105, 106, 140, 143, 145, 150, 151, 160, 165
• Meteorology (MTEOR) 206
• Physics (PHYS) 101, 111
• Statistics (STAT) 101, 104

* Students who intend to apply to the Architecture program are advised to take MATH 145 and PHYS 111 during their Core year. Students who intend to apply to the Industrial Design program are advised to take PHYS 101 or PHYS 111 and a math course during their Core year. Students who intend to apply to the Landscape Architecture program are advised to take MATH 145 during their Core year.

NOTE: While these specific math and science courses are not required to apply to the programs, they are required to advance once the students are admitted to the professional degree programs. Students ideally complete these courses during their Core year or take them over the summer between completing the Core and enrolling in the professional programs. Not all courses are offered during the summer, so it is strongly recommended that students interested in these majors complete the courses during the Core.