An "elective" is a course you elect to take. In other words, any course you take that is not specifically required for the degree is an elective. An elective is ANY course that The University offers for course credit as long as 1) the course would not count toward a core, foreign language, or major requirement, 2) the course is open, 3) you meet the course prerequisites, and 4) you have not previously completed the course. You should scroll through the course schedule and identify any department that sounds interesting to you and then review the information located under the course unique number.
Courses such as Philosophy, Social Work, etc. are electives because they do not fulfill any other requirement. Often when you have satisfied a degree requirement and take another course in the same department, it may be considered an elective. i.e., if you have completed your natural science requirement and take an Astronomy class or you may have completed TD301 to fulfill your Visual Performing Arts requirement, but you still want to take Fundamentals of Acting (TD303) or an Improv course (TD306), then your additional TD course would be considered an elective.
Electives give you an opportunity to take courses in areas that interest you, as well as courses you can perform well in to improve your GPA. You may use your electives to structure a concentration or a minor in other areas. These opportunities are available under Academic Enrichment on our website.
Please note that ROTC courses (such as AFS, MS, or NS departments) do not count toward degree requirements except under certain circumstances. You should talk with your advisor before attempting this coursework.
Below are some electives some of our students have had success in or enjoyed (not necessarily easy).
Recommended lower division electives
EDP 310 - Individual Learning Skills
Learn how to study better, plus test tactics, campus resources
INF 312 - Information in Cyberspace-WB
Web based, all about the internet
MUS 307 - History of Rock Music
Popular, tougher than it sounds
WGS 301- Family Relationships
Popular, one of several interesting topics, fills up fast
Recommended upper division electives
ALD 321- Play in Early Childhood
Popular, fills up fast
ALD 322 - Individual Differences
Popular, offers insight into learning
EDP 363 - Human Sexuality
Very popular, fills up fast
EDP 371 - Introduction to Statistics
Not easy, but good prep for Grad. school
INF 322T - Children's Literature
Lots of reading- children's books, large class
SOC 366 - Deviance
Popular, interesting topic, be prepared to study
Generally speaking, most of the "studies" areas are typically very accessible (open to non-majors and do not enforce many, if any, prerequisites), so you may want to consider African American Studies, American Studies, European Studies, Latin American Studies, Mexican American Studies, or Women and Gender Studies (or any other studies area you find interesting).
Many students often need upper division electives. Please make sure that you are either clicking on the upper division button on the course schedule search OR review the information below to properly identify the appropriate courses.
UPPER DIVISION HOUR REQUIREMENT:
You can use the course number to determine whether a course is upper division or lower division. The middle number determines the course classification. If the middle number is a 0 or 1, then it is considered a freshman or sophomore (or LOWER DIVISION) course. If the middle number is a 2 thru 7, then it is considered a junior or senior (or UPPER DIVISION) course.
The number of upper division electives a students needs can vary by student depending on how many upper division courses in their major that they plan to take, whether they attempt upper division courses in their core (such as American History courses or upper division Visual Performing Arts requirements), or if they completed upper division options for their Communication outside of major coursework. Students must earn a minimum of 36 hours of upper division coursework in order to fulfill degree requirements.