CIC REQUIREMENTS:
- Complete 2 courses with a College Writing (CW) attribute1.
- Complete 12 additional credits distributed across three categories2:
- CIC Humanities (6 credits)
- CIC Natural and Data Sciences (3 credits)
- CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credits)
- Complete an additional language or culture requirement.
Notice to Students who are enrolled in the following programs:
Interior Architecture BFA
Integrated Professional Studies Online
BA in Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies
Please also note that students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNCG are exempt from CIC requirements 1-2, with modified requirements for #3.
1. CIC COLLEGE WRITING REQUIREMENT
In addition to the MAC Written Communication competency, students in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 2 courses at the 200 level or above carrying the College Writing (CW) attribute. At least 1 of these courses must be in the student’s major.
Courses with a College Writing attribute can also be used to fulfill requirements for the student’s majors and/or minors and the CIC Breadth of Knowledge requirement.
1Students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNCG are exempt from the CIC College Writing Requirement.
2. CIC BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENT
In addition to the MAC, students must complete 12 additional credits distributed across three categories:
- CIC Humanities: 6 credits
- CIC Natural and Data Sciences: 3 credits
- CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 credits
The categories of courses are defined by the following course prefixes:
- CIC Humanities:
ADS, ASL, BLS, CCI, CHI, ENG, FRE, GER, HIS, IAR, JNS, LLC, MST, PHI, REL, RUS, SPA, WGS - CIC Natural and Data Sciences:
AST, BIO, CHE, CSC, GES, MAT, PHY, STA - CIC Social and Behavioral Sciences:
ATY, CST, IGS, PSC, PSY, SOC, SSC
The 12 credits can be at any undergraduate level (100-499). Transfer credits that are not equivalent to specific UNC Greensboro courses can also be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirements, as long as they are at the undergraduate level and include these course prefixes:
ADS, AST, ATY, BIO, BLS, CCI, CHE, CSC, CST, ENG GES, HIS, IAR, IGS, LLC, MAT, MST, PHI, PHY, PSC, PSY, REL, SOC, SSC, STA, WGS.
Three of the 12 Breadth of Knowledge credits may also be used to fulfill requirements for the student’s primary major (i.e., the 3 credits can be used to fulfill both a major requirement and a Breadth of Knowledge requirement).
Credits used to fulfill the College Writing requirement may also be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirement.
However, 101-204 language courses used to fulfill the Additional-Language Requirement cannot be used to fulfill the Breadth of Knowledge requirement.
2Students who transfer 60 or more credits to UNCG are exempt from the CIC Breadth of Knowledge Requirement.
3. CIC ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT*
Students are encouraged to take a placement test to determine what level they should start with the additional language. For both BA and BS students, the demonstration of proficiency of an additional language above the 204-level (either via placement test or successful completion of a 300-level language class) will satisfy this requirement.
- BA students (0-12 hours) – can be satisfied in one of two ways:
- Successfully complete a 203 course in an additional language and complete a 204 course in the same language.
- Successfully complete a 203 course in an additional language and complete a CIC Culture course.
- BS students (0-6 hours) – can be satisfied in one of three ways:
- 6 hours of additional language coursework related to a single language, between the 101-204 level, depending on their starting point in the language.
- 3 hours of additional language coursework, between the 101-204 level, depending on their starting point in the language, and a course carrying the CIC Culture (CC) attribute.
- 6 hours of courses that carry the CIC Culture (CC) attribute.
COLLEGE WRITING (CW) ATTRIBUTE
CIC Culture (CC) ATTRIBUTE
WAIVERS, ALTERNATIVES, AND MODIFICATIONS (WAM)
The CIC requirements are waived for students in:
- the Interior Architecture, B.F.A. program.
- the Integrated Professional Studies Online major.
The following modifications of the CIC requirements apply to students in the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies program:
- Students who transfer in 60+ credit hours and do not have 101 and 102 of an additional language can complete 6 credit hours (or 3 credit hours if they have 101 credit) of MAC Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning courses to satisfy the additional language requirement.
- The breadth of knowledge requirement and the additional language requirement are waived for reactivated students and students who change their major from outside of CAS with 90 or more credits.
Second Majors
A student may take a second major in conjunction with the first major. This program requires a minimum of 27 credits in each of two approved majors. All requirements of each major must be met; hours from the second major can be applied toward the General Education requirements.
A student with a first major outside the College who chooses a second major in one of the College departments is required to complete all of the departmental requirements for the second major but need not satisfy the Communicating Ideas in Context requirements (CIC). Similarly, students who are seeking either a dual degree or a second degree are exempt from the Communicating Ideas in Context requirements (CIC).
Departments/Programs can request a WAM to all or part of the College’s Communication in Context (CIC) curriculum. They can propose and justify a WAM on any grounds they deem appropriate, although the assumption is that the CIC will apply to all College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) majors in most programs. Among the reasons that a Department/Program might seek a WAM are for:
- High Hour Majors: if the number of credit hours required in a CAS major meets or exceeds 70 credit hours, graduating within 120 credit hours would require expert “double or even triple-dipping” courses to meet Minerva’s Academic Curriculum, CIC, and major requirements.
- Specific Student Type: If a Department/Program makes a compelling case that all (or part) of CIC poses a significant barrier for its majors based on student profile and/or the difficulty of sufficient course delivery.
WAM requests should be sent to Associate Dean Maura Heyn. The requests will be considered by a subcommittee of the CAS C&T Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Dean, who will make a final decision on whether to approve the request.
This information was last updated May 2025.
PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
105 Foust Building
1010 Woman’s College Way
Greensboro, NC 27412