University Studies Program
(May 21, 2002)
(updated January 9, 2003)
Definition:
Global Awareness comprises various kinds of knowledge and perception that are necessary for human beings to identify, understand, and discuss global cultural diversity.
It is shaped by an examination of the relationship between historical and contemporary experience. The purpose of the Global Awareness (G) requirement is to immerse students in a perspective that is different from their own, to challenge assumptions about the world and its operation, and to allow students to explore possible alternative viewpoints from other societies, cultural and religious traditions, or geopolitical regions.
Rationale:
Graduates of the University of Wyoming should acquire knowledge of the global organization and interdependence of human societies. Such knowledge will foster students’ ability to identify and discuss contemporary global issues and to connect world events to personal experience. An awareness of the conditions, beliefs, behaviors, and practices of a variety of cultures will help students to function productively in an increasingly globalized world.
Outcomes:
Outcomes depend on the orientation of the course in which the Global Awareness component is embedded. The course should point to one or more of the following:
1. The ability to compare and contrast the unique characteristics of world cultures and the universality of human experience through examination of traditions, social organization, and ways of life.
2. The ability to analyze and understand the interconnectedness of global and local concerns.
3. The ability to recognize and interpret the aesthetic traditions and artistic representations that emanate from a culture located primarily outside the United States.
Criteria for Approval of University Studies Courses:
1. Courses in this category should serve to broaden the student’s perspective and increase an understanding of the way diverse groups of people make sense of the world in which they live.
2. The Global Awareness requirement may be met in courses devoted to the experience of a single culture, or in those devoted to a regional cluster of cultures. What is important is that G courses help students understand global cultural diversity.
3. While G courses may focus more strongly on either contemporary or historical experience, they should help students to understand the relationship between the two.
4. While not limited to studies of culture, courses in this category must focus on human activity and institutions. Subject matter that is based on the physical world and natural phenomena must focus on human interaction with and response to these phenomena.

5. While it isn’t required that a course seeking G certification already be a part of the University Studies Program, each course should show how a significant portion of the design and rationale relate to the philosophy of USP as articulated by this goal.
6. While most courses submitted in the G category will also aim to fulfill one other USP goal, courses seeking only G certification will be considered
7. Courses submitted in the G category cannot be certified under Cultural
Diversity in the United States.
Recommendations:
Applicants should consult the University Studies Committee’s statement on embedded components, which begins with the following definition:
For the purposes of University Studies, Embedded Components are those that may be taught as part of another course. This does not preclude those components being taught in courses dedicated to that topic. It is envisaged that of the five embedded components (G, D, L, WA, WB), some may be embedded in courses dedicated to the core components of University Studies, some may be embedded in courses required for the major, and some may be fulfilled by courses that are dedicated to that particular topic. We anticipate that embedded components will ordinarily be fulfilled in the context of three credit courses.
In order to ensure that embedding requirements will be met, faculty are urged to consult with department heads or program directors before proposing G courses.
Because most courses submitted for this goal will also aim to fulfill one other
University Studies goal, the guidelines for both goals should be consulted.
Process:
Using the University Studies Program criteria and outcomes, a sub-committee of three selected from the membership of the University Studies Committee will evaluate each course submitted for credit within the Global Awareness (G) category and will make recommendations to the full committee.
A course that is being proposed for dual credit—Global Awareness plus one other USP goal-will be considered simultaneously by two subcommittees of the University Studies Committee: one representing each of the goals being addressed.

University Studies Program
Criteria Review Sheet
Global Awareness (G)
By taking global awareness courses, students should acquire knowledge of the global organization and interdependence of human societies. Such knowledge will foster students’ ability to identify and discuss contemporary global issues and to connect world events to personal experience. An awareness of the conditions, beliefs, behaviors, and practices of a variety of cultures will help students to function productively in an increasingly globalized world. Global awareness courses should point to one or more of the following:
1. The ability to compare and contrast the unique characteristics of world cultures and the universality of human experience through examination of traditions, social organization, and ways of life.
2. The ability to analyze and understand the interconnectedness of global and local concerns.
3. The ability to recognize and interpret the aesthetic traditions and artistic representations that emanate from a culture located primarily outside the United States.
Courses in this category should serve to broaden the student’s perspective and increase an understanding of the way diverse groups of people make sense of the world in which they live. G courses should help students to understand the relationship between contemporary and historical experience.
While not limited to studies of culture, courses in this category must focus on human activity and institutions. Subject matter that is based on the physical world and natural phenomena must focus on human interaction with and response to these phenomena.
Course Prefix & Number:
Course Title:
Credit Hours
Please attach a detailed course syllabus that includes the objectives or outcomes for the course and the means to assess the extent that students reach them.
List any prerequisites:
1.
Using information from the syllabus, please describe how this course meets the learning goals (outcomes) and criteria for the G category by answering the following questions:
A.
How will students develop the ability to compare and contrast the unique characteristics of world cultures and the universality of human experience through examination of traditions, social organization, and ways of life?

B.
How will students develop the ability to analyze and understand the interconnectedness of global and local concerns?
C.
How will students develop the ability to recognize and interpret the aesthetic traditions and artistic representations that emanate from a culture located primarily outside the United States?
D.
How will this course serve to broaden the student’s perspective and increase an understanding of the way diverse groups of people make sense of the world in which they live?
E.
How does this course focus on human activity and institutions or human interaction with and response to the physical world?
2.
Explain how the assessment method(s) used for this course demonstrate student achievement of the learning outcomes for the G category. Explain how this assessment might provide information that can be used to improve accomplishment of desired learning outcomes.
3.
What other factors should the committee consider?