University Core Curriculum (General Education) Requirements

All IUK students seeking a bachelor's degree must complete the university's core curriculum (General Education) requirements summarized in the below sections. The main objective of the university's core curriculum is to provide our students with a foundational knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, mathematics and science, and to develop principles of personal and social responsibility to be global citizens.

The General Education Requirement provides students with knowledge and skills in:

Communication: to communicate effectively in English, speaking and writing, and professional Arabic.
Critical Thinking and managing information: to understand how to analyze and synthesize a certain subject and how to solve problems using scientifically proven methods.
Basic science and mathematics: to understand the foundation of different mathematics and science domains, in addition to t the interdisciplinary relationship between sciences and their applications.
Cultural and historical perspectives: to demonstrate understanding of cultural and historical perspectives and they contribute to strengthen understanding of different domains.
Humanities and Social behaviorperspectives: to discuss topics related to human and social development, ethical behavior, and the impact of cultural factors on human development.

Objectives of the Core Curriculum

The Core Curriculum courses will help develop and upgrade students' skills in the following areas:

Critical Thinking Skills: To include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information.
Communication Skills: To include effective development, interpretation, expression of ideas, articulation in verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication.
Empirical and Quantitative Skills: To include the manipulation, analysis, and computation of numerical data or observable facts, and the deduction of meaningful conclusion
Teamwork Skills: To include the ability to consider different points of view, and to work effectively with others to support a shared goal.
Patriotism and Social Responsibilities: To include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in national, regional, and global communities.
Personal Responsibility: To include the ability to relate decision-making, attitude and behavior, and actions and consequences to ethical standards of the community.

General Education Courses

The below list depicts the objectives and the courses that comprise each area of the University core curriculum:

1. Compulsory Group (21 Credit Hours – All students)

This group consists of four areas:

• Communication and languages Area (12 Credit Hours):

Students must complete all the following courses:

* PT= Placement Test
Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite
ENGL 100	Academic English	3	PT* or ENGL 095
ENGL 110	English Composition 1	3	PT* or ENGL 100
ENGL 120	English Composition 2	3	ENGL 110
ARAB	Arabic Language 1 or 2	3

• Islamic Civilization and History knowledge Area (3 Credit Hours):

Students must select one of the following courses:

Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
HIST 110	HIST 110 Islamic and Arab Civilization	3		ENGL 100
ISLM 101	Islamic Culture	3		ENGL 100

• State of Kuwait Knowledge Area (3 Credit Hours):

Students must select one of the following courses:

Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
POLS 120	Kuwait Constitution & Government	3	ENGL 100
HIST 120	Kuwait History	3		ENGL 100

• Creative thinking and Information Management Knowledge Area (3 Credit Hours):

Students must select one of the following courses:

Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
INFS 120	Intro. to Comp. & information Systems	3		ENGL 100
COMS 131	Computers and Problem Solving	3		ENGL 100

• Humanities, Arts, and Culture Knowledge Area (6 Credit Hours)

Students can select any six credits from the below table:

* Any other approved course
Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
ARAB 102	Arabic Language 2	3		ARAB 101
ARAB 230	Introduction to Arabic literature	3	ARAB 101
ARTH 180	Art and Society	3		ENGL 110
MEDI 101	Introduction to Media and Communication	3	ENGL 100
ARTH 190	Kuwait Art	3	ENGL 100
ENGL 205	Introduction to English literature	3	ENGL 110
HIST 251	History of Islamic Art & Architecture	3	HIST 110
PHIL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3	ENGL 100
PHIL 105	Introduction to Ethics	3		ENGL 110
BUSG 100	Globalization & Environment	3	ENGL 100
MUSI 262	History of Music I	3	ENGL 100

• Social and Behavioral Sciences Knowledge Area (6 Credit Hours)

Students can select any six credits from the below table:

* Any other approved course
Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
ANTH 202	Intro. to Cultural Anthropology	3	ENGL 100
ANTH 203	Intro. to Archaeology	3	ENGL 100
ISLM 101	Islamic Culture	3		ENGL 100
COMM 130	Introduction to Public Speaking	3		ENGL 110
ECON 201	Global Economic Concepts	3		ENGL 110
HRMA	Tourism	3	ENGL 100
POLS 254	Law and Society	3	ENGL 110
ARAB 110	Arabic Writing	3	ARAB 101
PSYC 100	Introduction to Psychology	3	ENGL 100
SOCS 100	Intro. to Sociology	3	ENGL 110
TECH 113	Impact of Modern Tech on Society	3	ENGL 100

• Mathematics and Natural Sciences Knowledge Area (9 Credit Hours)

Students can select any nine credits from the below table with at least six credits in Mathematics and three credits Science courses.

* Any other approved course
* Non-Engineering only
**PT = placement test
Course code	Course Title	Credit Hours	PRE-requisite	CO-requisite
MATH 100	Mathematics for Social Sciences	3	Only Art students
MATH 110	College Algebra	3	PT/MATH 095
MATH 114	Calculus for Business*	3	PT/MATH 095
MATH 131	Calculus 1	3	PT/MATH 110
MATH 211	Intro. to Probability & Statistics	3	MATH 110
PHYS 101	Physics 1	4	PT	ENGL 100
CHEM 131	General Chemistry 1	4	PT	ENGL 100
BIOL 109	Human Genetics and Society	3	PT	ENGL 100
BIOL 110	General Biology 1	3	PT	ENGL 100
GEOL 102	Intro. to Global Climate Change	3	PT	ENGL 100
GEOL 130	Intro. to Environmental Studies	3	PT	ENGL 100

General rules of the University Core Curriculum:General Education

All undergraduate students from all disciplines at the International University of Kuwait must complete 42 units of general university requirements as a condition of meeting the degree’s requirements.
When registering for any general education course, students should meet the prerequisite or co-requisite preconditions.
All students must complete compulsory English courses during the first and the second years, i.e., before completing 60 modules.
Some disciplines, such as engineering, have special requirements for general education requirements.
If some courses satisfy both the general education requirements and the college or major requirements, they cannot be counted twice but must be substituted by other courses within the general education requirements.