1. College Success

• COLLG 110 College Success (3 credits)

• Course purpose: A foundational course to explore and affirm a career in writing studies and build upon the skills, knowledge, and resources that will support you at Pierce College and beyond. 

2. English Composition I

• ENGL& 101 English Composition I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Clear and strategic communication with others is a central feature of all careers in English. This class provides necessary skills for analyzing and documenting primary and secondary sources which are necessary skills for an English major.

3. Research Essentials

• INFO 101 Research Essentials (2 credits)

• Course purpose: This course will help you apply research skills and strategies needed to better access information, evaluate it for credibility, and apply it for a variety of purposes in your life. This course facilitates primary and secondary source knowledge which is key in literary analysis and is useful in literature and Humanities classes.

Action Item: Meet with Advisor

Use your Success Network! In your first quarter, meet with your advisor to revisit your career and transfer path, make adjustments to your goals as needed, and plan for your next steps.

4. Social Science Course Recommendation

Choose one

• ANTH& 206 Cultural Anthropology (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Cultural Anthropology introduces you to ethnography. Ethnography is both a method of inquiry and a compositional practice that has value within many of the academic and professional/technical situations in which a Writing Studies student might hope to work.

• POLS& 101 Introduction to Political Science (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course will provide you with a foundation for understanding how humans function within the political landscape, a key facet of how cultures are shaped. 

• SOC& 101 Introduction to Sociology (5 credits)

• Course purpose: A foundation in sociological research methods will build your understanding of human relationships and social systems.

5. Math Course Recommendation

The math course you select will depend on the transfer institution you plan to attend and your math placement. Your advisor will assist you in selecting the appropriate course(s).

Mathematics Course Distribution List   

6. Introduction to Literature

• ENGL& 111 Intro to Literature (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course gives you an overview of several kinds of literature such as poetry, short stories, essays, novels, and plays. This course may foster the ability to interpret and connect literary works to culture and history from a reader’s perspective.

7. Technical Writing

• ENGL& 235 Technical Writing (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course will develop writing skills for professional settings including visual rhetoric and design. You will build advanced knowledge of genres conventions introduced in ENGL 101. 

8. Natural Science Course Recommendation

Choose one

• BIOL& 175 Human Biology w/Lab: Anatomy & Physiology (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Lab science courses provide you with opportunities to develop the scientific method of inquiry by creating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and writing lab reports using specialized vocabularies and communicating complex information. This course offers you a comprehensive understanding of how the human body works, and will also provide a foundation for further study in life sciences.

• NSCI 150 Nature (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Lab science courses provide you with opportunities to develop the scientific method of inquiry by creating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and writing lab reports using specialized vocabularies and communicating complex information. Natural Science provides you with the skills and concepts for understanding the physical environment, as well as an introduction to global environmental issues.

• BIOL& 100 Survey of Biology (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Lab science courses provide you with opportunities to develop the scientific method of inquiry by creating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and writing lab reports using specialized vocabularies and communicating complex information. BIOL&100, a survey of the life science, will introduce or develop your understanding of how life develops, adapts, and evolves. 

9. English Composition II

• ENGL& 102 Composition II: Argumentation and Research (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course will build skills in composing within and beyond academic settings. You will compose projects for various audiences, while continuing to develop research writing and information competency skills. 

10. Social Science Course Recommendation

Choose one

• HIST& 126 World Civilizations I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course provides you with context for understanding early political, economic, and cultural systems. Civilizations from the Stone Age to 1100 are covered in this course.

• HIST& 156 History of U. S. I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course develops writer’s content knowledge in history and/or political science in the disciplines, while focusing on the origins of social and political systems. US History I covers everything prior to 1840.

• POLS& 202 American Government (5 credits)

• Course purpose: American Government provides you with a review and analysis of US political and government systems as well as additional perspectives for understanding communication in a variety of contexts.

• POLS& 203 International Relations (5 credits)

• Course purpose: International Relations develops awareness of global problems and potential solutions. 

Action Item: Apply for Graduation

Way to go! It is time to apply for graduation. Visit the Pierce College Graduation website for details. https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/graduation

11. Creative Writing I

• ENGL& 236 Creative Writing I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Experience writing within multiple generes will strengthen your rhetorical skills. 

12. Humanities Course Recommendation

Choose one

• ART 260 Art in Motion: Real and Recorded (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Studio, performance, and production courses strengthens your composing skills in multiple modes, and with multiple mediums and materiality. Art 260 will enhance your awareness and knowledge of genre into other disciplinary notions of composing.

• DRMA 165 Digital Movie Making I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: In this course, you will learn some of the basics of making movies using digital technologies which strengthens composing and tech skills necessary for writing students. 

• DRMA 260 Acting for Stage and Digital Film I (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course introduces you to acting, and the various methods actors employ for film and stage productions which will enhance your understanding for communicating in a performance discipline.

• CMST& 101 Introduction to Communications (5 credits)

• Course purpose: CMST& 101 will introduce you to theories of communication in another discipline, while building knowledge of how language practices connect to social norms and identity.

Action Item: Transfer Institutions

Please affirm your choices for transfer institutions as some require two years of foreign language in high school, or two quarters here at Pierce. If you need a foreign language for entry into your transfer institution (if you do not take two years in high school), please take those courses in 13 and 16. 

13. Humanities Course Recommendation

Choose one

• PHIL 150 Introduction to Ethics (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course introduces you to theories of ethics and the application of theory to contemporary social problems, thus building important frameworks for understanding the world. 

• PHIL 230 Contemporary Moral Problems (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course introduces you to the application of theory to today’s most urgent contemporary social problems.

• PHIL 238 Philosophy of Human Rights (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This course poses thought-provoking questions to explore: such as “Are there human rights? Are human rights universal or are they culturally determined? Do future people have rights? Are minority rights exceptions to or different from human rights?”

• CMST 105 Intercultural Communication (5 credits)

• Course purpose: CMST 105 will help you understand how culture affects communication theory and practice, and prepares you to communicate effectively across cultures.

14. Natural Science Course Recommendation

Choose an additional course from 8.

15. English Composition III

• ENGL 107 Composition III: Writing About Literature (5 credits)

• Course purpose: This English course is an overview of poetry, stories, and plays and the analysis of these texts to write about them effectively. Primary and secondary sources are read, researched, analyzed, and documented in this course. This is the foundation of multiple upper-division literature courses requiring analytical research essays.

16. Humanities/Symbolic Logic Course Recommendation

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• HUM 105 Black Thought and Culture (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Black Thought and Culture provides you a wide range of African-American voices to develop an understanding of blackness in America. 

• HUM 106 Ethnic Thought and Culture (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Ethnic Thought and Culture offers a broad survey of multicultural America which will develop an understanding of the diverse populations in our society. 

• HUM 107 Latin American Thought and Culture (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Latin American Thought andCulture offers a wide range of Latin-American voices and concepts.  

• HUM 109 American Thought and Culture: The Harlem Renaissance (5 credits)

• Course purpose: HUM 109 focuses on the art, literature, music, and activism of the Black American cultural movement of the 20’s and 30’s.

• PHIL& 120 Symbolic Logic (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Phil 120 will build skills in assessing and composing logical arguments through mathematical proofs.

17. Social Science Course Recommendation

Choose an additional course from 4.

18. Natural Science Course Recommendation

Choose one

• ENVS& 100 Survey of Environmental Science (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Environmental science courses explore the connection between hard science and its application via public discourse, which includes policy work, advocacy, and communication across a variety of situations and contexts. You should take this course if you are interested in a general overview of environmental science. 

• ENVS 140 Western Water Problems (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Western Water Problems will develop your understanding of historical and current water issues in the western U.S.

• ENVS 150 Environmental Issues (5 credits)

• Course purpose: Environmental science courses explore the connection between hard science and its application via public discourse, which includes policy work, advocacy, and communication across a variety of situations and contexts. You should take this course if you are interested in a general overview of environmental science through case studies. 

• MATH& 146 Introduction to Statistics (5 credits)

• Course purpose: MATH& 146 offers you interdisciplinary applications of math, which will build some fundamentals in statistics, and the graphical methods will support developing skills in working with quantitative research.

19. Advanced Composition Portfolio

• ENGL 256 Advanced Composition - Portfolio (2 credits)

• Course purpose: If you choose writing studies, this portfolio opportunity will be a useful and tangible artifact as a transfer student, which will illustrate your preparation in drafting and composing various genres for public, academic, and workplace audiences.

Total Credits: 90