General Education

EN 101          Freshman English I

This course aims to introduce students to the AUA’s core values—academic excellence, free inquiry, integrity, scholarship, leadership, and service —while building students’ communication skills. Students are challenged to translate these values into practice and reflect upon two interrelated themes: how might these values enrich their potential as lifelong learners and leaders, and how might these values help students collectively build a productive and democratic community. Throughout the semester students will sharpen their oral and written communication skills by engaging in class discussions and debates as well as by utilizing the various stages of the writing process to produce well-organized paragraphs, letters, and short essays. Students will also have the opportunity to build an array of academic skills and familiarize themselves with university resources including the Papazian Library, Center for Academic Excellence, and Writing Lab through formal in-class trainings and home tasks.  Three hours of instructor-led discussion per week. (3 credits)

GE-F required for ALL   Fall        offered by CHSS

ES 101           Introduction to Environmental Sciences

The course is designed for students to gain an understanding of basic environmental science principles, including an introduction to the structure and functioning of ecosystems and their physical and bio-chemical cycles. The course will emphasize the importance of these processes for human health as well as human impact on these processes. As a science course, the course will teach students to use the methods of scientific inquiry to raise questions about the global systems, their impact on humans, and human impact on them. Specific topics to be covered include but are not limited to biodiversity, quantity and quality of water, land, and air resources, environmental conservation, human population trends and dynamic, food and industrial production, and waste and toxicity. Topics will be supplemented by Armenia and Caucasus-specific cases. (3 credits)

GE-QS Open to ALL   Fall & Spring           offered by ACE

CS 101          Introduction to Computer Science

The course provides students with a broad foundation in computer science. Topics   include:   introduction   to   computer   architecture   and   organization;   binary,   octal,   and hexadecimal   systems:  arithmetic and conversion; representation of integer and real numbers; algorithm design;   basic   data   structures:   stacks,   queues,   lists;   and   structural   programming: declarations, assignments, loops, and recursion.  Students will learn how to program basic algorithms through the use of a programming language such as Java. Three hours of instructor-led class time per week including discussions and problem sets. (3 credits)

GE-QS for E&C and BAB                               Fall        CS Core course                               CS majors given priority for registration                offered by CSE

SE 110           Applied Statistics

This course introduces the necessary core quantitative methods that will be needed in future offerings as part of the BA in Business program.  Statistical software and the use of spreadsheets are integrated throughout so that students better comprehend the importance of using modern technological tools for effective model building and decision-making. The course will make use of a data-oriented approach in exposing students to basic statistical methods, their conceptual underpinning, such as variability and uncertainty, and their use in the real world. Topics include data collection, descriptive statistics, elementary probability rules and distributions, sampling distributions, and basic inference. The course will also cover selected non-statistical quantitative techniques applied to business models, including curve fitting, optimization, and introduction to the time value of money.  (3 credits)

GE-QS for E&C  Fall Core BAB    offered by CSE

CS 100          Calculus I

This introductory course covers topics including: functions of one variable, transcendental  functions;  introduction  to  complex  numbers;  polar  coordinates;  limits,  continuity; derivatives,  techniques  of  differentiation,  differentiability,  extrema  of  differentiable  functions, applications of differentiation; indefinite and definite integrals, mean value theorem, related-rates problems, and the fundamental theorem of calculus.  Students are required to complete weekly problem sets in order to develop basic proficiency in the mathematical foundations introduced in the field of Calculus. Three hours of instructor-led class time per week including discussions and problem sets. (3 credits)

GE-QS for E&C  Fall Core BAB & CS         offered by CSE

LW 142         Introduction to Human Rights

This course introduces students to the principles and the practice of contemporary human rights law in the world and in an Armenian context.  It surveys sources of human rights laws and key human rights protecting individual rights to life and liberty, civil and political rights, and fair treatment by the state.   It also explores economic, social, and cultural, and antidiscrimination protections.  Attention is also given to mechanisms for enforcement of rights and remedies for rights violation. (3 credits)

GE-SS ALL           Fall Open to ALL              offered by CHSS

This course provides students with an introduction to the approaches in the study of politics.  The course explores major concepts prevalent in political science including power, democracy, political culture and constitutionalism.  It identifies the major fields of study within the discipline and familiarizes students with the differences in approach that each follow from a comparative perspective.  Students are expected to complete regular assignments in order to acquire knowledge and to practice skills discussed in class. (3 credits)

GE-SS ALL           Fall Open to ALL              offered by CHSS

This course introduces students to the structures and functions of American government and politics.  Students study the major institutions, how political parties interact with government, how elections are conducted and how policies are made.  This is done within an historical context.  American Federalism and the changes in how government attends to problems both foreign and domestic are covered.  Students are expected to complete regular assignments in order to acquire knowledge and to practice skills discussed in class. (3 credits)

GE-SS ALL           Fall Open to ALL              offered by CHSS

ECON 101     Introduction to Economics

This course examines key concepts in both microeconomics and macroeconomics.  The course explores individual consumer and industry behavior, supply and demand, market efficiency and equilibrium and the impact of government intervention.  Students will also analyze the economy as a whole, especially issues related to output, unemployment, productivity, inflation, trade, and economic growth and development.  Students will use these basic concepts to weigh different perspectives on monetary and fiscal policy and evaluate economic claims used in articles and newspapers, political campaigns, and debates. Home tasks will include reading assignments and problem sets. Three hours of instructor-led class time per week.  (3 credits)

GE-SS for E&C and CS    Not for BAB       Fall        offered by CBE

HSS 151        Introduction to French Language & Culture

In this course, students will explore how French culture has been shaped by language, geography, historical events, and foreign and internal forces and groups.  We will also examine how France and the French language have played an important role in the areas of culture, arts, cinema, fashion, and cuisine. The importance of the French language and culture has waxed and waned over the centuries, depending on France’s economic, political and military importance.  French culture today is marked both by great ethnic, regional, and socio-economic diversity and by strong unifying tendencies.  Through the study of a variety of sources including media, film, literature, and visual arts, students will gain an understanding of what constitutes the “French identity” of the 21st century. (3 credits)

GE-AH ALL          Fall Open to ALL              offered by CHSS

HSS 110        Introduction to Philosophy

This course aims at introducing students to some fundamental problems from various branches of philosophy: ontology, epistemology and ethics.  Questions regarding the existence of matter, God, causation, free will and other minds, the possibility of knowledge, as well as some ethical questions will be addressed during the course.  Students will read carefully selected writings from classical and modern philosophers.  Students will be asked to write short essays and participate in well-structured debates and discussions.  This course will help students develop critical and creative thinking skills, the ability to deal with uncertainty, conceptualize and theoretically analyze real life situations and problems.  Home tasks will include readings and writing assignments. Three hours of instructor-led class time per week. (3 credits)

GE-AH ALL          Fall Open to ALL              offered by CHSS

HSS 140        Music Appreciation

This course aims to equip students to listen to, understand and discuss music as a cultural and aesthetic form of human creativity through acquaintance with Western European classical music from various periods.  In this course students will learn to identify the basic elements of music, instruments, voice, genres, and styles, and will learn terminology used to discuss pieces of music as an art form and historical creation of a particular composer and period.   The basic underpinnings of music in physics, psychology and brain science will also be introduced.  The course requires extensive listening to music in and out of class, class discussion, and short papers on various composers and compositions.   The course may also include mandatory attendance at concerts and a short research paper or class presentation on a work or composer of the students’ choice as an individual or group project. (3 credits)

GE-AH ALL          Fall Open to ALL             offered by CHSS

EN 103          Introduction to Language & Culture

This course provides an overview of the structural, biological, and historical aspects of language and focuses on the socio-cultural aspect—the connections between language and culture, and the ways in which language is used in various cultural and social contexts.  Examples of regional variation, social variation, ethnicity, gender, age, style, register, and the status of the speaker’s language will be discussed and illustrated during the course. Students are required to complete weekly reading assignments. Three hours of instructor-led class time per week. (3 credits)

GE-AH for BAB and CS  Fall Core E&C                   offered by CHSS

EN 104          Introduction to Communications

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of communication studies. Students will examine the components of human communication as it takes place within interpersonal, group, organizational, and public contexts and become familiar with the historical development of mass media and its role in society, looking at the print and electronic news media, advertising, public relations, and the Internet.  Students will also explore developments in the theory of communication from the mid-20th century to the present.  They will apply theoretical models to critically assess contemporary means and patterns of communication and use these models to analyze and develop their own written and oral communication in different formats. Course work will include media and reading assignments, as well as case studies and oral and written projects.  Three hours of instructor-led class time per week. (3 credits)

GE-AH for BAB and CS  Fall Core E&C    offered by CHSS