General Education Classes
General Education classes are part of many certificates and every degree at RTC. Your program may allow you to choose a class from one of five areas:
- communication
- humanities
- mathematics
- social science
- natural science
You can find all of RTC's General Education classes here, sorted by area. You also see some important details about each class. Definitions and explanations of the columns -- what is a prerequisite? what does 'easy transfer' mean? -- are available at the bottom of this page.
Quick guide to special symbols:
- The carat or ^ sign before the Course ID on some Communication and Mathematics classes means that the class is best for a certificate or AAS degree. For an AAS-T, DTA/MRP, or BAS degree, you should choose a different option.
- The abbreviation (cd) after some Course IDs means that it is a cultural diversity class, which may be needed for some transfer students.
Communication
| Course ID | Course Name | Prerequisite | Quarters Offered | Easy Transfer | Materials Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^ COMP100 | Applied Composition | NO | all | none | |
| ENGL& 101 | English Composition | Placement | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | up to $50 |
| ENGL& 102 | English Composition II | YES | fall, winter, spring | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | up to $25 |
| ENGL& 235 | Technical Writing | YES | CWU, WSU, WWU | none |
Humanities
| Course ID | Course Name | Prerequisite | Quarters Offered | Easy Transfer | Materials Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ART& 100 (cd) | Art Appreciation | NO | fall, spring | WSU, WWU | none |
| CMST& 101 | Introduction to Communication | NO | fall, spring | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| CMST& 220 | Public Speaking | NO | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| CMST& 240 (cd) | Intercultural Communication | NO | fall, winter, spring | WSU | none |
| ENGL& 111 (cd) | Introduction to Literature | NO | winter | CWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| HIST 110 | Survey of American History | NO | fall, winter, spring | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| HIST& 126 (cd) | World Civilization | NO | winter | WSU | none |
| HUM& 101 (cd) | Introduction to Humanities | NO | all | WSU, WWU | none |
| MUSC& 105 (cd) | Music Appreciation | NO | fall, winter, spring | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| PHIL& 101 (cd) | Introduction to Philosophy | NO | fall, spring | CWU, EWU, WSU, WWU | $50 |
| SPAN& 121 (cd) | Spanish I | NO | fall, winter, spring | EWU, WSU, WWU | $40 |
| SPAN& 122 | Spanish II | YES or Placement | winter, spring | EWU, WSU, WWU | $40 |
Note: history classes (HIST and HIST&) can be used for a humanities requirement or a social science requirement.
Mathematics
| Course ID | Course Name | Prerequisite | Quarters Offered | Easy Transfer | Materials Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^AMATH 175 | Financial Math | NO | all | not transferable |
none |
| ^AMATH 190 | Financial Algebra | NO | all | not transferable | none |
| MATH& 107 | Math in Society | YES or Placement | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| MATH& 141 | Precalculus I | YES or corequisite or Placement | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $30 |
| MATH& 142 | Precalculus II | YES or Placement | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $30 |
| MATH& 146 | Introduction to Statistics | YES or corequisite or Placement | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $30 |
| MATH& 148 | Business Calculus | YES or Placement | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $30 |
| MATH& 151 | Calculus I | YES or Placement | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $30 |
| MATH& 152 | Calculus II | Yes | all | CWU, UW, WSU | $30 |
| MATH& 163 | Calculus 3 | Yes | all | WSU | $30 |
Social Sciences
| Course ID | Course Name | Prerequisite | Quarters Offered | Easy Transfer | Materials Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANTH& 106 (cd) | American Mosaic | NO | fall, winter, spring | WSU, WWU | none |
| ANTH& 234 (cd) | Religion and Culture | NO | fall, winter, spring | WSU, WWU | none |
| ANTH& 235 (cd) | Cross-Cultural Medicine | NO | fall, winter, spring | WSU, WWU | none |
| BUS& 101 | Introduction to Business | NO | fall, winter, spring | CWU, EWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| BUS& 201 | Business Law | NO | winter, summer | CWU, EWU, WSU | none |
| ECON& 201 | Microeconomics | NO | fall, spring | CWU, UW, EWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| ECON& 202 | Macroeconomics | NO | winter | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| HIST 110 | Survey of American History | NO | fall, winter, spring | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| HIST& 126 | World Civilization | NO | winter | WSU | none |
| POLS 150 (cd) | Contemporary World Issues | NO | spring | CWU, EWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| POLS& 202 | American Government | NO | fall, winter, spring | CWU, EWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| PSYC& 100 | General Psychology | NO | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | up to $30 |
| PSYC& 200 | Lifespan Psychology | NO | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | up to $30 |
| SOC& 101 (cd) | Introduction to Sociology | NO | all | CWU, WSU, WWU | none |
Note: history classes (HIST and HIST&) can be used for a humanities requirement or a social science requirement.
Natural Sciences
| Course ID | Course Name | Prerequisite | Quarters Offered | Easy Transfer | Materials Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIOL 105 | Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology | NO | fall | UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| BIOL& 100 | Survey of Biology | NO | winter, spring | CWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| BIOL& 160 | General Biology | NO | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | depends |
| BIOL& 241 | Human Anatomy & Physiology I | YES | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | depends |
| BIOL& 242 | Human Anatomy & Physiology II | YES | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | depends |
| BIOL& 260 | Microbiology | YES | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| CHEM& 121 | Introduction to Chemistry | NO | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
| CHEM& 131 | Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry | YES | winter, summer | CWU, WSU, WWU | none |
| ENVS& 100 | Survey of Environmental Science | NO | winter | none | |
| GEOL& 101 | Introduction to Physical Geology | NO | all | CWU, UW, WSU, WWU | $70 |
| IT 101 | Fundamentals of Computing | NO | fall, winter, spring | ||
| PHYS& 221 | Engineering Physics I | YES | fall, winter | none | |
| NUTR& 101 | Human Nutrition | NO | all | CWU, EWU, UW, WSU, WWU | none |
Definitions and Explanations
Placement
- NO means that there are no special requirements to enroll in the class. You can sign up easily without taking a test or another class first.
- YES means that the class is part of a sequence, and it is not the first in that sequence. You need a passing grade in another class -- the prerequisite -- before you can enroll.
- For example, you must pass ENGL& 101 with a 2.0 before you can register for ENGL& 102. This means that ENGL& 101 is a prerequisite for ENGL& 102.
- YES or Placement means that you need a prerequisite or a test score or a grade from high school to enroll in that particular class.
Visit our math and English placement page for specific information.
Quarters Offered
- Fall quarter starts in September and ends in December.
- Winter quarter starts in January and ends in late March.
- Spring quarter starts in April and ends in June.
- Summer quarter is July and August.
- All means that the class is offered every quarter.
- If there is nothing or the space is blank, the class is not being offered regularly.
Easy Transfer
- Four-year colleges and universities have transfer guides where they list all of RTC's classes that they have pre-approved.
- Easy Transfer means that the class will be accepted without any extra work by you.
- Here is what the abbreviations mean: WSU is Washington State University, CWU is Central Washington State University, WWU is Western Washington University, EWU is Eastern Washington University, and UW is University of Washington.
- If a class does not have any information in this column, or you do not see your university listed, don't panic!
- Transfer is still possible. The process just is not as easy. You may need to submit a request to the university, including the syllabus and assignments, before they agree to accept RTC's class.
- See the disclaimer below for more information about transfer.
Materials Cost
- None means that you do not have to buy any books, software, or supplies. Everything will be provided to you for free.
- The listed amounts are estimates.
- If it says "up to $25" or "up to $60," this means that some sections of the class require you to purchase something, and some do not. To find the sections with no materials to buy, you can look for the terms OER and Open Educational Resources in the descriptions on the Class Schedule.
Disclaimer
Some credits cannot be accepted due to the rules and policies of the intended university. For that reason, the fields are left blank.
Each university decides how to accept transfer credit. Your RTC class may transfer as a specific university course, distribution credit, or elective credit. Please do your research and look closely at the transfer websites for the university you hope to attend!