Great Works Academic Certificate

Statement of Requirements

This program (abbreviated GWAC) provides students with an opportunity to take part in a conversation with some of the best thinkers of all time. The study of great works in philosophy, politics, literature, sciences, and the fine arts encourages critical thinking. Such study confronts what it means to be human and thus immeasurably enhances a person’s daily life. There is a growing acknowledgement among employers in business and the professions that this sort of education develops lifelong learners and future leaders. This program also gives students who want to pursue graduate education early experience in grappling with original works of theory and literature such as they will inevitably encounter in graduate school.

GWAC requires either 22 or 25 credits, which students can tailor to their needs and interests. All students must complete History 105 (European Civilization to 1648) and 106 (European Civilization to Present), with the exception that honors students may substitute appropriate honors courses. In addition, students have the choice of completing either (a) 15 credits of courses in great works or (b) 12 credits of courses in great works and 6 credits of a single foreign language. At least 6 credits of courses in great works must be at the 300- or 400-level. Every student in the program must take at least one course with readings from before 1648 and at least one course with readings from after 1648; but those courses need not have all of their readings within only one of those two periods.

GWAC relies almost entirely on existing courses in departments. A course in great works is one that falls into either of the following categories: (a) Two-thirds or more of the readings on the syllabus consist of works (studied in whole or in part) on a list approved by the GWAC Committee. (b) The course is one of the following courses in art or music: ART 260, 261, 266, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 472, 473, 474, 475, 477, 479, 480, 481; MUS 121, 331, 332, 341, 342. Students may count only 3 credits of art or music (not both) toward the program, and any course counted in art or music must cover a historical period that overlaps with one of a student's other GWAC courses.

Click here to see the readings on the list of great works. The committee may modify that list at its discretion; it will consider suggestions from students. The committee will likely accept works other than those on the list if they were written by authors on the list. Intellectual diversity is inherent in that list; it reflects radical disagreements in philosophy, religion, politics, science, and literature.

To participate in the program, a student must be formally admitted to UNLV and have a grade point average of at least 3.00. A student must submit to the committee a syllabus of a course in order to ascertain definitely whether the course will count toward GWAC. In order to receive the certificate a student must have a minimum grade point average of 3.00 for courses taken within GWAC. No course in which a student receives below a B- may be accepted for GWAC. There is no required order in which courses must be taken, but students are urged to take European Civilization as early as possible. A student may count independent studies, as well as courses taken to fulfill graduation requirements (university, college, and departmental), toward fulfillment of GWAC requirements if they meet the requirement for content. Transfer courses that meet that requirement may be accepted for GWAC, but at least one-half of the courses must be completed at UNLV.

Upon completion of the course requirements, a student will be required to submit a portfolio of papers or other written work from courses taken within GWAC. The committee will review the portfolio as a means of assessing what the student has learned. No grade will be given, but the committee reserves the power to decide not to grant the certificate. It is expected that such a decision will rarely, if ever, be made. Students who fulfill the requirements will receive a notation on their transcript, in addition to the certificate.

Students should notify the director of their interest in the program as soon as possible in their college careers. Some students may have already made progress toward fulfilling GWAC requirements before the program was created; such students will be given full credit for those courses. Students who think they have fulfilled part or all of the requirements are urged to contact the director.

Seniors in the program are required to take a one-credit seminar, the purpose of which is to provide an opportunity for students to discuss one or more great works in a common reading list and at the same time synthesize the material in that list with what they have studied in their other GWAC courses. Writing assignments for the seminar may encourage students to compare and contrast the material read in the seminar with material read outside the seminar.

Great Works Academic Certificate Committee

David Fott, Political Science, Director (on sabbatical leave, July 1, 2008 -- June 30, 2009)
Stephen Rosenbaum, Philosophy, Acting Director

Andrew Bell, History

Ralph Buechler, Foreign Languages

Richard Harp, English
Mark Lutz, Political Science

Great Works Academic Certificate

Goals

1. To improve students’ ability to read and analyze carefully.
The challenge of great works summons careful attention and thoughtful critique because such works are impossible to categorize easily. Students will leave the program as better critical thinkers in all aspects of their lives.

2. To promote students’ facility with the written word.
Most classes within the program have a writing component that involves the development of good skills in research and analysis. In addition, exposure to excellent writing and thought helps to promote better writing. Careful reading is a prerequisite of good writing.

3. To engage students in a conversation on fundamental questions of human life.

Works on the list for the program treat questions of what it means to be human, such as: What is the structure of the universe? What is human nature? What is love? What is justice, and what does it require of us? Even if students do not find answers to those questions and learn only how to ask the questions more cogently, they will have accomplished a great deal.

4. To enrich students’ university experience and encourage lifelong learning.
Reading primary texts allows students to experience more continuity across subject matters. This experience encourages a lifelong curiosity–an eagerness and an ability to continue learning independently after college.

5. To provide students with a superior background for graduate school.
Graduate programs want students who have a knowledge of key primary texts in areas such as philosophy, literature, and the sciences. Those texts are the foundation of all disciplines in the liberal arts.

6. To prepare students better for today’s careers.
Specific skills learned in college often become less useful within several years of graduation, and people may change jobs or professions several times in the course of their lives. The program will help students to develop an intellectual strength that will allow them to maintain a variety of jobs more successfully.

7. To reward students’ achievements with scholarships and other honors.
Students who excel in the program should be more competitive for national scholarships and honors.

8. To encourage integration of students’ academic and social activities.
Activities such as a lecture series and on- and off-campus reading groups will encourage shared experiences in learning.