ESP (General Education Program)

• ESP Rules and Regulations: (PDF)
• ESP Tracking Form: (PDF) (Word)
• ESP Perspectives Approval Form: (PDF) (Word) - for faculty
• ESP Skills Approval Form: (PDF) (Word) - for faculty
• ESP Goals and Criteria: (PDF)- for faculty

Hollins University is a liberal arts institution. As such, it offers a general education program titled Education through Skills and Perspectives (ESP) that focuses on breadth and depth across the curriculum. For a complete description of the ESP and its various components, please refer to the Academic Catalog. This unique program is comprised of a series of perspectives and skills, each of which has an abbreviated designation on the right hand side of the Schedule of Classes and at the end of course descriptions in the Academic Catalog.

There are eight perspective requirements:

• Aesthetic Analysis "AES"
• Creative Expression "CRE"
• Premodern Worlds "PRE" (eff. Fall 2012, previously Ancient and/or Medieval Worlds "ANC")
• Modern and/or Contemporary Worlds "MOD"
• Social and Cultural Diversities "DIV"
• Global Systems "GLO"
• Language Requirement "LAN"
• Scientific Inquiry "SCI"

For catalog years prior to 2011-2012:
Each of the perspectives must come from a different subject code. In other words, if you decide to take an English course to satisfy "AES," you cannot take another English course to fulfill a different perspective.

Effective with the 2011-2012 catalog:
The eight perspective requirements must come from at least seven different disciplines. In other words, if you can use one English course to satisfy "AES" and another English course to satisfy "MOD," but the remaining six perspectives must be from different subject codes.

There are also a number of skill requirements:

• Writing: There are two writing requirements at Hollins. One writing course must be completed in the first year. These courses are designated by the code"f." This course can be either expository "x" or non-expository "w" in nature. One of your two writing requirement courses must be expository in nature.
• Oral Communication "o"
• Information Technology "i"
• Applied Research Techniques "r"
• Basic Quantitative Reasoning "q"
• Applied Quantitative Reasoning "Q"

A course can count for up to one perspective and two skills at the same time. For instance, if you take ENG 141, you will have completed CRE, f-w, and o.

If you have questions about ESP before arriving on campus, please do not hesitate to contact Trish Hammer, dean of academic services, at phammer@hollins.edu.