Dearborn Discovery Core (General Education)

The campus-wide general education program (known as the Dearborn Discovery Core) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is designed to complement work in a student's chosen area of study. These classes serve as a means of discovery for students, providing a foundation for learning, connecting to potential new areas of interest and building tools for success in whatever field a student pursues. The Dearborn Discovery Core is divided into three sections in order to accomplish the six goals for undergraduate student learning: Foundational Studies, Areas of Inquiry, and Capstone Experience.

Foundational Studies

Writing and Communication (6 credits)

Upper-Level Writing (3 upper-level credits)

Quantitative Thinking and Problem Solving (3 credits)

Critical and Creative Thinking (3 credits)

Areas of Inquiry

Natural Science (7 credits with a lab)

Social and Behavioral Analysis (9 credits)

Humanities and the Arts (6 credits)

Intersections (6 upper-level credits)

Capstone Experience

Capstone Experience (3 credits)

Transfer Placement Policy

Only exact transfer equivalencies of courses approved by the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee may be used to fulfill Dearborn Discovery Core requirements.

Readmit Policy

Students who were last enrolled between Fall 2015 and Summer 2017 and have no more than four courses or twelve credit hours to take in order to graduate have the option of returning under their college’s old general education program or the Dearborn Discovery Core.  Students who choose to return under their college’s old general education program may only take advantage of this readmittance policy one time, and they must successfully complete the remaining courses. All other readmitted students and all transfer students entering the University of Michigan-Dearborn will come under the Dearborn Discovery Core requirements. 

Students may petition for an exemption to the Readmit Policy if they satisfy only one of the criteria components:

  1. were last enrolled at the University of Michigan-Dearborn between Fall 2015 and Summer 2017; or

  2. have no more than four courses or twelve credit hours to take in order to graduate.

In addition, students must submit a rationale that provides a well-stated and reasoned explanation to the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee for why it should approve an exemption to the policy. 

Pass/Fail Policy

Courses taken with the pass/fail option by students will be accepted for credit within the Dearborn Discovery Core program. The default limit of pass/fail courses shall be 4.

Minimum Grade Policy

A student can satisfy a Dearborn Discovery Core category with a passing grade of D- in a Dearborn Discovery Core course. A student still must have an overall minimum grade point average of 2.00 in their block of Dearborn Discovery Core courses.

Transferring Quarter-Hour Credit Courses

Students transferring in a quarter-hour credit course may satisfy a specific Dearborn Discovery Core requirement. Students transferring in quarter-hour credit courses must still meet a minimum of 30 credits of Dearborn Discovery Core requirements.

Evaluating Transfer Courses for Credit

If a transfer course is in the Michigan Transfer Agreement and given exact equivalency for lower-level credit, then the university will grant the same transfer credit to all students and the course will count toward the relevant DDC category.
For transfer courses not in the Course Transfer System that a student seeks to petition for DDC credit, the college advising office will send the petition to the discipline faculty for evaluation. The following list provides the results of the faculty evaluation process:

  • If the faculty evaluates the petition as an exact equivalency for a UM-Dearborn course already in DDC, that course will qualify for DDC category(s) credit.

  • If the faculty evaluates the petition as an exact equivalency for a UM-Dearborn course not in DDC, the course will not qualify for DDC credit.

  • If the faculty evaluates the petition as Lower Level credit in the discipline, then it will automatically qualify for DDC credit in the category associated with the discipline (this outcome parallels how the Michigan Transfer Agreement operates).

  • If the faculty evaluates the petition as General Credit, then the course will not qualify for DDC credit.

Transfer Course Credit for Intersections Category

If the college advising office grants the transfer course an equivalency for a specific UM-Dearborn course that is already approved for the Intersections category, then the student will receive Dearborn Discovery Core Intersections credit, and no petition is necessary. A student may receive all 6 credit hours of the Intersections requirement in this manner.
If the college advising office grants the transfer course general upper-level credit, then the student would need to submit a petition to the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee to have the course considered for Intersections credit. If the subcommittee finds that the evidence is insufficient and it cannot make a determination, the student has an opportunity to resubmit additional course materials for review, within one year of the first petition. The student may resubmit materials in support of a petition one time. Only 3 of the 6 credit hours Intersections requirement may be fulfilled using this petition process.

DDC Independent Study for Capstone Policy

Colleges can allow a student to count an independent study for DDC Capstone credit when:

  • The college follows an oversight process in which
    • The supervising faculty member provides a written rationale explaining how the independent study addresses the DDC Capstone learning outcomes and submits it to the Department Chair and Dean’s office for approval.
    • The Department Chair and Dean’s office approves the independent study for DDC Capstone credit.
    • The approval is reported to the unit’s Director of Academic Advising and to the Chair of the DDC Subcommittee.
  • The supervising faculty member participates in the DDC Capstone category assessment reporting.

Notes:

  • Under this policy, the Independent Study Capstone does not need to be approved by the DDC Subcommittee. The approval occurs among the discipline faculty (using a process determined by the discipline), department chair, and Dean’s office within the unit. Thus, the oversight occurs within the unit.
  • When approved, the student receives DDC Capstone credit when the unit’s Academic Advising office adds the GECE attribute to the student’s independent study course in Degree Works.

Exemption for Second Bachelor's Degree Policy

A student pursuing a second bachelor’s degree who has previously been awarded a bachelor’s degree by an accredited university is exempt from the requirements of the Dearborn Discovery Core. For the purposes of this policy, accredited universities are defined as those accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education. Despite the exemption granted under this policy, students must satisfy all other major and degree requirements.

Petition Policy on the Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, Humanities and the Arts Categories

If a student wishes to transfer a course into the University of Michigan-Dearborn and have it count for the Dearborn Discovery Core (DDC) Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, or Humanities and the Arts categories, the following steps should be followed:

  1. The student must submit the transfer course for review through the appropriate college advising office to be considered for either general lower-level credit or upper-level credit equivalency. 

  2. If the college advising office grants the transfer course an equivalency for a specific UMD course that is already approved for the Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, or Humanities and the Arts categories, then the student will receive DDC Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, or Humanities and the Arts credit, and no petition is necessary. 

If the college advising office grants the transfer course general credit equivalency, either lower-level or upper-level,[1]  then the student would need to submit a petition to the DDC Subcommittee to have the course considered for Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, or Humanities and the Arts credit. The student must submit with the petition course materials demonstrating the course meets all learning outcomes in the category.  Students are encouraged to include a course syllabus, graded assignments, and a statement explaining how the course fulfilled the learning outcomes for the DDC category.  If the subcommittee finds that the evidence is insufficient and it cannot make a determination, the student has an opportunity to resubmit additional course materials for review, within one year of the first petition. The student may resubmit materials in support of a petition one time.

​​Petition Policy on Two-Credit Courses

If a student transfers in a two credit hour course that has been approved to satisfy a Dearborn Discovery Core (DDC) requirement, the student may petition to waive the missing third credit hour. The following steps should be followed:

  1. The student must submit a petition that includes the catalog course description for the course along with a statement of the rationale for the request. The student is encouraged to submit the course syllabus if it is available. The petition will be reviewed by the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee.  
  2. Students must meet a minimum of 30 credits of Dearborn Discovery Core requirements even if an approved petition results in a reduction of the number of required credits in a Dearborn Discovery Core category.
 
[1]

If the course is not granted equivalency credit in a discipline, then the course is ineligible for DDC Critical and Creative Thinking, Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Analysis, or Humanities and the Arts credit.