Illinois Articulation Initiative Program
Transferring General Education Courses
The Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) is a statewide transfer agreement among more than 100 public and private four-year and two-year higher education institutions in Illinois. The agreement is designed to facilitate students transferring between colleges and universities and works best for students who are undecided on the transfer-to institution that will grant their baccalaureate degree. The IAI General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) package consists of 12 to 13 courses (37 to 41 hours of credit) within a five-category designation. All schools participating in IAI agree to accept a completed IAI GECC package in lieu of their own comparable lower-division general education requirements.
The IAI GECC package requirements are as follows:
- Communication: 3 courses (9 credits)
- Humanities and Fine Arts: 3 courses (9 credits)
- Mathematics: 1 to 2 courses (3 to 6 credits)
- Physical and Life Sciences: 2 courses (7 to 8 credits)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 courses (9 credits)
IAI policy is presented on the IAI website, and Illinois State University’s implementation requirements are below. Students who transfer out of Illinois State will be held to the requirements of their transfer institution.
General Education Options for Transferring Students
New transfer students have the option of completing either Illinois State’s General Education program or the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum (IAI GECC) package.
To be eligible for IAI, at least one transfer course must have been articulated to an IAI core requirement. Transfer students who have satisfactorily completed at least one course within the IAI GECC package are allowed to complete this program by enrolling in approved IAI courses at Illinois State University. Students should note, however, that IAI course availability may be limited.
The Illinois Articulation Initiative provides recommendations to participating IAI schools about Advanced Placement Credit. However, each school has the final decision about how to award/give credit for Advance Placement Exams.
CLEP - Illinois State University policies on CLEP credit will be used to meet IAI General Education Core Curriculum requirements.
Waivers in the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum
If a student satisfactorily completes the objectives of a General Education Core area but earns fewer hours than required, the remaining hours for that area can be waived. However, students must complete the minimum of 12 courses, 37 hours, and the number of courses required in each area of the Core. Fractional hours can also be waived, but the minimum 37 hour total is still enforced.
For those students eligible to complete the Core, a transfer course articulated as an Illinois State University course approved for the IAI General Education Core Curriculum will be applied toward the Core. Any course from a participating school approved by an IAI curriculum panel may be applied even if not articulated to an Illinois State course. Acceptance and placement of transfer credit as an elective from a non-participating IAI institution is only applicable to meet IAI GECC requirements at Illinois State University. Students should consult their academic advisor regarding the application for waivers.
Effective May 1999, a student transferring to another institution, who has completed at least 37 semester hours, may request an audit, via a transcript request, of his or her records for completion of the IAI General Education Core Curriculum.
Students transferring to Illinois State are required to fulfill all University graduation requirements.
Illinois Articulation Initiative Course Requirements
- Regardless of category placement, a student may count no more than two courses from a single discipline to fulfill the General Education Core Curriculum requirements. Only one course assigned to an IAI course number may be used to fulfill a requirement (For example, since HIS 104A01 and HIS 104A03 both carry the IAI number of H2 903N, only one may be used).
- Illinois State University courses approved for the IAI General Education Core Curriculum are listed officially on the IAI website. The following list of courses is provided for convenience only. Some courses may have been added or deleted since the publication of this catalog.
- D: Designates IAI courses designed specifically to examine aspects of human diversity within the United States.
- N: Designates IAI courses designed specifically to examine aspects of human diversity from a non-U.S./non-European perspective. These courses satisfy the AMALI graduation requirement at Illinois State University.
- *Western Civilization (H2 901 or S2 902 and H2 902 or S2 903) and American/U.S. History (H2 904 or S2 900 or S2 901) can be used in the IAI category approved by the college or university offering the course or in the category in which the articulated course equivalent was approved at the receiving institution.
- 12 to 13 courses (37 to 41 hours of credit)
Communication (3 courses, 9 hours)
A grade of C or better required in C1 900, ENG 101, and C1 901R, ENG 145. For students with appropriate preparation, Illinois State will waive C1 900. A minimum of 12 courses and 37 semester hours is still required.
Two Writing Course Sequence (6 credit hours)
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
C1 900 | ENG 101 or ENG 101a10 Composition as Critical Inquiry (3) |
C1 901R | ENG 145 Writing in the Academic Disciplines or ENG 145a13 Writing Business & Government Organizations (3) |
Oral Communication (1 course, 3 credit hours)
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
C2 900 | COM 110 or COM 110a01 Communication as Critical Inquiry (3) |
Mathematics (1 course, 3 hours)
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
M1 900 | MAT 121 Applied Calculus (4) |
M1 900-1 | MAT 145 Calculus I (4) |
M1 900-2 | MAT 146 Calculus II (4) |
M1 900-3 | MAT 147 Calculus III (4) |
M1 902 | ECO 138 Economic Reasoning Using Statistics (3) |
M1 902 | PSY 138 Reasoning in Psychology Using Statistics (3) |
M1 902 | MGT 100 Statistical Reasoning (3) |
M1 903 | MAT 152 Dimensions of Mathematical Reasoning (3) |
M1 904 | MAT 113 or MAT 113a01 Elements of Mathematical Reasoning (3) |
M1 906 | MAT 120 Finite Mathematics (4) |
Physical Sciences and Life Sciences (2 courses, 7 hours)
Students with appropriate preparation may substitute an initial course designed for science majors. One Life Science and one Physical Science course is required, of which one must be a lab (indicated by an L, e.g. P1 901L or L1 900L).
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
P1 900L | PHY 105 Fundamentals of Physics (4) |
P1 900L | PHY 108 College Physics I (5) |
P1 900 | PHY 102 Atoms to Galaxies (3) |
P1 902 | CHE 110 Fundamentals of Chemistry (4) |
P1 902L | CHE 112 Fundamentals of Chemistry Lab (1) |
P1 902L | CHE 140 General Chemistry I (4) |
P1 903L | CHE 102 Chemistry and Society (3) |
P1 907L | GEO 102 Principles of Geology (3) |
P1 909L | GEO 100 Introduction to Environmental Systems (4) |
P2 900L | PHY 110 Physics for Science and Engineering I (4) |
L1 906 | BSC 170 Genetics and Society (3) |
L1 900L | BSC 101 or BSC 101a01 Fundamental Concepts in Biology (3) |
L1 910L | BSC 196 Biological Diversity (4) |
L1 910L | BSC 197 Molecular and Cellular Basis of Life (4) |
Humanities and Fine Arts (3 courses, 9 hours)
One Humanities and one Fine Arts course required.
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
H1 900 | ITA 116 Italian 2nd Year Part II (4) |
H1 900 | FRE 116 French 2nd Year Part II (4) |
H1 900 | GER 116 German 2nd Year Part II (4) |
H1 900 | SPA 116 Spanish 2nd Year Part II (4) |
H1 900 | JPN 116 Japanese 2nd Year Part II (4) |
H2 901 | HIS 101 Western Civilization to 1500* (3) |
H2 902 | HIS 102 Modern Western Civilization* (3) |
H2 903N | HIS 104a01 History of Africa (3) |
H2 903N | HIS 104a02 History of East Asia (3) |
H2 903N | HIS 104a03 HIstory of Latin America (3) |
H2 903N | HIS 104a04 History of the Middle East (3) |
H2 903N | HIS 104a05 History of South & Southeast Asia (3) |
H2 909D | HIS 104a06 History of Native Americans (3) |
H2 904 | HIS 135 History of the United States to 1865 (3)* |
H2 905 | HIS 136 History of the United States Since 1865 (3)* |
H3 910D | ENG 165 Introduction to African-American Literature & Culture (3) |
H3 911D | ENG 160 Introduction to Studies in Women's Writing (3) |
H3 911D | COM 128 Gender in the Humanities (3) |
H3 911D | ENG 128 Gender in the Humanities (3) |
H3 911D | LAN 128 Gender in the Humanities (3) |
H3 912 | ENG 110 English Literature and Its Contexts (3) |
H3 914 | ENG 130 Survey of American Literature (3) |
H3 918 | ENG 170 Foundations in Literature for Children (3) |
H4 900 | PHI 101 Basic Issues in Philosophy (3) |
H4 901 | PHI 254 Ancient Philosophy (3) |
H4 902 | PHI 255 Modern Philosophy (3) |
H4 907 | PHI 240 Political Philosophy (3) |
HF 900 | ENG 131 American Culture: Traditions and Texts (3) |
HF 900 | HIS 131 American Culture: Traditions and Texts (3) |
F1 900 | MUS 152 Experiencing Music (3) |
F1 905D | MUS 153 Black Music I (3) |
F1 905D | MUS 154 Black Music II (3) |
F1 907 | THE 152 Experiencing Theatre (3) |
F1 909D | THE 154 Introduction to Black Drama and Theatre (3) |
F2 901 | ART 155 Survey of Art I (3) |
F2 902 | ART 156 Survey of Art II (3) |
F2 903N | ART 275 World Arts: Visual Arts (3) |
F2 908 | THE 170 Introduction to Film Art (3) |
Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 courses, 9 hours)
Two disciplines must be represented from the following list: Anthropology (S1), History (S2), Economics (S3), Geography (S4), Politics and Government (S5), Psychology (S6), Sociology (S7), Social Psychology (S8).
IAI Category | ISU Course (credit hours) |
S1 901N | ANT 185 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3) |
S1 902 | ANT 102 Human Origins (3) |
S3 901 | ECO 102 Principles of Macroeconomics (3) |
S3 900 | ECO 105 Principles of Economics (4) |
S3 902 | ECO 101 Principles of Microeconomics (3) |
S4 906 | GEO 135 World Geography (3) |
S4 900N | GEO 142 Human Geography (3) |
S5 900 | POL 106 United States Government and Civic Practices (3) |
S5 904 | POL 151 Introduction to International Relations (3) |
S5 905 | POL 140 Politics of Africa, Asia, and Latin American (3) |
S6 900 | PSY 110 Fundamentals of Psychology (3) |
S6 900 | PSY 111 Introduction to Psychology (4) |
S6 902 | PSY 213 Lifespan Development (3) |
S7 900 | SOC 106 Introduction to Sociology (3) |
S7 901 | SOC 108 Contemporary Social Problems in Global Perspective (3) |
S7 902 | FCS 224 Enduring Issues for Couples and Families (3) |
S7 905D | SOC 264 Racial, Social Class, And Gender Inequality (3) |
S7 904D | WGS 120 Gender, Sex & Power (3) |
S8 900 | PSY 223 Social Psychology (3) |
S8 900 | SOC 223 Social Psychology (3) |