English and history courses comprise communications and humanities credits. For a beginning student at Valencia Community College, nine hours of credits are necessary. The required courses are Freshman Composition I and II. Students must also take a Fundamentals of Speech course to satisfy the communications credit. These courses also work towards the Gordon Rule writing requirement.
In humanities, students must complete nine total hours of credits. Humanities courses cover a broad range of topics from theater to history as well as foreign languages. Courses include History of Architecture, The Visual Arts Today, Introduction to Art History and Introduction to Film. Students also may take foreign language classes for humanities credits, such as Intermediate French or Spanish as well as classes in music, philosophy, religion or theater. However, to satisfy Gordon Rule, two humanities courses with the prefix HUM are also necessary.
Valencia requires six hours of credit in mathematics. Students select from courses in algebra, geometry, precalculus, calculus, statistics, linear algebra, logic and proof, analytic geometry, differential equations or college mathematics. Valencia designs mathematics courses for everyone's skill level and interest. The College Mathematics and Mathematics for Liberal Arts are less strenuous for non-mathematics majors, but Valencia also provides Calculus with Analytic Geometry III to students who require a higher skill level.
From astronomy to zoology, Valencia's science department provides interesting courses to meet students' requirements. Students need six hours of sciences to meet Valencia's requirements. In biology, students take Human Biology, Fundamentals of Biology I or II, Biological Science or Biology of Human Sexuality. As in their mathematics program, sciences of Valencia try to appeal to all skill levels and interests. Marine Biology and Introduction to Oceanography are among the courses that also meet the requirements. Organic Chemistry and Microbiology are also available, particularly of interest for those who plan on a medical career.
A minimum of six hours satisfies the credits for social sciences at Valencia. Students must take U.S. Government in addition to another course in the social sciences. Most of the courses comprise history topics such as United States History to 1877, Western Civilization, Recent and Contemporary History and Introduction to Anthropology. However, students can also take economics, international politics, psychology and sociology classes.
Valencia requires students to take college-level foreign languages. However, there are multiple ways for students to meet this requirement, and these courses do not have to be completed at Valencia. For instance, if students took foreign languages in high school, taking two credits of sequential high school instruction in a language other than English and passed they satisfy the foreign language requirement. However, if not, or if students need foreign language credits, they choose from the courses offered at Valencia, which include French, German, Portuguese or Spanish. Students also can take the College Level Examination Program in a foreign language to satisfy the requirements.