The Mason Apex category will replace the Capstone/Synthesis requirement for students entering Mason starting in the Fall of 2024. The Synthesis category will gradually be phased out with no new Synthesis courses approved after the 2022-2023 academic year.
The purpose of the Synthesis course is to provide students with the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge, skills and values gained from the Mason Core curriculum. Synthesis courses strive to expand students’ ability to master new content, think critically, and develop life-long learning skills across the disciplines. While it is not feasible to design courses that cover “all” areas of general education, Synthesis courses should function as a careful alignment of disciplinary goals with a range of Mason Core learning outcomes.
Learning Outcomes:
A Mason Core Synthesis course must address outcomes 1 and 2, and at least one outcome under 3. Upon completing a Synthesis course, students will be able to:
- Communicate effectively in both oral and written forms, applying appropriate rhetorical standards (e.g., audience adaptation, language, argument, organization, evidence, etc.).
- Connect issues in a given field to wider intellectual, community, or societal concerns using perspectives from two or more disciplines.
- Apply critical thinking skills to:
- Evaluate the quality, credibility and limitations of an argument or a solution using appropriate evidence or resources, OR,
- Judge the quality or value of an idea, work, or principle based on appropriate analytics and standards.
Required: One approved upper-division course.
Approved Courses: For the current list of approved courses, please see the Catalog.