Other Required General Courses (Outside the Ideological-Political Series · 20 credits)

What this file covers: the part of the "Required General Courses" in the curriculum plan that lies
outside the ideological-and-political series —
Physical Education, Military Theory, Military Skills, College Student Mental Health, National Security Education,
Career Planning, Labor Education and University Computer B. 20 credits in total.

(The 17 credits of the ideological-and-political series are in Ideological and Political Courses separately. Required general courses total 37 credits.)

1 The whole picture in one table (the curriculum plan's own course table, copied verbatim)

⭐ Two things you can see at a glance:
1. Physical Education（体育）is the heaviest course here (8 credits) — the equal of four 2-credit courses. Don't treat it as a "minor subject".
2. The other seven together add up to only 12 credits, and most of them are light 1–2 credit courses.

2 Physical Education（体育）(8 credits · semesters 1–4) — the one course here you should take most seriously

What 8 credits means: the same as the total credits of four of your major courses.
Get a low mark in a Physical Education course and the pull on your GPA is exactly the same as a low mark in a core major course.

2.1 What the curriculum plan says (copied verbatim)

Third- and fourth-year students are encouraged to take Physical Education; students may graduate only if they meet the national physical fitness test standard, and those who fail to reach the national standard are given a certificate of completion instead.

⚠️ Note the last sentence: failing the physical fitness test = no graduation certificate (you get only a certificate of completion).
This is not a question of "failing a PE course", it is a question of whether you can graduate.

2.2 How to earn the marks (strategy)

💡 One practical suggestion: finish all your Physical Education courses in years one and two (semesters 1–4, as planned),
don't put them off to years three and four — by then you have internships, a thesis and applications, and your energy is not what it is now,
and the phrase "third- and fourth-year students are encouraged to take it" means the school knows that by then nobody wants to.

3 Military Theory（军事理论）+ Military Skills（军事技能）(2 credits each · semesters 1 / 2)

What the curriculum plan says (copied verbatim):

The Situation and Policy（形势与政策）course runs from the first to the eighth semester; the Military Theory and Military Skills courses are in principle offered in the first semester;
the Labor Education course is divided into a theory course and a practice course, the theory course offered in the first academic year and the practice course from the first to the third academic year.

⚠️ Note: the text says "in principle in the first semester", but the course table marks Military Skills as semester 2 —
the two disagree, so go by your actual timetable. Such small contradictions are not rare in a curriculum plan;
when you hit one, ask the academic affairs office, don't guess.

Military Theory: usually an assessment course (an essay or an open-book exam), covering national-defence knowledge, military thinking and information-age warfare.
Military Skills (military training): 2 weeks, and the mark is mainly attendance, discipline and drill assessment — follow the training seriously and you will basically get a high mark.

4 College Student Mental Health（大学生心理健康）(2 credits · semester 1)

32 hours, usually the "softest" of the general courses.

Content: the foundations of mental health, emotion management, interpersonal relationships, coping with stress, recognising psychological crises, and so on.

💡 One extra thing it means for your major:
The course involves mental health assessment — which is one field where measurement and evaluation is applied (compare
the reliability and validity in Educational Evaluation).
If you can bring a perspective like "a scale has to report its reliability" to your assignments, you will easily get a high mark.

Earning the mark: attendance + regular assignments + the final (essay or open-book) are the main components.

5 National Security Education（国家安全教育）(1 credit · semester 2)

16 hours, 1 credit — the fewest credits among the required general courses.
The content is the Holistic Approach to National Security（总体国家安全观）(the political, territorial, military, economic, cultural, scientific and technological, cyber, ecological and other security domains).

Earning the mark: a light course, usually assessed (attendance + assignment/essay).

6 Career Planning（职业生涯规划）(1 credit · semester 1)

16 hours, 1 credit, offered in the first semester.

Content: self-awareness, career exploration, career decision-making, résumé and interview.

⭐ This course has a value for you that your classmates don't get:
Your goal is a master's in cognitive science abroad, and this course's assignments (career goals, path analysis, résumé)
are exactly the prototype of your application materials.
Do it seriously, don't just go through the motions — you will thank yourself in three years.

7 Labor Education（劳动教育）(2 credits · semesters 1—6)

What the curriculum plan says (copied verbatim):

The Labor Education course is divided into a theory course and a practice course; the theory course is offered in the first academic year,
and the practice course from the first to the third academic year.

📌 To be filled in: your class's practice format and how it is recognised (ask your counselor — it varies a lot between schools;
some are volunteer service, some are administrative or teaching assistantships).

8 University Computer B（大学计算机B）(2 credits · semester 2)

16 classroom + 16 practical = 32 hours, 2 credits, offered in the second semester.

⭐ This is the most "useful" course among these 20 credits, for two reasons:

The first layer (marks): it teaches basic computer skills (Office, information retrieval and so on),
which for you, starting from zero, is a direct addition to your abilities, and it is easy to get a high mark.

The second layer (more important): your major has no compulsory programming course (in the curriculum plan, maths is only 2 credits of advanced mathematics),
but a master's in cognitive science assumes you are decent at programming.
So this course is your only "official" computer course —
don't stop at what is taught in class; use it as a springboard and go on to teach yourself
Python basics and scientific computing.

9 The overall strategy for these 20 credits

⭐ In one sentence: of these 20 credits, Physical Education（体育）(8 credits) needs real attention; the rest are light courses that "earn you marks for doing what is required".

Three suggestions:

1. Treat Physical Education as a proper course. Its credit weight (8) is far beyond your intuition,
   and the physical fitness test is tied to whether you can graduate.
2. Don't drop marks on the light courses. College Student Mental Health, National Security Education, Career Planning and Labor Education — these four
   (6 credits in total) are almost all free marks — attendance + handing in assignments on time = 90 or above.
   You can only lose marks by forgetting to hand in an assignment or missing class.
3. Career Planning + University Computer B deserve "a bit more effort".
   These two are the only general courses directly tied to your long-term goals (study abroad + programming)
   (see sections 6 and 8 above).

10 To-fill-in list (after you get the textbooks / once term starts)

11 Related

• Ideological and Political Courses (17 credits) —— the other half of the required general courses
• General Electives (24 credits) —— and there are still 24 credits of elective rules
• Major Course Study Path —— the full composition of 149 credits
• University Plan —— time planning