Core Curriculum Overview
"Excellence in education must be viewed as something more than the process of providing students with knowledge and understanding of information. Students must be given the opportunity to learn and analyze and synthesize information and to evaluate its application to a variety of life's experiences…. This will provide the basis for continued development throughout the students' professional and personal life." - Faculty Council
What is the Core Curriculum?
The Core Curriculum is a sequence of both required and elective courses designed to provide a common educational experience for all undergraduates and first professional degree students. In addition to the unique requirements of each degree program, the Core ensures that all students will be exposed to a common body of knowledge and have the opportunity to develop those skills that the University views as an essential complement to all degree programs. The 56 credits of coursework that comprise the Core establish a foundation in the natural and physical sciences, humanities, and the social sciences. The Core will enable students to develop basic learning skills, prepare for advanced study, and explore a variety of topics outside of their major.
Why have a Core Curriculum?
"Is a Core Curriculum really necessary?" This is by no means a simple or irrelevant question. It is one that the faculty at most colleges and universities have been discussing for many years.
Certainly your education must enable you to master the knowledge and competencies of your chosen discipline. However, to provide a balanced education, your program of study should also help you to attain a range of knowledge and skills in a number of areas that will enable you to function effectively in both your professional and personal endeavors. Through the Core, you will be exposed to ideas, perspectives, and modes of thinking that will broaden your awareness, help you to develop your intellectual capabilities, and enable you to actively pursue your educational goals. In short, the Core is an essential component of your education. It provides a necessary balance between specialized coursework and broad study and affords the opportunity for a challenging intellectual experience.
The Core: An Overview
The Core has been designed to allow for coursework and other learning experiences in nine areas of study.
- Communication
- Literature
- World Cultures
- Mathematics
- Moral Reasoning
- Historical Study
- Fine Arts
- Natural Science
- Social Science
In designing a curriculum that accommodates instruction in these nine areas, the faculty have developed a Core structure that provides common learning experiences for all students as well as opportunities for individual course selection. The four components, of the Core, which all students must take regardless of their major, are listed below.
- Fundamental Requirements 38 credits
- Interdisciplinary Requirements 6 credits
- Core Distribution Requirements 9 credits
- Core Elective 3 credits
Total 56 credits