Core Curriculum

The goal of the Core Curriculum is for students to...

• engage in and articulate the value of creative and intellectual exploration;
• use multiple modes of inquiry, resources, and knowledge from multiple disciplines to ask questions, identify issues, and solve complex problems both within and across disciplinary boundaries;
• develop an openness to diversity in all its forms and demonstrate social responsibility and civic mindedness;
• learn about the "global community" and environmental stewardship; and
• hone the fundamental liberal arts skills of critical thinking, information literacy, written expression and oral expression across a variety of disciplinary boundaries...

CORE CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE

I. Introduction to the Liberal Arts - Liberal Arts Seminars

CORE101. The First Year Seminar
The First Year Seminar serves as the gateway course to the honors college.  All students entering the College with less than 32 units of college credit (e.g., through transferred coursework, AP exam credit) will take CORE101.  The Seminars will encourage students to engage deeply with an intellectual topic through exercising the four fundamental liberal arts skills (critical thinking, information literacy, written expression, and oral expression). Multiple sections of this course will focus on a wide variety of topics.  See the list of Seminars for the fall semester, which includes information about online registration.

CORE301. Inquiry in the Liberal Arts
This course, designed just for students transferring in with 32 credits or more, will focus on the four fundamental liberal arts skills (critical thinking, information literacy, written expression, and oral expression) and emphasize their importance for a broad grounding in the liberal arts.  Transfer students (with 32 credits or more) will not take CORE101 but will take CORE301 instead.

II. International Language (one course beyond entering proficiency) (see the core curriculum overview for more detail).

III. Liberal Arts Approaches to Understanding the World: Students will take one course in each of the six following areas (see the core curriculum overview for the list of specific courses).

• Arts
• Cultural Perspectives
• Humanistic Foundations
• Mathematics
• Natural Sciences with Laboratory
• Social Sciences

IV. Experiencing the Liberal Arts in the World: Students may study abroad, do an internship, take a service-learning course, or complete an independent study with a community focus (see the core curriculum overview for more detail).

Click here for the First Year Experience website!