Core Courses
CORE -P 102. Career Networking and Navigation II (1S)
CORE-P 102 builds upon the fundamentals of CORE-P 101 by furthering students’ career exploration through structured opportunities for reflection and self examination. Using tools such as Strengths Finder, students will identify their talents as well as the skills they need to pursue their professional interests; they will also make connections among their interests, skills, talents, and values. All CORE-P 102 students use these insights in informational interviews and in activities that identify meaningful summer employment. Students also learn how to get– and make the most of– an internship. To support such efforts, students learn how to customize their resumes and prepare for interviews based on what they know of the position. Prerequisite: CORE-P 101.
CORE -P 201. The Honors College Externship (2E)
In CORE-P 201, students extend the professional preparation provided by CORE-P 101 and 102 through structured work site experiences. The course begins with classroom discussions of group dynamics and ethical decision-making in professional settings; students then proceed to site placements that connect to their individual professional interests. Once these site placements begin, classroom discussions shift to provide opportunities for students to reflect on their experiences and initiate a project related to their work site. Through these projects, students develop a working knowledge of taking a project from beginning to end; simultaneously, written reflections and in-class discussions allow students to track their own growth– that is, the impact of their site experience on how they understand their professional goals and preparation. Prerequisite: CORE-P 102.
CORE -P 301. Closing the Gap (.5E)
CORE-P 301 is the final CORE class in the Professional Literacy Pathway, which explores professional life within a chosen discipline. Students will be provided with tools, techniques, and exercises to identify their current capabilities, career options, and future educational opportunities. As students work through the course, they will become more informed and effective at identifying, pursuing, and securing career options in their chosen areas of interest. Prerequisite: CORE-P 201.
CORE -P101. Career Networking and Navigation (1F)
In CORE-P 101, students will chart their plan for career and leadership development in college by preparing a portfolio. Students will reflect on their personal values, interests, and abilities by bringing a career-focused lens to these activities; in so doing, they will develop the ability to communicate the professional value of their experiences orally and in writing– including through resume development. Through these and a series of professional development activities, students will prepare to present themselves and their interests in professional settings. At the conclusion of the course, actionable next steps will be recorded in the portfolio.
CORE 101. The First Year Seminar (4E)
This Core Seminar serves as the gateway course to the honors college and encourages 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). Seminars are not meant to be introductions to disciplines, nor are they merely orientations to the campus or clinics on study skills. Rather, they focus on a question, an issue, or a group of texts, on which students will write, speak, research, and think critically. Sections of CORE 101 vary by topic.
CORE 301. Inquiry in the Liberal Arts (4E)
This course, designed for students transferring to St. Mary’s College of Maryland with more than 24 credits, focuses 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. These Seminars are not meant to be introductions to disciplines. Rather, they focus on a question, an issue, or a group of texts, on which students will write, speak, research and think critically. Sections of CORE 301 vary by topic.
CORE 401. Peer Mentoring Practicum (3E)
Undergraduate students who have completed their Core Seminar may apply to be peer mentors for a Core Seminar. In addition to attending the seminar section to which they are assigned, peer mentors will attend regular practicum meetings designed to address issues related to mentoring, ethics in teaching, and teaching and learning theories, as well as issues related to facilitating discussion and helping students develop and hone the four fundamental liberal arts skills. Credit/no credit grading. May not be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: CORE 101 or 301 and a minimum 2.5 GPA. Students must apply to be considered for the Peer Mentoring Practicum.
CORE 402. Advanced Peer Mentoring Practicum (3E)
Undergraduate students who have completed the Peer Mentoring Practicum may apply to peer mentor again and take the Advanced Peer Mentoring Practicum. Students in the Advanced Practicum further develop their understanding of how to support students making the transition to St. Mary’s College, and they provide expertise to new peer mentors. May be repeated once for credit. Credit/no credit grading. Prerequisites: CORE 101 or 301 and a minimum 2.5 GPA. Students must apply to be considered for the Peer Mentoring Practicum.