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Consisting of 17-21 courses drawn from nine disciplines and/or families of disciplines, the core courses are integrated in such a way as to provide students with an exciting, stimulating educational experience.
Rhetoric: One required course I
 1. English Composition/Rhetoric. Designed to teach students to write literate, forceful and persuasive essays, this course is required of all freshman students. During the semester in which they are enrolled in the course, students will learn to recognize and master both the fundamental language skills and the more advanced stylistic strategies that make writing sophisticated, clear and effective. Attention will also be given to the rudiments of using library resources and to the preparation of academic research papers. Students will be expected to complete a new essay every week.
Literature: Two required courses
2. Literature: Close Reading and Critical Writing. Designed to introduce students to the practice of reading literature and understanding the figurative language central to poetry, drama and fiction, this course is required of all freshman students. The course will explore how such language captures complex thoughts and can therefore furnish a useful approach to other forms of creative and critical thinking. Students will study literature from a range of cultural contexts, then sharpen their analytical skills through critical essays on assigned texts.
 3. Literature. Designed to extend the student's reading experience and literary sophistication by demonstrating the interconnection between literature and culture in the widest sense, the second level literature may be chosen from the range of possibilities listed below. All of these courses will allow the student to explore the ways in which literature may be seen as a medium for knowing society. In the course of their studies, students will explore the social, political, economic and religious pressures and aspirations that shape social practice. Choose one of the following courses (topics may change each semester):
a. Literature and Society
b. Poetry and Poetics
c. History and the Novel
d. Tragedy and Comedy
e. Traditions of Story-Telling
f. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton
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Philosophy: Two required courses
 4. Philosophy: Philosophy of Human Nature. Designed to introduce students to some of the most basic questions regarding human existence (e.g., freedom and responsibility; the relationship between the self and the other; the relationship between mind and body; and the relationship between feeling and reason), this course is required of all freshman students. The systematic focus on these questions is intended to assist students in becoming more philosophically informed, critical and self-reflective. Some attention will be paid both to important historical figures in the history of philosophy, such as Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, and Hume; and to the contexts in which these thinkers lived and engaged in their studies.
5. Philosophy: Philosophical Ethics. Designed to introduce students to the different ways of addressing moral questions, this course is required of all sophomore students. Some attention will be paid to the influential positions of such moral philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Kant and Mill. The principal focus of the course, however, is a systematic introduction to various ethical approaches such as natural law, utilitarian, deontological, virtue, ethics and feminism. The differences among these approaches will be illuminated by studying how each approach handles questions like suicide, deception, war, censorship, the right of property, and the inequality of opportunity.
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Theology: Two required courses
 6. Theology: Reason and Belief. Designed to acquaint students with the phenomenon of religion in its varied manifestations (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, etc.) and to give them some critical categories for evaluating this phenomenon, this course is required of all freshmen. In the course of their studies, students will be introduced to the academic study of some of the basic forms, concepts and experiences of religion found in Christianity and other religious traditions.
7. Theology: A Course in Religious Texts. This requirement serves several functions. On the most general level, it fosters the skills of reading, understanding and interpreting unfamiliar and sometimes difficult texts, skills that have value far beyond theology. More specifically, it acquaints students with classic texts that have had inestimable influence on culture and literature, whether they are the Jewish scriptures, the Christian New Testament, the Qur'an, the Divine Comedy, or other texts. Finally, it allows students to study the classical documents of one or more religions with some intensity. Instructors will share a common goal but will offer a variety of courses with differing titles and content. (See departmental offerings)
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History: Two required courses
 8. History: The West from the Enlightenment to the Present. The objective of this course is to explore the student's historical situation by tracing the European roots of the present world from a Western perspective. The course will blend an emphasis on broad coverage of the human experience (political, social, philosophical and religious) with the development of critical and humane habits of mind.
9. History. While a critical engagement with the development of Western culture is essential for any educated citizen, historical literacy includes the ability to meet people more distant in time or place critically yet empathetically. Thus, the second history core course addresses this concern by providing a wide range of courses, including the following:
a. Modern American History
b. Introduction to Ancient History
c. Introduction to Medieval History
d. Latin American History
e. Asian History
f. African History
g. Middle East History
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Mathematical Reasoning: One required course
 10. Mathematical Reasoning. In order to fulfill the core requirement in mathematical reasoning, each student will be required to complete one course in either mathematics or computer science. The content of the course which the student takes to fulfill this requirement must include at least six of the following topics: set theory, partitions/combinatorics, functions/relations/graphs, recursions, induction, probability, systems of equations, reduction or matrices/linear programming, problem solving, mathematical modeling, and simulations. Students who have demonstrated proficiency at the level expected in a core course will be allowed some flexibility in meeting the requirement. Examples of such acceptable courses would include an appropriate advanced level course such as calculus or a sufficiently advanced statistics or computer science course. Students will ordinarily fulfill their requirement in mathematical reasoning by taking either Finite Mathematics or Structures of Computer Science
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Natural Science: Two required courses
 Designed to introduce students to both scientific methodology and scientific ways of understanding nature and natural phenomena, the natural science core courses emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as the broader interrelationship between science and society. In the course of their studies each term, students will be expected to complete at least four laboratory exercises. The two-course requirement in the natural sciences may be fulfilled by taking either a two-course sequence in biology, chemistry or physics, or by taking one course in a physical science for non-majors (chemistry or physics) and one course in a life science for non-majors (biology, psychology, physical anthropology).
11-12. Two-course Sequences BIRU 1403-1404-Introductory Biology 1 & 2
BIRU 1413-1414-Introductory Biology Lab 1 & 2
CHRU 1321-1322-General Chemistry I & II
CHRU 1331-1332-General Chemistry Lab I & II
PYRU 1501-1502-General Physics I & II
PYRU 1511-1512-Physics Lab I & II
OR
11. Physical Science Courses for Non-Majors
 CHRU 1101-Food Chemistry
CHRU 1104-The Chemistry of Art
CHRU 1109-Chemistry of the Environment
CHRU 1110-Forensic Science
PYRU 1201-Introduction to Astronomy
PYRU 1202-Geology
PYRU 1203-Environmental Physics
PYRU 1212-The Physics of Everyday Life
12. Life Science Courses for Non-Majors
ANRU 1200-Introduction to Physical Anthropology
BIRU 1000-Life on the Planet Earth
BIRU 1001-Human Biology
BIRU 1002-Ecology: A HumanApproach
BIRU 1004-Dinosaurs, Mastadons and Dodos
BIRU 1005-AIDS: A Conspiracy of Cells
BIRU 1006-Mind, Brain, & Behavior
PSRU 1000-Introductory Psychology
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Social Sciences: Two required courses
 Designed to introduce students to the substantive and methodological concerns of the social sciences, the social science core courses also seek to promote criticalthinking and analytical reading. The requirement in the social sciences may be fulfilled in either of the following ways
13. Social Science: A course chosen from introductory level courses in anthropology, economics, political science, or sociology emphasizing human social relations.
14. Social Science. A course chosen from:
a. A second course in the same discipline as stipulated above
b. A second introductory course in a different discipline, including courses in communication and media studies, and psychology as listed below
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Communication and Media Studies
CMRU 1010-Introduction to Communication and Media Studies
CMRU 2010-Communication and Technology
CMRU 2011-Mass Communication: Theory and Research
CMRU 2701-Persuasion and Attitude Change
CMRU 2702-Interpersonal Communication: Theory and Research
Psychology
PSRU 3010-Psychology and Legal Issues
PSRU 3020-Health Psychology
PSRU 3700-Social Psychology
PSRU 4250 Family Psychology
c. An interdisciplinary social science course
d. A social science american pluralism course
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The Fine Arts: One required course
 15. Fine Arts. The core courses in the fine arts will focus on the non-verbal forms of expression in the disciplines of art history, the visual arts, music and theater. The skills of seeing, listening and critical analysis central to these disciplines will be emphasized.
 16. Senior Seminar in Values and Moral Choices. The senior seminar in values and moral choices will furnish students with an opportunity for disciplined, critical reflection on specific or categorical issues in personal or social ethics, religious conscience, human relations or social action. Issues that affect the formation of conscience and the definition of personal commitments within the framework of contemporary society will be emphasized. Seminars will be offered by the departments of theology and philosophy, as well by other major disciplines in which ethical reflection on values is a natural extension of the discipline.
17-21. Foreign Language: One to five required courses *
 The language requirement consists of the number of courses needed for a student to reach an "exit level" course (currently numbered 2001, or Advanced) from his/her initial placement. In order to fulfill the language requirement, students may choose courses taught in the departments of classics, modern languages, and Middle East Studies. Students intending to graduate with a major in natural sciences (Psychology, Biological Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Natural Science), Mathematics, and Computer and Information Sciences will not have to take more than two courses to complete their requirement, even if they do not reach the "exit" level, due to their heavy major curriculum.
*Note: The number of courses each student takes will range from 17 to 21, depending on his or her language placement.
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Distributive Requirements: Three required courses
(Many core, major and elective courses include specifically designed sections to fulfill these distributive requirements.)
Freshman Seminar
Liberal Arts students will fulfill this requirement by taking a specially-designated section/version of one of the freshman core courses (indicated by an F as the fourth letter in the course designation). Designed to help students make the transition from high school to college, (and hence introduce them to the rigors of college work), the Seminars will provide students with opportunities to hone their writing skills, familiarize themselves with scholarly methodologies, and build a sense of community within the context of a small college course. (The Freshmen Seminar is not required of transfer students.)
Global Studies
 Global Studies courses are intended to insure that students come to appreciate the significant variations in customs, institutions and world views that have shaped peoples and their lives. Economic, political, business, religious, and/or social institutions as well as values and the media, the arts, literature and philosophy are all appropriate categories for investigation. Courses with a global focus may be drawn from core, major or elective offerings (indicated by a G as the fourth letter in the course designation), and will be applicable both to the global requirement and to the core and major requirements that a student must complete in the course of his or her college career.
American Pluralism
 American Pluralism courses will afford students with the opportunity to deal with some of the following categories of American diversity: race, ethnicity, class, religion and gender. Questions relating to the social, historical, political, religious and cultural manifestations of race and ethnicity will normally have a place in the course. While American Pluralism courses (indicated by a P as the fourth letter in the course designation) will sometimes reside in the social sciences and hence fulfill the second social science requirement, other approved courses from literature, history, theology, communications, etc. may fulfill the American Pluralism requirement. In addition, separate sections of American Pluralism not connected to other departments may be used to fulfill the requirement.
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