The Core Curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences

---

The core curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences includes coursework which addresses all the university general education student learning goals and indicators.  The CAS core also addresses the following further student learning goal, with associated indicators, which flows out of the college’s liberal arts mission. 

Broad Knowledge
An education rooted in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences helps one develop a broad base of knowledge and a spirit of inquiry.  It increases one’s understanding of the order of creation, as well as the nature of humans and the institutions they create, through engagement with coursework in the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.

Knowledgeable about the Arts – able to demonstrate knowledge of the creative and literary arts as transformative expressions of individuals and cultures through courses grounded in combinations of history, theory, and/or practice of the arts

Knowledgeable within the Social Sciences – able to demonstrate knowledge of socio-cultural and behavioral aspects of human experience through systematic, critical, and applied engagement with one or more of the social sciences

Knowledgeable within the Natural Sciences – able to demonstrate knowledge of the natural laws and processes that describe the order observed in God's Creation through the application of scientific reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and laboratory or field methodologies to investigate the universe, the physical world, or the biosphere

Knowledgeable about Life Fitness – able to demonstrate a biblically based understanding of bodily stewardship and physical fitness as it relates to good health, through the practice of physical activity

Students earning bachelor’s degrees through the College of Arts and Sciences meet their general education requirements by selecting from a list of approved courses.

Recommended General Education Course Sequence

Because the general education curriculum is designed to provide students with foundational skills and knowledge which are reinforced and applied through major coursework, it is critical that students complete their core courses in a particular sequence and as much as possible within the first two year of their course of study.

The following general education course sequence is recommended for entering first-year students.  Transfer students should complete any general education requirements that they have not satisfied with transfer credit in as timely a manner as possible.

Recommended Year 1 Courses
1st semester:
INST 150  Introduction to Faith, Reason, and Justice
BIB 101  Nature and Meaning of the Old Testament
ENG 091  Fundamentals of Writing   or  ENG 102  College Writing (based on placement)

2nd semester:
BIB 102  Nature and Meaning of the New Testament
ENG 103  Skills for College Writing  (for students who took ENG 091)

Other courses to complete by the end of the 1st year:
Knowledgeable about the Western Tradition course
Foreign Language (if beginning at the 102 level or higher with a language previously studied)
Knowledgeable about Life Fitness course (may be taken in Year 2 if needed)

Recommended Year 2 Courses
Quantitative Reasoning course
Knowledgeable within the Social Sciences course
Formed in Christian Thought course
Knowledgeable in Doing Justice course

Other Requirements (to be completed by the end of Year 3)
Knowledgeable within the Natural Sciences course and accompanying Scientific Reasoning lab
Knowledgeable about Global Diversity course
Knowledgeable about the Arts course
Foreign Language (if beginning at 101 level)

Some major courses also meet general education requirements.  In the event that a major course is recommended in a semester that differs from this sequence, students should follow the recommendation of the major for that course.