The Liberal Arts core is organized into five categories:
Category 1: Foundations of Applied Liberal Arts
Foundations courses prepare students to engage in college-level inquiry through practice in academic writing, critical thinking, examination of ethical issues, and immersion in a language and cultures different from their own. Students will also explore various belief systems and traditions.
Category 2: Written and Oral Communication
Communication courses build upon the skills students develop in Foundations courses. Students gain valuable practice and competency in spoken/oral presentation skills, opportunities to enhance their written work with technology (such as visual or digital media) so that they can effectively articulate and express their ideas, arguments, and positions across a variety of professional and social contexts. Students also hone their academic writing skills through a second course in English writing or a discipline-focused writing course.
Category 3: Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture courses engage students in the artistic, social, political, and historic contributions of numerous cultures, movements, and forms of human expression around the globe. Students hone skills that are widely applicable across professions, such as: critical and creative thinking, an understanding of aesthetics and artistic expression, the ability to analyze various works, texts, documents, media, and other cultural artifacts, and problem-solving in order to create new ideas or concepts, and the ability to apply insights and inspiration to real-world scenarios.
Category 4: Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning
Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning courses develop competency in data analysis, numerical problem-solving, forming and testing hypotheses, and interpreting results. Further, scientific and quantitative concepts can be applied to disparate areas of knowledge, in order to evaluate or critique scientific and numerical claims, methods used, and conclusions offered.
Category 5: Values, Ethics, & Perspectives
Perspectives courses deepen students’ understanding of complex societal issues through exposure to a wide variety of disciplines and topics that explore the appreciation of differences, unmet human needs, social justice work, and the empowerment of others. Moreover, they foster students’ capacity for empathy and reflection and ability to create personal and professional meaning in their lives and careers.
Core Attribute Courses
Core Attributes are competencies that all students are expected to encounter and develop through the course of completing their Core and program requirements and may be delivered by any course or discipline. Therefore, they do not require additional courses or credits to be taken. Rather, over the course of their study, students should choose at least one attribute-designated Core or major course:
Information & Digital Literacy (IDL)
Courses with a IL designation teach students how to identify and analyze information sources and types, emphasizing issues of bias, perspective, credibility, and authority in research, professional, and personal contexts. Students learn and use a variety of research tools and resources in order to locate, evaluate, verify, and use information effectively and ethically.
°µÍøTV Missions Attribute
The °µÍøTV Mission attribute is intended to ensure that all students are exposed to concepts, theories, and practices aimed at supporting the university’s mission to be “global citizens” who “live responsibly in an interdependent world.” Courses will build a sense of belonging within students–a basic emotional need that involves having a perception or feeling that one is part of a larger community while creating a social and emotional connectedness to something that is greater than oneself.
In order to receive the designation, a course needs to accomplish the following outcomes:
- Students will investigate and reflect on their own identities and discuss how people with various identities have different experiences in order to foster empathy amongst students.
- Students will identify and evaluate cultural, political, and economic conditions that exist that influence social outcomes
Courses should include at least one substantial reflective or critical thinking-oriented assignment that emphasizes the outcomes listed above.
As a result of their courses in the core curriculum, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an awareness of and respect for the religious, spiritual, and moral dimensions of life;
- Develop a critical awareness of the whole self, as well as an understanding of the complexities of human persons in historical and social contexts;
- Develop and evaluate thinking through quantitative, qualitative, and scientific reasoning; problem solving; and research;
- Respond justly and with empathy to social inequity – local, regional, and global;
- Demonstrate effective communication skills, including skills in a second language at an appropriate level;
- Develop an aesthetic appreciation and critical understanding of the visual and performing arts and their cultural importance.