The Common Curriculum

Overview of the New Curriculum

What courses will students be required to take?

Beginning in September 2022 with the Class of 2026, all students will be required to take 9 total courses which encompass the categories below.

First Year Inquiry (FYI) - 1 course

Freshman will be required to take a First Year Inquiry class during their first year preferably during the Fall Term. FYI classes will emphasize critical thinking, inquiry, and analysis to foster deep learning and prepare students to springboard into the Perspectives courses where content is framed around Areas of Inquiry.

Areas of Inquiry - 2 courses

Students will be required to take two courses, one for each Area of Inquiry. The Areas of Inquiry are Justice, Equity, Identity, and Difference (JEID) and Global Challenges (GC). These courses will also count toward the Perspectives requirement.

Perspectives - 8 courses

Students will be required to take a total of 8 courses, each covering one of the eight Perspectives. Students may not double count a course for this requirement. Since these courses will be framed within the context of Justice, Equity, Identity, Difference or Global Challenges, students will receive also receive credit for an Area of Inquiry.

The eight Perspectives categories are: Creative Arts & Design (CAD); Cultural & Historical Foundations (CHF); Data and Quantitative Reasoning (DQR); Engineering, Technology & Society (ETS); Literatures (LIT); Natural & Physical Sciences (NPS); Social Analysis, Politics & Ethics (SPE); World Languages (WOL).