The University Core Curriculum

I. Foundational Core (30 credits)

The Foundational Core provides students with a broad liberal arts education which includes the development of written and oral communication, critical thinking, information literacy, and mathematical skills that are necessary for academic and professional success.

FYS 125* First Year Seminar (3 credits)

CTL 125 Critical Thinking (3 credits)

Arts/Design/Communications/Foreign Languages (3 credits)

History - HI 100 or HI 102 (3 credits)

Literature (3 credits)

College-level Mathematics (3 credits)

Natural/Physical Sciences (3 credits)

Philosophy (3 credits)

Social or Behavioral Sciences (3 credits)

Theology/Religious Studies (3 credits)

* A minimum grade of C or better is required.

Foundational Core Courses

Courses that fulfill the Foundational Core may be located at the following website: https://www.sacredheart.edu/offices--departments-directory/registrar/major-checksheets/. The course list may change in subsequent years. Students should consult with their advisor to ensure that they select the appropriate courses for the Foundational Core.

II. Common Core: The Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (6 credits)

Sacred Heart University’s academic signature centerpiece, The Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition are a direct reflection of the University's Mission. These seminars provide students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the roots and development of the Catholic Intellectual tradition as an ongoing 2,000-year conversation between the Catholic community of thinkers, writers, and artists and the cultures in which they have lived, asking fundamental questions about God, humanity, society, and nature. These seminars engage students in explorations of the claims of the Tradition and enjoin students in seminar discussion asking students to reflect on how these texts and ideas relate to their own lives and the world in which they live. The seminars help develop students’ critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills.

The seminars are framed by four fundamental and enduring questions of human meaning and value:

• What does it mean to be human?
• What does it mean to live a life of meaning and purpose?
• What does it mean to understand and appreciate the natural world?
• What does it mean to forge a more just society for the common good?

The two seminars are:

CIT I 201: An interdisciplinary study of the early Catholic thinkers, writers, and artists who provide an understanding of the roots of this Tradition and who begin its ongoing conversation about fundamental questions of human existence. (classical period to 17th century.)

CIT II 202: An interdisciplinary study of modern Catholic thinkers, writers, and artists who continue the development of this ongoing conversation about God, humanity, society, and nature. (modern and contemporary periods.)

III. Liberal Arts Exploration (9 credits)

This part of the Core will more fully immerse students in different facets of the liberal arts, so that they will come away with deeper knowledge and a greater ability to be critical and independent thinkers.

Humanistic Inquiry

In these course, students will examine and explore human nature and human experience in different eras and cultures. Students will critically examine and reflect upon fundamental concerns, issues, and topics related to the human condition, as represented by influential thinkers, writers, artists, and scientists. Students will be required to write a minimum of 500 words (1000 total) doing at least two of the following: 1.) examining issues related to human experience and expression; 2.) analyzing aspects of individual identity, including values, beliefs, and behaviors; 3.) using critical reflection to better understand ourselves and each other. (3 credits)

Social and Global Awareness

This area asks that students become more informed about and engaged with the world around them. It aims to provide students with the tools and the insight that will make them responsible citizens. Students will be asked to bring critical reflection, empathy, and a respect for cultural diversity to bear on social problems and real-world issues. Students will be required to write a minimum of 500 words (1000 total) doing at least two of the following: 1.) analyzing historical or contemporary perspectives on issues related to human society and organization, including a diversity of cultures; 2.) using that knowledge to compare solutions to complex problems; and 3.) exploring ethical modes of citizenship and collective action on local and global scales. (3 credits)

Scientific Literacy

Scientific literacy is the ability to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena and the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making and living in and making contributions to the human community. These courses allow students to develop the ability to assess the quality of scientific information, to pose and evaluate arguments based on evidence, and to apply the principles of scientific inquiry to make and communicate reasoned and ethical judgments about the role of science in individuals' lives, communities, and the world. Students will be required to write a minimum of 500 words (1000 total) doing at least two of the following: 1.) explaining the scientific method and its related processes; 2.) using appropriate data or evidence to weigh competing claims, especially those of concern to informed citizens; and 3.) identifying the aims and limits of scientific inquiry and reasoning. (3 credits)

Students must take one course from each area for a total of 9 credits.

Courses that fulfill the Liberal Arts Explorations component of the core curriculum may be located at the following website: www.sacredheart.edu/officeservices/registrar/majorchecksheets.

The course lists may change in subsequent years. Students should consult with their advisor to ensure that they select the appropriate courses for the Liberal Arts Explorations component of the core curriculum.