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Core Curriculum Objectives

The purpose of the Core is to achieve a synthesis of knowledge that provides a basis for informed judgment. The Core also seeks to promote literacy as a foundation for intelligent discourse and the articulation of informed views. The Core aims to train students to understand and to appreciate the interrelated patterns of customary beliefs and practices, social forms, aesthetics, and material traits that act to define a culture and its position within a larger historical and intellectual framework.

This program looks to the past and acknowledges that culture is vibrant and continuously redefined. It challenges students to understand how the present is recognizably formed from past influences, and that to arrive at a view of its future, students must be trained to scrutinize and bring into perspective the relationship of the present culture with that of the past.

The Core fosters active participation in learning, while preparing them to become active participants within society. In this way the Core encourages personal development in preparing students to regard themselves as citizens living in a democratic society, as belonging to a world community, and as therefore having communal responsibilities.

Core Curriculum General Requirements

In general, once a sequence of courses is begun in a particular discipline, a student may not revert to a lower level course in that same discipline to fulfill a core requirement without prior approval from the Dean's Office. Courses or sections of courses that are approved to fulfill Core requirements are designated as such in the Pre-registration Master Schedule issued at pre-registration each semester. Retroactive approval of a course taken previously for fulfillment of a core requirement is not possible.

Augustine and Culture Villanova Seminar - 2 courses (during the first year of study):

  • Successful completion of ACS 1000 (Traditions in Conversation) and ACS 1001 (Modernity and Its Discontents).

College Ethics -1 course (normally during sophomore year):

  • Successful completion of ETH 2050 (Ethical Traditions and Contemporary Life).

Fine Arts - 1 course (during one semester):

  • Art History, Theatre, studio art courses which have a theoretical basis, and courses in music appreciation and film analysis are examples of courses which will fulfill this requirement.

Consult the Master Schedule issued each semester at pre-registration for a list of courses that will fulfill this requirement.

Foreign Language - 2 courses (in the same foreign language):

  • Successful completion of a language must be at or above the intermediate level.

For most students, this will involve a two-semester continuation of a language studied in high school. Students may elect to study a new language by completing two semesters of the language at the introductory level in addition to satisfying the intermediate level course requirement. The two introductory level courses will be counted as electives if that language was not studied for two or more years at the high school level.

  • The language requirement may also be satisfied with two semesters of study at the introductory level for Arabic, Chinese, ancient Greek, Japanese, or Russian.
     
  • International students (for whom English is a second language) may not choose their native language to fulfill the language requirement. They may take a total of four English courses (ENG 1050 and three literature courses at the 2100 level or above) to fulfill both the literature and foreign language core requirements.

NOTE: The credit value of language courses varies from three to six credits. Regardless of the number of credits, a language course counts for only one course.

History - 2 courses:

  • Successful completion of HIS 1050 and a second History course with a course number of 2000 or higher.

Literature - 2 courses:

  • Successful completion of ENG 1050 and a second literature course with a course number of 2100 or higher.

Mathematical Sciences/Computing Sciences - 2 courses:

  • Successful completion of two courses in mathematical sciences (MAT),  or one course in mathematical sciences and one course from computing sciences (CSC).
All courses for which a student has the appropriate pre-requisites or equivalent experience may be used to satisfy this requirement. Beginning a course in a particular series does not obligate a student to finish that series. For example, a student taking MAT 1320 (Calculus I) is not required to take MAT 1325 (Calculus II).
 

NOTE: Students majoring in a science or those intending to apply to medical, dental or veterinary school must take two semesters of Calculus. Additional information is available from Dr. Friede, Health Sciences Adviser (610/519-4833).

Philosophy - 2 courses:

  • Successful completion of PHI 1050 and a second philosophy course with a course number of 2000 or higher.

Theology and Religious Studies - 2 courses:

  • Successful completion of THL 1050 and a second Theology and Religious Studies course with a course number of 2000 or higher.

The required introductory course, Theology and Religious Studies 1050, is an academic presentation of Christian thought, suitable for any student. It is normally taken during the sophomore year. In special cases, the following courses may be substituted for this course with permission from the Dean: THL 2800; THL 5400; THL 5800; THL 5900.

Social Sciences - 3 courses:

  • Successful completion of one introductory course in each of two distinct disciplines, and one advanced course (2000 level or above) in one of those two disciplines. The Social Sciences disciplines are: Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.

Natural Sciences Option A - a year-long sequence of 2 courses and 2 labs:

  • Successful completion of courses in one scientific discipline consisting of an introductory course followed by a theme course for which an introductory course is a prerequisite. These courses have been designed for non-science majors. Each student may choose Option A or Option B as described below.

The following sequences may be used to satisfy this option:

  • AST 1050/1051 and 1052/1053
  • AST 1072/1073 and AST 1074/1075
  • BIO 1505 or BIO 1605, or 1625, or 1655 or 1705 or 1785. Offerings will vary from year to year.
  • CHM 1050/1001 and CHM 1051/1002, or 1052/1001, or 1053/1002 or 1054/1002.
  • Environmental Science I (ENV 1050) and Environmental Science II (ENV 1051)
  • PHY 1020/1021 and PHY 1022/1023.

Natural Sciences Option B  - a year-long sequence of 2 courses and labs:

  • Successful completion of courses in one scientific discipline. These courses are generally taken by science majors.

The following course sequences satisfy this option:

  • AST 2121/1075 and AST 2122/1073.
  • BIO 2105 and BIO 2106.
  • CHM 1131/1103 and CHM 1134/1108.
  • CHM 1151/1103 and CHM 1152/1104.
  • PHY 2410/2411 and PHY 2412/2413.

Core Curriculum Distribution Requirements

Students are also required to satisfy certain distribution requirements. The distribution requirements may be satisfied by courses used to satisfy either core, major or elective requirements. Additionally, a single course may satisfy more than one of the distribution requirements.

Writing Requirement - 8 courses:

  • Four courses which are designated as Writing Intensive and four courses which are designated as Writing Enriched.

These designations will appear in the Master Schedule available during pre-registration each semester. (Students may also be expected to do extensive writing in courses which are not formally designated as writing enriched or writing intensive.)

The Augustine and Culture Seminars (1000 and 1001) and the Introductory Literature course (ENG 1050) fulfill three of the four Writing Intensive course requirements. The fourth Writing Intensive course requirement is to be taken in the student's major area. College Ethics (ETH 2050) fulfills one of the four Writing Enriched requirements.

Integrative Sequences - 2 sequences of 2 courses each: Integrative courses enable a student to examine a topic or theme from the perspective of several disciplines. One of these sequences is to be in the humanities and the other is to be in the sciences. The two Core Humanities Seminars fulfill the former and the Natural Science core requirement fulfills the latter.

Diversity Requirement - 2 courses:

Each student is required to select one course in two of the following three areas:

  • Diversity (1) - courses which provide a focus on studies emphasizing ethnic and minority experiences in the United States.
  • Diversity (2) - courses which provide a focus on women's experiences and highlight the ways in which gender influences experience.
  • Diversity (3) - courses which provide a focus on the culture, economics, politics or ecology of societies and nations other than those of Europe and the United States.

NOTE:

  1. A student may not use a single course to fulfill more than one category of the diversity requirement.

  2. The diversity requirement cannot be fulfilled by independent study or a senior thesis.

  3. Language courses cannot fulfill the requirement, although literature courses in a foreign language can fulfill the requirement provided they focus on appropriate material.

Research Requirement - 1 course:

Each student is required to take one research course in one’s major in either the sophomore or junior year. Each department is responsible for the research course(s) in their individual programs.