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The Core Curriculum

The Core Curriculum. Phyllis R. Brown Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies Director of the Core Curriculum. www.scu.edu. UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES. Overview. Introduction and context Foundations and the First-Year Experience Explorations, Integrations, and the future

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The Core Curriculum

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  1. The Core Curriculum Phyllis R. Brown Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies Director of the Core Curriculum www.scu.edu UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

  2. Overview • Introduction and context • Foundations and the First-Year Experience • Explorations, Integrations, and the future • Pathways and Promises

  3. Integration of Old and New • A 450-year-old tradition of Jesuit education • A new emphasis on intentional, integrative, and engaged learning • Preparation for leadership characterized by competence, conscience, and compassion

  4. Structure of the Santa Clara Core

  5. Foundation Courses (First Year) • Normally four four-unit courses each quarter • Pre-enrollment in • Critical Thinking & Writing (CTW)1 and 2 • Cultures & Ideas (C & I) 1 and 2 • Selection of three other courses • Religion, Theology & Culture (RTC) 1 • Second Language • Mathematics

  6. Number of Units/Courses per Quarter • Lower-division courses (1-99) usually 4 units • Upper-division courses (100-199) usually 5 units • 1st and 2nd year—16 units (four courses) each quarter • 3rd and 4th year—15 units (three courses) each quarter • 3 X 16 X 2 = 96 units years one and two • 3 X 15 X 2 = 90 units years three and four • 175 units required for most Bachelor’s Degrees—fewer than the 186 units students complete on this schedule

  7. Our First-Year Experience • Small classes with excellent faculty • Courses linked to Residential Learning Communities • Opportunities to build on intellectual foundations • Opportunities to learn about ideas, cultures, and traditions across historical periods • Opportunities to examine diverse and shared human experiences

  8. Themes for the First-Year Experience • Art, Expression & Communication • Civilization & its Histories • Community & Society • Cultural Interaction • Global Issues • Personal Identity & Choices • Politics, Economics & Social Science • Social Justice • Science & Technology • Sustainability & Environment

  9. Meetings with Academic Advisors University Advisors help students • Understand processes • Prepare for their day-two meeting with a faculty advisor Faculty Advisors help students • Select three or four possible sections of fall quarter courses they hope to enroll in • Courses for the major • Core requirements • Plan for winter and spring quarters

  10. Integrated Learning As a whole, the first-year experience • Challenges students to explore new ways of learning • Encourages rigorous exploration of knowledge and ideas in and outside the classroom • Promotes reflection in the context of education for competence, conscience, and compassion

  11. Other Options in the First Year: Explorations • Additional first-year Core courses depend on major requirements • Undeclared students use Explorations courses to investigate possible majors • Explorations courses appropriate for the first year: • Natural Science • Social science • Arts • Diversity • Ethics • Civic Engagement

  12. The Core and the Majors Core & majors intertwine like strands of DNA

  13. Exploration Courses in the Future • Most students take Explorations courses throughout the four years • Explorations courses often satisfy major requirements • Explorations courses provide ways to explore new possibilities for majors, minors, and Pathways

  14. Other Core Courses in the Future Integrations • Most students take Integrations courses throughout the four years of study • Usually components of courses for major or Core • Experiential Learning for Social Justice often embedded in Explorations courses and courses required for majors • Some majors require specific Advanced Writing courses • Students select Foundations, Explorations, and major courses for custom-built Pathways

  15. How do Pathways work? • A common theme • Three or four courses • At least two different disciplines • Often distributed across four years • Students identify the connections

  16. The Value of Pathways • Students compile a Pathway portfolio • Examples of work from each Pathway course • A two-page reflection essay on learning in Pathways courses • Students reflect on thematic connections across courses

  17. Santa Clara’s Promise to Students • Providing students with knowledge, habits of mind and heart, and ways of engaging with the world • Preparing students for • Professional excellence • Responsible citizenship • Service to society, especially on behalf of those in greatest need • Educating students for leadership in a globalizing world • Competence • Conscience • Compassion

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