Core Curriculum in Higher Education

Running head: CORE CURRICULUM IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1

Case Study: Core Curriculum in Higher Education

Ashley Trewartha

Loyola University Chicago

CORE CURRICULUM IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2

When students graduate college, most have explored a variety of courses outside of their

major coursework through core curriculum requirements outlined by their university. The core

curriculum at five institutions—Georgetown University, Seattle University, Stanford University,

University of California-Berkeley, and University of Wisconsin-Madison—share a common

theme of types of courses required but differed in how their curricula was structured. As student

populations become increasingly diverse and as higher education continues to face economic

hardship, universities should address how and ensure that core curriculum enhances the

educational experience.

Descriptive Analysis

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a large, research, Jesuit Catholic institution (Indiana University

Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.; Georgetown University, n.d., About).

Georgetown College, one of the schools within Georgetown, offers undergraduate programs in

the arts and sciences (Georgetown College, n.d., About). Georgetown College’s core

requirements are intended to provide “a foundation for and [are] an integral part of any student’s

eventual concentration in the college” (Georgetown College, n.d., Core Requirements, para. 2).

The core requirements include courses in writing, the humanities, history, theology, philosophy,

math and science, social science, and foreign language (Georgetown College, n.d., Core

Requirements). Of these requirements, the only course specifically required is a writing and

culture seminar that “provides students with opportunities to connect their writing with critical

reading and thinking, inquiry, and analysis” (Georgetown College, n.d., Core Requirements,

Writing section). The core requirements seem to integrate liberal arts education and Jesuit


education by providing learning in a variety of academic disciplines, as well as courses engaging

students in critical reflection.

Seattle University

Seattle University is a mid-size, Master’s granting, Jesuit Catholic institution (Indiana

University Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.; Seattle University, n.d.,

University Core Curriculum). The core curriculum is intended to engage students in “learning

about themselves, their communities, and the world” (Seattle University, n.d., University Core

Curriculum, para. 1). The curriculum guides students through four modules: engaging academic

inquiry, exploring the self and others, engaging the world, and reflection (Seattle University,

n.d., Core Curriculum). Engaging Academic Inquiry teaches students about the process of

academic inquiry and the search for answers so that they can “understand and evaluate

knowledge claims from a variety of perspectives” (Seattle University, n.d., Module I: Engaging

Academic Inquiry, para. 2). Exploring the Self and Others is intended to “help students learn to

examine fundamental assumptions they make about themselves and how they think about

existence” (Seattle University, n.d., Module II: Exploring the Self and Others, para. 1). Courses

in this module encourage students to engage in the critical reflection and ethical analysis that are

important to the Jesuit tradition. Engaging the World is intended to “help students . . .

understand and engage important issues and challenges they will face as globally engaged

persons” (Seattle University, n.d., Module III: Engaging the World, para. 1). Finally, Reflection

consists of a major-specific capstone course that is designed to help students reflect and make

meaning of their educational experience (Seattle University, n.d., Module IV: Reflection).

Together, the four modules guide students through an educational experience of critical

reflection and understanding of self to become global citizens.


Stanford University

Stanford University is a large, private, research institution (Indiana University

Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.). Stanford’s General Education

Requirements “are intended to [help students] develop a broad set of essential intellectual and

social competencies of enduring value” (Stanford University, n.d., General Education

Requirements, Purpose section, para. 1). One requirement, to be completed in students’ first

year, is a “Thinking Matters” course, a course that stresses “rigorous critical inquiry” and “skills

in interpretation, reasoning, and analysis” (Stanford University, n.d., General Education

Requirements, GER Area Requirements Section, para. 2). The Writing and Rhetoric requirement

consists of three increasingly advanced writing courses that coincide with “how students mature

as writers, researchers, and presenters during their undergraduate years” (Stanford University,

n.d., Understanding the Writing and Rhetoric Requirements, para. 1). Students are also required

to complete the equivalent of three quarters of a language course. Finally, students must fulfill

educational breadth known as Ways of Thinking and Ways of Doing. These breadth courses

“give instruction in essential skills and capacities” (Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing section,

para. 1) in aesthetic and interpretive inquiry, applied quantitative reasoning, creative expression,

engagement of diversity, ethical reasoning, formal reasoning, social inquiry, and scientific

analysis (Stanford University, n.d., General Education Requirements). Together, Stanford’s core

requirements engage students in learning through a variety of academic disciplines and inquiry.

University of California-Berkeley

The University of California-Berkeley (UC-Berkeley) is a large, public, research, land-

grant institution (Indiana University Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.;

University of California-Berkeley, n.d. Facts at a Glance). All undergraduate students in the


University of California System are required to complete two requirements, an entry-level

writing course and one course each in American history and American institutions (University of

California-Berkeley, n.d., Majors and Degrees). The set of requirements outlined by the

university are intended to ensure that all students are proficient in the areas of writing and United

States history.

In addition to courses outlined by the University of California, the Berkeley campus also

requires an American Cultures course. Courses that fulfill the American Cultures requirement

“focus upon how the diversity of America’s constituent cultural traditions have shaped and

continue to shape American identity and experience” (University of California-Berkeley, n.d.,

Majors and Degrees, Berkeley Campus American Cultures Breadth Requirement section).

Berkeley also requires two courses in reading and composition. Schools and colleges within

Berkeley outline additional breadth requirements in a variety of academic disciplines. For

example, the College of Letters and Science has requires courses in arts and literature;

philosophy and values; biological, physical, and social and behavioral sciences; and historical

and international studies (College of Letters and Sciences, n.d.). Specific college requirements

provide breadth in a variety of disciplines, while Berkeley’s American Cultures requirement

grounds students within United States’ societal and cultural contexts.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) is a large, public, research, land-

grant institution (Indiana University Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.;

University of Wisconsin, n.d., About UW-Madison). The core curriculum provides students “a

foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values,

and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world” (University of Wisconsin-


Madison, n.d., Undergraduate Study at UW-Madison, para. 1). Undergraduate students are

required to complete breadth courses that include natural science; humanities, literature, or arts;

and social studies. The breadth requirement “challenges students to understand that there are

many ways to research and explore, and ultimately understand, the world around us” (University

of Wisconsin-Madison, n.d., Undergraduate Study at UW-Madison, para. 5).

In addition to the breadth requirement, undergraduate students at UW-Madison are

required to complete communication, quantitative reasoning, and ethnic studies courses

(University of Wisconsin-Madison, n.d., Undergraduate Study at UW-Madison). Both the

communication and quantitative reasoning requirements include two levels, one for general

knowledge and the second to apply specifically to students’ fields of study. The final

requirement is an ethnic studies course (University of Wisconsin-Madison, n.d., Undergraduate

Study at UW-Madison). The essential learning outcomes of all ethnic studies courses include

gaining an awareness of the valuing of some historical narratives over others and its implications

on the present society; developing the ability to recognize and question personal assumptions and

preconceived notions; promoting awareness of self in relation to others, and encouraging

meaningful action in a multicultural society (UW-Madison’s Ethnic Studies Subcommittee,

2010). The core curriculum as a whole engages students in multiple academic disciplines and

encourages students to explore the racial and ethnic context of the United States.

Comparative Analysis

The five institutions analyzed—Georgetown University, Seattle University, Stanford

University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Wisconsin-Madison—comprise

a variety of types of institutions. Georgetown and Seattle are both private, Jesuit Catholic

institutions; UC-Berkeley and UW-Madison are both public land-grant institutions; and Stanford


is an elite private institution. The types of institutions may account for differences between core

curricula whereas national organizations for higher education may account for commonalities

between core curricula.

A common theme among all five institutions is the variety of courses required in each

core curriculum. Each institution requires courses in writing, humanities, mathematics and

quantitative reasoning, and natural, physical, and social sciences. This breadth illustrates that

these institutions value students gaining foundational knowledge in a variety of subjects as well

as learning how different disciplines engage in academic inquiry. The breadth requirements that

each university shares mirror the learning outcomes outlined by the Association of American

Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): “knowledge of human cultures and the physical and

natural world,” “intellectual and practical skills,” “personal and social responsibility,” and

“integrative learning” (Fink, 2013, pp. 17-18). All five universities incorporated course

requirements that address these learning outcomes, including physical, natural, and social

science, communication and literacy, and quantitative reasoning. Additionally, personal and

social responsibility and integrative learning is present in each curriculum in different ways. For

example, Georgetown requires philosophy courses, whereas Seattle University requires the

Exploring the Self and Others module (Georgetown College, n.d., Core Requirements; Seattle

University, n.d., Module II: Exploring the Self and Others). For the land-grant institutions,

personal and social responsibility is represented by the ethnic studies and American cultures

requirements. In 1997, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges

called upon universities to help students develop “character, conscience, citizenship, tolerance,

civility, and individual and social responsibility in our students” (Fink, 2013, p. 17). Both UC-

Berkeley’s American culture requirement and UW-Madison’s ethnic studies requirement attempt


to explore historical narratives and present day implications for various racial and ethnic groups

in the United States, which can contribute to developing citizenship, tolerance, and individual

and social responsibility. Regardless of differences in how each institution addresses the

learning outcomes, each university does address some of these essential learning outcomes.

One major difference in core curriculum is how it is structured by each institution. Most

of the universities analyzed list breadth requirements by subject, yet others integrate breadth

requirements in an educational progression. Of the five institutions analyzed, only Seattle

University was not classified as having high research activity (Indiana University Bloomington's

Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.). Interestingly, Seattle University was also the only

institution that does not outline core curriculum in a list. Georgetown, Stanford, UC-Berkeley,

and UW-Madison all listed breadth requirements by different academic disciplines or

perspectives. For example, Georgetown lists requirements in the sciences and the humanities,

and UC-Berkeley and UW-Madison list courses similarly. Students at these institutions can

select from a wide range of courses that fulfill each requirement and, for the most part, can fulfill

requirements at any time throughout the undergraduate career. Seattle University, in contrast,

provides a more structured sequence of requirements through which students progress.

The core curriculum that incorporates a structured progression complements theories of

student development and how learning occurs. Perry’s theory describes most first year students

as viewing the world through a dualistic perspective in which absolute truths and absolute

standards of ethics exist (Nilsen, 2010). Nilsen (2010) suggests that familiarizing students with

uncertainties and different perspectives through different disciplines can help students progress

through the early positions that Perry outlines. For example, Seattle University addresses this

through the Engaging Academic Inquiry module which includes courses on inquiry among the


humanities, social and natural sciences, and mathematics (Seattle University, n.d., Module I:

Engaging Academic Inquiry). Other institutions fulfill this in breadth requirements, but the

completion of these courses is not sequenced to encourage development through Perry’s

positions.

A major gap that most institutions leave out is addressing the experiences and knowledge

that students bring with them to college. Luchins and Luchins, as cited in Bransford, Brown, and

Cocking (1999) theorized that “prior experience can limit people’s abilities to function

efficiently in new settings” (p. 54). Students enter college with misconceptions that may be

addressed in courses, but is not addressed in core curriculum (Nilsen, 2010). Stanford’s Ways of

Thinking and Doing requirements may help students explore new ways of learning and new

areas of knowledge, but there is otherwise not a course that specifically allows students to reflect

on previous experiences that influence who they are today. Seattle University, likely as a result

of Jesuit educational values, has a module specifically devoted to exploring the self and others,

but none of the other four universities have such a requirement. Similarly, few institutions’ core

curricula encourage lifelong learning, with the exception of Seattle University. Valuing student

experiences, narratives, and interests in course curricula is largely missing, but should be

considered as student populations are becoming increasingly diverse.

Conclusion

Overall, the core curricula offered at Georgetown, Stanford, Seattle University, UC-

Berkeley, and UW-Madison each encourage inquiry and analysis through a variety of academic

disciplines. Core curricula and the structure of curricula varied between the five institutions

based on the type of institution and the missions of each institution. A major gap that was

missing from all five curricula was the role of the student in their own learning experience. As


college students become increasingly diverse, institutions of higher education would be better

equipped to serve students if their curriculum was more intentional in addressing their unique

and diverse backgrounds and interests.

As the student population continues to change, those developing curriculum face a

number of challenges. The curriculum at UC-Berkeley and Stanford was intended to prepare

students for the rigor of academic work. How curriculum prepares students for academic rigor

may need to change to be able to accommodate the variety of needs students have. Similarly,

while the ethnic studies and American culture requirements were created to expose students to

societal structures, these courses focus on racial and ethnic identities. A course that allows

students to reflect on their identities and learn about a variety of identity groups may help

students within our increasingly diverse and complex national and global societies. A final

challenge for curriculum development and higher education in general is the cost, value, and

objective of getting a degree. A challenge for educators is showing that core curriculum matters

when knowledge is at students’ fingertips and graduating early is more cost effective. Core

curriculum has changed over time and will need to address technological, economic, and social

changes in the future.


References

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