History
of the Core Curriculum
Core
Curriculum Course Listings
Core Course Syllabi
Core Equivalencies
(Transfer, Study Abroad & Transient Students) |
 |
Oglethorpe University is committed to providing a
comprehensive liberal arts education for all of its
students. We aim to produce graduates who
are broadly educated in the fundamental fields of knowledge
and who know how to integrate knowledge in meaningful ways.
The University’s core curriculum is the clearest expression
of this commitment. As an interdisciplinary and common
learning experience, the core curriculum provides for
students throughout their academic careers a model for
integrating information and gaining knowledge.
The sequencing of the core courses means that all Oglethorpe
students take the same core courses at the same point in
their college careers, thereby providing an opportunity for
students to discuss important ideas and texts both inside
and outside the classroom. In this way, the core curriculum
aims to create a community of learners at Oglethorpe
University.
Staffed by faculty from a wide variety of disciplines, the
program seeks to teach students the following aptitudes and
skills:
- The ability to reason, read, and speak effectively,
instilled through frequent and rigorous writing assignments
and the reading and discussion of primary texts.
- An understanding as well as a critical appreciation of
how knowledge is generated and challenged.
- The ability to reflect upon and discuss matters
fundamental to understanding who we are and what we ought to
be. This includes how we understand ourselves as individuals
(Core I) and as members of society (Core II), how the study
of our past informs our sense of who we are as human beings
(Core III), and the ways in which the practice of science
informs our understanding of ourselves and the world (Core
IV).
In addition to the seven integrated and sequenced core
courses, Oglethorpe University students take two additional
courses that have been designed to help them develop an
appreciation and understanding of fine arts and mathematics.
Students earning a Bachelor of Arts degree also study a
foreign language.
The core curriculum provides only a beginning for the
investigation of significant questions and issues. The
program is designed to foster in students a love of learning
and a desire to learn, to think, and to act as reflective,
responsible beings throughout their lives.
|
