Core Curriculum

The University of Portland’s Core Curriculum invites students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and values that will prepare them to respond to the needs of the world and its human family. The premise of the Core Curriculum is that while no discipline by itself is sufficient to achieve this purpose, the liberal arts provide a foundation of multiple lenses to address enduring questions of human concern. These include: What is a good life? How does the world work? Who or what is God? What does it mean to be human? How do people maintain enduring values in a world of rapid change and uncertainty? Wrestling with such questions helps in the formation of students who better understand themselves and the world, preparing them to become effective citizens able to understand and appreciate diverse perspectives.

Grounded by Catholic intellectual tradition and Holy Cross values, the University of Portland has strong and diverse core requirements that emphasize cross disciplinary engagement, ethical reflection, and critical thinking. The Core Curriculum enacts these points of emphasis by using different disciplinary lenses to approach truth, preparing graduates to engage in a wide range of vocations by developing habits of heart and mind that include:

Literacy, Dialogue, and Expression
Religion, Faith, and Ethics
Aesthetic Inquiry, Imagination, and the Creative Process
Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and the Common Good
Scientific and Quantitative Literacy and Problem Solving
Global and Historical Consciousness

To cultivate these Core Habits, the University Core Curriculum requires course work of all students at three levels: introductory level, foundation level and exploration level.

To ensure that all students have some exposure to a historical disciplinary lens, students must take at least one HST course at either the Foundation or Exploration levels.

The Core Curriculum also applies to transfer students. No substitutions may be made without special permission from the Core Director in consultation with the dean of the student's college or school. Some departments and schools require a specific course to satisfy some of the requirements listed below. Students should consult the bulletin for the degree requirements of their major.

Goals of the Core

Each of the six Core Habits of Heart and Mind include learning goals for courses. Individual courses also identify specific student learning outcomes to assess whether the learning goals are being achieved. The course learning goals include:

Aesthetic Inquiry, Imagination, and the Creative Process

Engage in creative processes requiring curiosity and imagination
Recognize ways products of creative and artistic expression inform human experience

Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and the Common Good

Learn to live and contribute in a diverse society and interdependent world
Recognize how cultures, identities, and inequalities shape human experience
Engage community and social issues with a sense of civic responsibility and shared commitment to human dignity.

Global and Historical Consciousness

Apply a comparative perspective to global issues
Develop competencies for responsible global citizenship and stewardship
Demonstrate a historical and cultural consciousness
Demonstrate a historical and cultural consciousness

Literacy, Dialogue, and Expression

Express critical, analytical, and imaginative thoughts and ideas, particularly in writing
Employ critical reasoning to explore ideas and evaluate information
Engage in active consideration of and constructive response to the ideas of others.

Religion, Faith, and Ethics

Confront ultimate questions with knowledge from a range of intellectual & religious traditions
Examine faith and religion, their place in one’s life, and in the lives of others
Develop the knowledge and skills for acting ethically in everyday life

Scientific and Quantitative Literacy and Problem Solving

Use scientific thinking to understand how the world works
Employ mathematical and statistical skills to explore and make sense of data
Use empirical analysis to address human, social, or ecological problems

Introductory Level - 1 credit hour

At the Introductory Level, all first year students will take CORE 101 on a pass/fail basis.

CORE 101

Anchor Seminar

Foundation Level - 33 credit hours

At the Foundation Level, all students will take courses distributed across the following six habits.

Aesthetic Inquiry, Imagination, and the Creative Process - 3 credit hours

Select one course from following:

FA 107	The Creative Process in Visual Art	3
FA 108	The Creative Process in Performative Art	3
FA 307	The Arts in Portland	3
FA 310	The Fine Arts Through the Film Medium	3

Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and the Common Good - 3 credit hours

Select one course from the following:

CST 225	Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others	3
HST 210	Who is America: The Early U.S.	3
HST 211	Who is America: The Modern U.S.	3
HST 220	The Search for Justice in the Western Tradition	3
SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
SW 101	Social Work and Social Justice	3

Global and Historical Consciousness - 3 credit hours

Select one course from the following:

HST 221	Modern Western Civilization	3
HST 251	Modern East Asia	3
HST 254	Colonial Latin America	3
HST 256	Modern Latin America	3
POL 203	Introduction to Political Theory	3
POL 205	World Politics	3
CHN 103	Beginning Chinese Language and Culture III	3
FRN 202	Intermediate French Language and Culture	3
FRN 205	Accelerated Intermediate French Language and Culture	6
FRN 301	Advanced French Conversation and Culture	3
FRN 302	Advanced French Conversation, Composition and Culture
GRM 202	Intermediate German Language and Culture	3
GRM 207	Accelerated Intermediate German Language and Culture	6
GRM 301	Advanced German Conversation, Composition, and Culture	3
GRM 302	Advanced German Conversation, Composition, and Culture
SPN 202	Intermediate Spanish Language and Culture	3
SPN 205	Accelerated Intermediate Spanish Language and Culture	6
SPN 301	Advanced Spanish Composition, Conversation, and Culture I	3
SPN 302	Advanced Spanish Composition, Conversation, and Culture II	3
SPN 308	Advanced Spanish for Heritage Speakers	3

Other HST courses designated HTS 25x or HST 291 may fulfill the Global and Historical Consciousness requirement. Please confirm eligible course offerings with a program counselor.

Literacy, Dialogue, and Expression - 6 credit hours

ENG 112	Thinking Through Literature	3
PHL 150	Introductory Philosophy	3

Religion, Faith, and Ethics - 9 credit hours

PHL 220	Ethics	3
THE 105	Engaging Ultimate Questions: Religion, Faith, and Ethics	3
THE 205	The Bible, Past and Present	3

Scientific and Quantitative Literacy and Problem Solving - 9 credit hours

Select one course from the following - 3 credit hours

ECN 120	Principles of Macroeconomics	3
ECN 121	Principles of Microeconomics	3
POL 200	Introduction to United States Politics	3
PSY 101	Psychological Science	3

Select one course from the following - 3 credit hours

MTH

Any mathematics course above MTH 120

Select one course from the following - 3 credit hours

BIO	Any 100-level course or any 200-level course required of a major	3
CHM	Any 100-level course or any 200-level course required of a major	3
ENV	Any 100-level course	3
PHY	Any 100-level course or any 200-level course required of a major	3

Exploration Level - 6 credit hours

At the Exploration Level, all students will take 6 credit hours of courses designated as exploration courses for the University Core Curriculum. These courses will address at least two Core Habits and must be approved by the University Core Curriculum Committee or the Core Director.

The first Exploration Level courses will be offered in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Integration Assignment

Prior to graduation, students will also complete an integration assignment reflecting on educational experiences with the University Core Curriculum and demonstrating an ability to understand the Core Habits.

Up one level

Bulletin 2021-2022