The Misericordia University Core is a program of study that teaches students to engage deep questions about the meaning of human existence, to comprehend human life in relation to communities, to appreciate beauty, to understand and evaluate data and scientific claims, to make connections among the past, present and future, to read critically and express ideas with skill and precision, and to contribute to the common good.
The transformational educational experience of the Core program begins with foundational courses in writing, theology, and philosophy. Courses within the liberal arts disciplines build on these foundations to deepen student knowledge of, and engagement with, every aspect of human life and society. The Core culminates with a capstone class where students collectively identify, analyze, and address a problem using the knowledge, skills, and experiences they have gained in the Core program.
The Core strives to form graduates who will have the skills and knowledge to identify the needs of the world and address those needs through a life of service, global citizenship, and commitment to the common good.
Learning Outcomes:
- Engage questions of ultimate meaning through the Catholic intellectual tradition.
- Analyze intellectual arguments as they relate to aspects of human life, and the search for relationships between human meaning and the world.
- Evaluate ethical arguments and apply ethical theories to contemporary problems.
- Compare religious and philosophical traditions in various historical and/or global contexts.
- Explain interactions among people, and with the systems in which they operate.
- Use concepts, theories, and/or empirical data to explain how people process, create, and/or react to the factors that guide their behavior.
- Describe normative, ethical, creative, and/or moral behavior of people.
- Analyze the dynamics of human processes, structures, concepts, and the resulting social and/or societal frameworks and functions.
- Refine the skills of scientific and quantitative inquiry, analysis, and problem solving.
- Use the fundamental principles of quantitative reasoning to solve problems.
- Apply scientific processes to carry out experiments.
- Analyze real-world data to formulate questions and conclusions.
- Use the fundamental principles of scientific reasoning to answer questions.
- Explore the connections between the past and present, and the implications of such connections for the future.
- Explain how past events, actions, and culture have shaped the world and the human experience.
- Examine diverse and/or marginalized communities and cultures.
- Analyze and interpret specific texts in explaining a variety of human experiences.
- Synthesize liberal arts perspectives from multiple disciplines to identify, analyze, and address a problem. (Satisfied at a minimum by WRT 101 , Writing Intensive courses in the Core, & Core Capstone)
- Describe relevant and contemporary problems and debates.
- Collaborate across disciplines to integrate multiple viewpoints.
- Communicate interdisciplinary solutions to contemporary problems in written and other forms.
Written Communication
All students must complete:
- WRT 101 University Writing Seminar ; and
- At least two courses identified as writing intensive. Sections that are writing intensive will be indicated with a “W” following the course number on the course schedule. These courses may be offered and taken as part of the core requirements listed below and/or within individual majors/minors.
Ways of Knowing
All students must complete both courses in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition area, and one course in all other Ways of Knowing areas.
Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Mathematics
Determined by the student’s major for minimum requirement. Unless indicated below, the minimum required course is MTH 120 Mathematical Reasoning (3 credits).
- MTH 108 Precalculus 3 credits
Required for the following majors:
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography
- Health Science (Medical Science specialization)
- Information Technology
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Occupational Science
- MTH 165 Survey of Calculus 3 credits
Required for the following majors:
- Business Economics
- Data Science
- Education (Computer Science Grades 7-12)
- MTH 171 Calculus I 4 credits
Required for the following majors:
- Biochemistry
- Biology (including secondary education)
- Chemistry (including secondary education)
- Computer Science
- Mathematics (including secondary education)
- Middle-Level Education (if mathematics is an area of specialty)
- Statistics
Structured Electives
Students must complete one course in each area below.
Quest for Ultimate Meaning
Social Interactions and Systems
Scientific and Quantitative Inquiry
Core Electives
Two courses of the student’s choosing from the Ways of Knowing or Structured Elective menus beyond those required to meet those requirements, and the following courses:
Core Capstone Requirement
Students are required to complete the Core’s capstone course.
Information Literacy
The Association of College and Research Librarians defines information literacy as “the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.”
Information literacy also is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information pose large challenges for society. The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively.
Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:
- Determine the extent of information needed
- Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
- Evaluate information and its sources critically
- Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
- Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
- Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally
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