Core Curriculum

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:

1. Engage questions of ultimate meaning through the Catholic intellectual tradition.
   1. Analyze intellectual arguments as they relate to aspects of human life, and the search for relationships between human meaning and the world.
   2. Evaluate ethical arguments and apply ethical theories to contemporary problems.
   3. Compare religious and philosophical traditions in various historical and/or global contexts.
2. Explain interactions among people, and with the systems in which they operate.
   1. Use concepts, theories, and/or empirical data to explain how people process, create, and/or react to the factors that guide their behavior.
   2. Describe normative, ethical, creative, and/or moral behavior of people.
   3. Analyze the dynamics of human processes, structures, concepts, and the resulting social and/or societal frameworks and functions.
3. Refine the skills of scientific and quantitative inquiry, analysis, and problem solving.
   1. Use the fundamental principles of quantitative reasoning to solve problems.
   2. Apply scientific processes to carry out experiments.
   3. Analyze real-world data to formulate questions and conclusions.
   4. Use the fundamental principles of scientific reasoning to answer questions.
4. Explore the connections between the past and present, and the implications of such connections for the future.
   1. Explain how past events, actions, and culture have shaped the world and the human experience.
   2. Examine diverse and/or marginalized communities and cultures.
   3. Analyze and interpret specific texts in explaining a variety of human experiences.
5. 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)
   1. Describe relevant and contemporary problems and debates.
   2. Collaborate across disciplines to integrate multiple viewpoints.
   3. Communicate interdisciplinary solutions to contemporary problems in written and other forms.