Core Curriculum at Le Moyne College

Core Curriculum

THE NEW CORE CURRICULUM: COMING IN THE FALL OF 2013

Le Moyne College is transitioning to a new Core Curriculum beginning in the fall of 2013 with some pilot sections running during the 2012-2013 academic year. For more information, please click on the Core Curriculum button above.

Core courses provide a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences for all undergraduate programs. In these courses Le Moyne students deepen their understanding of the diverse ways in which women and men throughout history have responded to enduring questions about meaning and order in the physical universe, in social and political processes, and in human experience. They also refine critical thinking and communication skills as they work together to analyze these responses. Some core courses include a service learning component; students participate in projects designed to respond to community needs and then reflect on their attempts to connect course content and action for justice.

Like their colleagues throughout the College, faculty who teach core courses emphasize active learning in order to educate the whole person -- intellect, imagination and spirit. They model for students an approach to the intellectual life that integrates the discovery of knowledge, a passion for justice, and the life-long search for meaning and values.

As we transition to the next stage of core revision, the Dean of Arts and Sciences will be overseeing the core curriculum, and the Registrar will be coordinating the process of approving requests to take core courses at other institutions. Forms that need the Core Director's signature should be submitted to the Registrar's Office for processing:

Registrar's Office
Grewen Hall Room 212
registrar@lemoyne.edu
445-4456

Read the latest news from the director of the core curriculum (pdf)

Natural Sciences

| 1 course = 3 credits |

These course options, designed for non-science majors, develop scientific literacy and a critical perspective on scientific method.

Social Sciences

| 1 course = 3 credits |

These course options offer models for interpreting human behavior, understanding the effects of race, gender, and class on personal identity and social interaction, and insight into economic, political, and psychological forces that shape society and culture.

Transfer Students and the Core

Like all matriculated students, transfer students must complete the common core curriculum at Le Moyne. They may use transfer credit to fulfill a core requirement when the transfer course is equivalent to the core course. In addition, transfer students may use up to two humanities courses that are not deemed equivalent to core courses to substitute for up to two core courses in two different humanities departments. Students who apply transfer credits to core requirements must, however, nonetheless complete at least one core course at Le Moyne in each of the humanities: English, history, philosophy, and religious studies. This is commonly called the residency requirement. Students who have transferred to the college and who are approaching their senior year should keep this requirement in mind as they choose their final courses.

Study Abroad and the Core Curriculum

Students who intend to study abroad in their third year of college may wish to satisfy a third-year core-curriculum requirement, specifically one in Philosophy, English, or Religious Studies, at the foreign institution to which they have been accepted. These students should familiarize themselves with the Le Moyne requirement in the college catalog, find a comparable course among the course offerings at the foreign institution that clearly meets the requirement, and bring a copy of the course description to one of the Core directors during regular office hours for approval. Students who cannot make these office hours may e-mail either of the core directors to make a special appointment.

As a rule, students should not attempt to satisfy either of the fourth-year seminar requirements abroad. These courses are intended to be taken in the senior year, to be writing intensive, and to be capstone courses specifically for the Le Moyne College core curriculum. Exceptions may be made for students only in very unusual circumstances, usually only for students who are going abroad in their senior year. Students seeking the exemptions should follow the guidelines set out above.