Colleges WITHOUT Core Curriculum - Abstract

momrath
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:39:57 +0000

CO, you need to differentiate between core and distribution requirements. Very few colleges have core curriculums – meaning everyone takes the same sequence of classes. Columbia and Chicago are two well known examples.

Many colleges and universities have distribution requirements – simply put this means you choose several (commonly three) classes from several (commonly three) general categories, like art/literature/language, social studies, math/science. There are usually hundreds of choices and if you don’t like literature for example you could take German or music. If chemistry terrifies you, you can take oceanography or environmental science.

It is also common for colleges to have skill specific requirements such as classes that feature writing intensive, cultural diversity or whatever the college thinks you can’t graduate without knowing. As a general statement, distribution requirements are not particularly onerous, even for someone who hates “________” fill in the blank.

At colleges with totally open curriculums you can take whatever you want – as long as you fulfill the requirements of your major. Brown and Amherst fall into this category and I think it is an increasing trend. Officially, the colleges would like to see the students sample a range of the liberal arts. E.g., science types should read Plato and artists should be exposed to the laws of physics, but they leave it up to you as a “responsible adult.”