<p>I was wondering what exactly is Columbia's Core Curriculum. Is it a few specific classes that everyone takes or is there a selection of classes that people choose from? Is the Core for those in SEAS include more math and science?</p>
<p>[The</a> Core Curriculum](<a href=“http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/]The”>The Core Curriculum)</p>
<p>It’s a “set” of required classes you take at Columbia that are supposed to expose you to various forms of intellectual awareness pretty much. In your first year you’ll take a two-semester Lit Hum Class, along with University Writing and Frontiers of Science (1 semester each). Sophomore year you take Contemporary Civilizations (two semesters), and sometime during your 4 years you’ll also take Art Hum, Music Hum, and 2 Global Core classes (non-western civilization classes).</p>
<p>For SEAS, there are some core classes that’re replaced with others (when I was there SEAS kids had to take Gateway (computer) Lab instead of Frontiers of Science), and some courses that they’re just exempt from (instead of taking both Lit Hum and CC, SEAS students choose one or the other…or at least that was the case as of 3 years ago).</p>
<p>The Core is a series of general-ed requirements at Columbia. It consists of Contemporary Civilization, Literature Humanities, University Writing, Art Humanities, Music Humanities, Frontiers of Science, a science requirement, a global Core requirement, a foreign language requirement and physical education. </p>
<p>I think at SEAS it includes math, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, computer science, a “gateway” class, University Writing, either Lit Hum or CC or Global Cultures and either Art or Music hum.</p>
<p>SEAS definitely has more math and science. But CC still has a science requirement, though you can take classes like “Physics for Poets” or even math to fill the requirement.</p>
<p>If you pass the AP test for related subjects, can that exclude you from taking some of those classes or does Columbia MAKE you take them?</p>
<p>You should be able to AP out of some distributional requirements (I AP-ed out of Spanish), maybe you can AP out of the science requirement (I’m not 100% on that), but for the Core Curriculum classes they pretty much make you take them. Going in I wasn’t really looking forward to a lot of the Core classes, but after taking them I’m really thankful Columbia made me take pretty much all of them (except Art Hum, but that was more a bad Prof. as opposed to a bad class).</p>
<p>Thanks! That really helped a lot.</p>