Core Requirements

Colleges and Universities A-Z Catholic University of America
1

I was just reviewing core requirements, and this is not including Honors requirements… Here is what I found:

“four courses each in philosophy, religion, social/behavioral sciences, and mathematics/natural sciences-as well as three courses in humanities, two courses at the intermediate level in a foreign language, two courses in literature, and one course in English composition”

So if my math is correct, that is 24 classes. Sure 4 of these classes, may count towards my major, and I am sure to AP out of some of the other requirements… but seriously, this is 1/2 my college career, if I take 5 classes a semester.

I understand all colleges have core req’s, but this seems excessive. Am I missing something?

2

Let me know the link where you see that, and I will check out what I think they are saying. There is certainly a strong core at CUA, but I suspect more of these requirements may overlap than you are seeing. I can’t find it on the website though, so it is easier if you give me the link.

3

Their core is 24 CREDITS, not 24 courses. It does depend on your major and which college you’re in. 24 credits would be only 8 courses.

4

OK maybe my wording was inaccurate, if you go to the web page:

http://arts-sciences.cua.edu/undergraduate/advising-handbook/distributionreq.cfm

The page is titled distribution requirements… to me that pretty much is a core requirement as it’s not something I feel I need to take if I want to be an electrical engineer. No it’s not 24 credits, I fear now that there are an additional 24 credits on top of these “distribution” requirements.

Why do colleges make something so simple, so impossible to understand. This is for the School of Arts and Sciences:

REQUIREMENT: Fulfill Distribution Requirements

Distribution requirements for the BA degree consist of four courses each in philosophy, religion, social/behavioral sciences, and mathematics/natural sciences-as well as three courses in humanities, two courses at the intermediate level in a foreign language, two courses in literature, and one course in English composition. Courses in the major field fulfill the requirements in at least one of these areas. (For example, courses taken for a Biology major also fulfill the requirement in mathematics/natural science; courses taken for an English major also fulfill the requirements in humanities and in literature.)

CAUTION: No course taken pass/fail may fulfill a distribution requirement.

The various areas of distribution requirements are outlined below.

(Click on a link for requirement info)

1 - Philosophy

2 - Theology & Religious Studies

3 - Literature

4 - Foreign Language

5 - Mathematics / Natural Science

6 - Humanities

7 - Social and Behavioral Science

8 - English Composition

So as I stated, maybe 4 of these classes will apply towards my major, there’s still 20 more classes???

Then add the honors requirements,

5

I mean seriously, if I want to become a EE, I can understand needing Theology because its a Catholic University, but Humanities/foreign language/literature?

6

All schools make you take humanities, foreign language., Lit, no matter the major to make you a well-rounded person.

7

Wouldn’t the Engineering School have a different list? You are citing the College of Arts and Sciences above. Can you find the distributions for EE? I think you will find some information here http://engineering.cua.edu/undergrad/index.cfm
Don’t use the A&S distributions to figure out your distributions in Engineering. Also, CUA does have at its base a Catholic liberal arts education, so if you very much don’t like to study theology, philosophy, etc. it might not be a good match for you. That having been said, I would make sure you are looking at the correct distributions and requirements in Engineering rather than in A&S and remember that math, science etc would be covered by your major most likely if you choose courses wisely.

8

If you go to that page, down on the right column is “Liberal Studies Requirements” and it appears there are about 9 classes, three of which are specific to Engineering, but far less than Arts and Sciences. Three theology courses are required though. Probably your AP could count for some of these, but taking 6 non-science/engineering courses during undergraduate sounds like a good idea. You could contact Engineering to find out more. Hope that helps and removes some of your fears about being overwhelmed with core outside Engineering classes.

9

That was never under question, what was under question was how excessive the list was. As for foreign language, no not all schools require that

10

I was being hypothetical about being a EE so I apologize. I was specifically looking at A&S as I’m probably leaning towards Chem/bio/pre med. regardless I realize CUA and I are not a match.