<p>The core curriculum “sounds” like a great idea, you should take courses outside your area of interest, get exposed to other students and ideas. Learn a language, be familiar with science, history, art.</p>
<p>In practice, it doesnt really work. Due to core curriculum I took astronomy and rocks for jocks. Really a waste of time, and doesn’t help me when I’m discussing issues like genetics that we face today.</p>
<p>My older son school has area requirements. He’s a math major but none of his math courses count towards the math/science requirement. </p>
<p>He also has a foreign language requirement - which he despises. In theory this makes him a better citizen of the world. In practice, its a waste of time and he will never use this skill. It mostly seems a ploy to prop up the language department by forcing students to choose these courses.</p>
<p>It’s also interesting the assumption that if there weren’t core requirements, students would not take a range of courses. Just check out Brown U. and you’ll see that students, all on their own, will choose courses across disciplines.</p>