The Core Curriculum

Literary Tradition I: Classical epic poetry at the base of the Western tradition.
Literary Tradition II: The great Christian epic poems and the nature of lyric poetry.
Literary Tradition III: Tragedy and comedy from the Greeks up through the English tradition.
Literary Tradition IV: The novel as a distinctly modern contribution to the Western Tradition.

American Civilization I: A study of American history from European settlement and the founding of the nation to the American Civil War.
American Civilization II: A study of American development into a global power through two World Wars and the Cold War.
Western Civilization I: Typically taken in Rome, a study of the Western foundations of our civilization in Greece, Rome, early and medieval Christianity, and the Renaissance.
Western Civilization II: A study of modern European culture through the Reformation, the French Revolution, and twentieth-century Totalitarianism.

Philosophy and the Ethical Life: A philosophical inquiry into the nature of the fully human life.
The Human Person: Typically taken in Rome, the nature of the human person as a unity of body and soul.
Philosophy of Being: An introduction to metaphysical thought.

Understanding the Bible: An introduction to biblical theology through a careful reading of sacred scripture Readings include selections from both the Old and New Testaments.
The Western Theological Tradition: The history and theology of the Early Christian Church and its subsequent tradition.

Fundamentals of Economics: The fundamental concepts of the exchange economy in contrast to other economics systems.

Principles of American Politics: The basic principles of the American political order.

A student must take two laboratory science courses, one in the biological sciences, the other in the physical sciences. For non-science majors, "Basic Ideas" courses exist in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, but a variety of other courses in the sciences may also be used to satisfy this requirement.

One course is required in Fine Arts and one course in Mathematics. Again, there are specific math courses designed for non-science majors, such as "Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometry." The Art, Drama, and Music Departments offer courses in the history of their disciplines, which students can take to satisfy the fine art requirement. "The Art & Architecture of Rome," which is taken on the Rome Campus, satisfies the Fine Arts requirement.

Knowledge of a foreign language to an intermediate level is also required of all students. Depending on the background of each student, this requirement may be met by taking from one to four courses in a classical or modern language. At present the languages that may be used to meet this requirement are Ancient Greek, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish.