Nor’easter Core Curriculum

As a student at the ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ, you share a common learning experience with all undergraduates, the Nor’easter Core Curriculum, to complement the knowledge gained in your major.

³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ’s Active, Engaged Approach to Learning

The ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ’s Nor’easter Core Curriculum is a comprehensive general education program designed to equip undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, and Westbrook College of Health Professions with essential skills and interdisciplinary knowledge. The Nor’easter Core Curriculum is outcomes-based and emphasizes active, engaged approaches to learning. It encompasses 13 courses totaling 40 credits, structured around seven critical content areas and six key habits of mind.

A student holding a piece of paper stands in front of a blackboard in a classroom with other students
A professor assists a student with their petri dishes filled with yeast in a class lab

Core Content Areas

  • Power, Knowledge, and Justice: Explores societal structures and equity.
  • Human Experience: Examines cultural and historical perspectives.
  • Human Health: Focuses on holistic health and equity.
  • Health of Natural Ecosystems: Addresses environmental interactions and sustainability.
  • Creativity and the Arts: Encourages creative expression and innovation.
  • Quantitative Reasoning: Develops analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Scientific Method: Emphasizes empirical research and laboratory experience.
A student refines their unfired pottery
A group of three students studying at a table together with a laptop and books
A student stands with an open book in front of shelves of numerous books in a library stack
Three students set up a telescopic pole on green grass
A student plays cards with two elderly residents at nursing home

Curriculum Structure

This curriculum is designed to prepare you for the complexities of modern society by fostering interdisciplinary knowledge, critical skills, and civic responsibility.

Foundational Knowledge and Skills

  • First-Year Seminar (FYS): Introduces academic and social integration.
  • First-Year Writing (FYW): Enhances written and oral communication.
  • Creativity and the Arts (CA): Fosters artistic creation and innovation.
  • Scientific Method (SM): Engages in scientific inquiry with lab components.
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR): Applies mathematical reasoning to real-world problems.

Expanding Awareness of the World

  • Power, Knowledge, and Justice – Social Science (PKJS): Analyzes societal dynamics and justice.
  • Human Experience – Humanities (HEHU): Explores human culture and history.
  • Health of Natural Ecosystems (HNE): Studies environmental systems and sustainability.
  • Human Health (HH): Examines health from multiple perspectives.
A professor writes in a notebook as two students look at the writing
A poster of the periodic table hangs behind a student at their laptop

Broadening Understanding of Social and Global Issues

Three additional courses (9 credits) from PKJS, PKJO (Power, Knowledge, and Justice – Open), HEHU, or HEO (Human Experience – Open) to deepen understanding of social and global contexts.

Deeper Dive in a Select Area

One upper-level (300- or 400-level) course outside the major to provide depth and interdisciplinary perspective.

Habits of Mind

Courses emphasize the development of the following skills:

  • Civic Engagement: Active participation in civic life.
  • Modes of Communication: Effective expression across various formats.
  • Information Literacy: Critical evaluation and use of information.
  • Critical Thinking: Analytical reasoning and problem-solving.
  • Ethical Reasoning: Understanding and applying ethical principles.
  • Collaboration: Working effectively in diverse teams.

Learn more about the experiences and courses that make up the core