Core Curriculum
Core Curriculum
The subjects that you study as a Providence College undergraduate — and the skills and intellectual habits you acquire in the process — shape the life you’ll lead after college. PC’s Core Curriculum complements every academic major and minor and requires you to question assumptions, engage in self-reflection, think critically and analytically, and communicate effectively. The Core Curriculum is intended to prepare you to connect what you learn at PC to life beyond the college and help you to understand and appreciate the complexities of the world and your role in it.
Core Curriculum Requirements
- Development of Western Civilization (DWC): 16 credits (20 credits for Honors Program students)
Foundational Component
- Theology: 6 credits
- Philosophy: 6 credits (3 credits of a non-ethics philosophy course + 3 credits of an ethics philosophy course)
- Natural Science: 3-4 credits (inclusive of a “hands-on” component)
- Social Science: 3 credits
- Quantitative Reasoning: 3 credits
- Fine Arts: 3 credits
Learning Proficiencies*
- Intensive Writing: 6 credits (2 courses)
- Oral Communication: 3 credits
- Cross-Cultural Understanding/Diversity: 3 credits
- Civic Engagement: 3 credits
*Some proficiencies may be fulfilled through major core requirements.
Core Curriculum Goals
Providence College’s Catholic and Dominican identity and intellectual tradition informs the Core Curriculum and the following mission-related goals:
- an understanding of the essential compatibility of faith and reason;
- a commitment to civic engagement and service to others;
- an understanding of how philosophical and theological questions inform and guide the pursuit of truth;
- a capacity for moral and ethical reasoning;
- the ability to engage with issues using the pedagogical tradition of the disputed question;
- an integrated understanding of the historical, cultural, religious, and scientific events, ideas, and traditions that have shaped the world;
- fundamental skills in critical, logical, and quantitative reasoning expressed in verbal and written proficiencies;
- an appreciation for the aesthetic dimension of the human mind and spirit; and
- an appreciation of the Core Curriculum as a way to illuminate the key questions of human existence relating to life’s purpose and meaning.
