About the General Education Core Curriculum
Curiosity, Courage, Change
The St. Edward’s General Education Core teaches students to ignite their curiosity about the world and develop the courage to create change. Through courses across all academic programs and schools, students confront critical issues and decide how they will promote peace and justice. Grounded in our Holy Cross Mission, the Core challenges students to grow as learners and take on the big questions that face our world.
The General Education Experience
Why? To build a more just world by helping students understand their role in that process.
What? Courses inspire students to build connections so they develop their own personal approach to living out the mission.
How? Through courses that build skills for their future work, students take on critical issues in society and challenge themselves to understand their own role in creating change.
Deepening the Student Learning Experience
In Core courses, students build foundational skills in courses in their major and across the university to equip themselves for an ever-changing workplace. Students will have many opportunities to:
- Think in critical and innovative ways
- Build skills in problem-solving
- Engage in community
- Communicate effectively
- Appreciate and interact with a variety of perspectives, cultures and ideas
- Cultivate ethical reasoning
As a result, students establish an understanding of their world’s challenges, form a sense of social responsibility, and are equipped to build a society that bends towards peace and justice.
Additional General Education Information
Foundations
- Freshman Seminar: 4 hrs.
- Quantitative Reasoning: 3 hrs.
- Oral Communication: 3 hrs.
- Modern Language: Completion of one course second semester (1312) or above, 3–6 hrs.
- Writing and Rhetoric: 6 hrs.
TOTAL: 19/22 hrs
Content and Contexts
- Natural Sciences: 3 hrs.
- Diverse American Perspectives: 3 hrs.
- Global Perspectives: 3 hrs.
- Exploring Artistic Works: 3 hrs.
- Creativity and Making: 3 hrs.
- Ethics: 3 hrs.
- Studies in Theology and Religion: 3 hrs.
TOTAL: 21 hrs
Mission Markers
- Writing Rich flag (must occur in a 3 hr. course and be taken for a letter grade)
- 2 Writing Rich flags (each must occur in a 3 hr. course and be taken for a letter grade, one must be in an upper-division course)
- Social Identities
- Experiential Learning for Social Justice flag (can occur in an approved course or approved co-curricular experiential learning)
Culminating Experience
- The Culminating Experience is a senior-level course or series of courses in the major or the department that must include a substantial, discipline-appropriate project or creative work. The Culminating Experience course demonstrates and integrates key learning outcomes in the major discipline and general education curriculum, encompassing the student’s entire career at St. Edward’s.
How does General Education prepare me for the workplace?
- The St. Edward’s Core Curriculum is a place where you will learn and practice the skills that employers view as very important for college graduates including:
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Effective Communication
- Creative Thinking
- The Core Curriculum is steeped in these important practices that provide you with a broad and substantial foundation for your major. Together they are a basis for securing meaningful employment after graduation.
How does General Education relate to my major?
- Integrated with the majors, General Education courses provide foundations in skills and ways of thinking that are critical to disciplines across the University and the career outcomes that these majors support.
- Many General Education courses are part of your major. You can expect to complete a number of General Education requirements as you complete courses in your major. In doing so, you will build skills that are both broadly valued and specifically focused for your interests and goals.
If you are a faculty member seeking to have your course count for a particular requirement or a student interested in using transfer credit (for example, from a semester abroad) to fulfill a requirement, please review the General Education SLO’s requirements to ensure the course meets the specifications set forth for each Core Requirement.
Faculty members seeking approval for a course to count as meeting a Core Requirement should follow the instructions below. Please be aware that all new courses require approval through the standard channels (Curriculum Committee review and Academic Council approval). If you are unfamiliar with this process and the related proposal form, consult your department chair.
To propose a course for a Freshman Seminar, Quantitative Reasoning, Modern Language, Oral Communication, Writing 1, Writing 2, Studies in Theology and Religion, or Ethics requirement, contact the appropriate general education administrator (see accordion below). Keep in mind that, with the exception of the Freshman Seminar, these courses generally focus on discipline-based skills and competencies and require instructors to have substantial graduate coursework or other documentable qualifications in the area they teach. Thus, proposals to teach in these areas will begin with a conversation about the instructor’s disciplinary expertise.
To propose a course for the Diverse American Perspectives, Global Perspectives, Exploring Artistic Works, Creativity and Making or Natural Sciences Requirement, or for the Social Identities, Experiential Learning for Social Justice, or Writing Rich Mission Markers, please complete and submit the General Education Requirement Proposal form.
Core Curriculum | Contact |
| General Education Director | Emma Woelk, Senior Director of Academic Initiatives |
| General Education Oversight Committee 2024–2025 | Claire Edwards (NSCI rep), Assistant Professor Biological Sciences Camelia Rotaru (MSB rep), Professor of Finance Warren Andresen (BSS rep), Associate Professor Criminal Justice Jamie Hinojosa (AHMX rep), Assistant Professor Writing and Rhetoric |
| Core Curriculum Requirement | Contact |
| Freshman Seminar | Emma Woelk, Senior Director of Academic Initiatives |
| Writing and Rhetoric I & II | Jamie Hinojosa, Coordinator, Assistant Professor, Writing and Rhetoric |
| Oral Communication | Stephanie Martinez, Coordinator, Associate Professor, Communication |
| Modern Languages | Chair: Philippe Seminet, Associate Professor of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department |
| Ethics | Chair: Mark Cherry, Professor, Philosophy Department |
| Religious and Theological Studies | Chair: Kelley Coblentz Bautch, Professor, Religious and Theological Studies Department |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Edward Early, Associate Dean of Natural Sciences and Professor |
| Natural Sciences | Chair: Coordinator Casey Sherman, Assistant Professor, Math Amy Concilio, Associate Professor, Environmental Science Elijah Wostl, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences |
| Creativity and Making | Chair: Jeremy Johnson, Assistant Professor, Video Game Development Additional committee members:
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| Diverse American Perspectives | Chair: Kris Sloan, Professor of Education |
| Exploring Artistic Works | Chair: Coordinator Brian Sheerin, Associate Professor of English Additional committee members:
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| Global Perspectives | Chair: Coordinator Angela Ju, Assistant Professor Global Studies and Political Science Additional committee members:
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| Experiential Learning for Social Justice Mission Marker | Chair: Kim Garza, Visual Studies Additional committee members:
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| Social Identities Mission Marker | Chair: Tere Garza, Professor of Communication |
| Writing Rich Mission Markers | Chair: Jamie Hinojosa, Assistant Professor, Writing and Rhetoric Additional committee members:
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| Culminating Experience Committee | AHUM: TBA BSS: Carsten Andresen, Associate Professor Criminal Justice MSB: Amir Amini Sedeh, Strategic Management NSCI: Kristy Ballard, Kinesiology |