Running head: CURRICULUM

Curriculum: Case Study One

Jon Merrill
Loyola University Chicago

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the core curricula at five institutions of higher
education to identify common themes or discrepancies as well as to apply these curricula to
scholarly literature. Overall, general liberal arts curricula were chosen for this analysis in order
to provide more comparisons across the different institutions. The institutions chosen for this
analysis were University Pennsylvania, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Georgetown
University, University Wisconsin - Madison, and The George Washington University.
Curricular Descriptions
The core curriculum at University of Pennsylvania is split into two parts: Foundational
Approaches and Sectors of Knowledge (Curriculum and Requirements, 2015). In general, the
Foundational Approaches focus on developing the intellectual abilities necessary to engage in
various academic disciplines. There are six intellectual skills that are focused on: writing,
foreign language, quantitative data analysis, formal reasoning and analysis, cross-cultural

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analysis, and cultural diversity in the U. S. (Curriculum and Requirements, 2015). In addition to
the Foundational Approaches, students are also required to take courses in different academic
disciplines: society, history and tradition, arts and letters, humanities and social sciences, living
world, physical world, and natural sciences and mathematics. While the Foundational Approach
provides depth in intellectual capacity, the Sectors of Knowledge requirement aims to add
breadth to the educative experience of students.
The University of Wisconsin - Madison focuses their core curriculum on six areas:
communication, quantitative reasoning, natural science, humanities/literature/arts, social studies,
and ethnic studies (General Education Requirements, 2015). Students must take one to two
courses within each of these areas. The communication requirement is closely associated with
the writing requirement of other institutions; however, students take both an introductory and
advanced class to complete this area. For the quantitative reasoning requirement, students have
the option to take courses in mathematics, statistics, or other formal logic (General Education
Requirements, 2015). In addition to quantitative reasoning, students complete a natural science
course with a laboratory component - adding a more practical and 'hands-on' component to the
core. To increase the breadth of study, students take two courses in the humanities and an
additional course in the social and ethnic studies.
The core curriculum of Georgetown University is straightforward and consistent with
those previously described at other institutions. In addition to one writing course, students take
one course in the humanities, arts, literatures, and cultures (HALC). Ideally, from HALC
courses, students will be able to "acquire the intellectual and practical tools to interpret and
critique the world" (Georgetown College, 2015). Students also take two courses in history,

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theology, philosophy, math/science, and social science. The history requirement aims at
fostering in students a sense of the long-term cultural evolution (Georgetown College, 2015). As
a Jesuit institution, the theology requirement focuses on providing a deeper understanding of the
Catholic faith tradition. While student's understanding of their faith is deepened through these
courses, through the philosophy course students are challenged to deepen their understanding of
their self. The math/science courses aim to develop the ability to analyze quantitative data while
the social sciences challenge students to study the world in a more qualitative sense. Finally,
students are required to complete a foreign language course to the intermediate level.
The George Washington University clusters their core curriculum into two groups analytic and communication courses. Between these two, students take approximately 24 credits
within the analytic realm and around six credits in the communication realm. Analytic courses
are comprised of mathematics/statistics, natural and/or physical laboratory science, social
sciences, humanities, and art. Students ideally develop the intellectual capabilities of
quantitative and scientific reasoning as well as critical and creative thinking skills while taking
these courses (G-PAC, 2015). Additionally, within the analytic courses, student must take two
perspective courses. One of these courses focuses on global or cross-cultural viewpoints while
the second course focuses more on local or civic engagement (G-PAC, 2015).
Finally, the components of University of Michigan - Ann Arbor's core curriculum looks
similar the core curricula already described. In addition to their major and electives, students
will take both a first-year and upper level writing seminar. Students also fulfil a race and
ethnicity, quantitative reasoning, and language requirement. The goal of these requirements is to
prepare students to work in a multi-ethnic or diverse environment, to develop proficiency in

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analyzing quantitative information, and to provide access to cultural and intellectual heritages of
the non-English speaking communities (Our Curriculum, 2015). Finally, to provide more
breadth to students' educative experience, the core curriculum also incorporates an area
distribution requirement where students take 30 credits outside of their major in the natural
sciences, social sciences, humanities, mathematical and symbolic analysis, and creative
expression (Our Curriculum, 2015). Through this breadth, students are exposed to varying
intellectual disciplines and develop the intellectual skillsets that are characteristic of these
disciplines.
Synthesis
The writing component of the curriculum seems to be one of the most fundamental
portions of all the curricula. Through this component, students ideally are developing the skills
to understand and communicate within different academic disciplines. This notion is key - in
order to develop the 'critical thinking' or reasoning, students must first be able to comprehend the
knowledge within these different fields. These skills are continually used and built upon by the
other components of the curricula. The two types of reasoning that were consistent amongst the
curricula were quantitative (inductive) and deductive reasoning (humanities and social sciences).
Quantitative reasoning was consistently, and often overtly, prioritized across the curricula. This
suggests that this type of thinking - focusing on empirical 'facts' or data instead of narratives and
the 'soft' science - is implicitly prioritized within our culture. Finally, another key similarity
across the different curricula is the presence of a cultural or ethnic study. Although the specific
requirements differ between institutions - the goal of this component is to prepare students to
work in diverse environments, once again suggesting that this may be a culturally significant

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mentality. Interestingly, only two of the curricula specifically center this conversation on race
and ethnicity. Potentially, at institutions that vaguely address this point as 'civic engagement' or
otherwise, students may be able to fulfill this component without actually experiencing
conversations about race within the classroom.
Overall, there were many differences across the different curricula. Each institution had
its own method of naming and structuring the key components. Furthermore, some institutions
seemed to have much more intentionality, or did a better job of linking the mission and values of
the institution to the core curriculum, than others. For example, Georgetown University made a
clear connection between their Jesuit value and mission and the theology component of their
curriculum. Additionally the timeline behind completing these courses differed across
institutions. At University of Pennsylvania students had the opportunity to complete these
courses throughout their time at the institution while at Georgetown it is expected that students
will complete the core by their second year at the institution.

Integration
It is generally agreed upon within the academic literature that significant and impactful
learning experiences incorporate the foundational or pre-existing knowledge that students bring
with them into the classroom (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Fink, 2003; Nilson, 2010).
As previously mentioned, writing seminars are foundational courses that foster the skills
necessary for students to be successful in their chosen academic disciplines. Since all students at
an institution must take these courses, it logically flows that this would be one of the first

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opportunities for students to begin incorporating their personal narratives and knowledge into
new academic disciplines.
Furthermore, some of the curricula examined required students to take both a first-year
and advanced writing seminar. This structure seems to mirror Perry's theory of intellectual and
ethical development of college students. Students who are just entering universities may have a
dualistic understanding of knowledge - it exists in absolute black and white terms independently
from themselves (Nilson, 2010). First-year writing seminars, then, can begin to challenge this
notion by encouraging students to incorporate their own personal knowledge into academic
disciplines. In other words, the goal of these first-year writing is to encourage students to see
their own voice and experience as valid sources of knowledge. Once students have come to see
their own voice and knowledge as valid as the knowledge that exists external to them, advanced
writing courses can then teach students the skills to add to the knowledge pools of different
academic disciplines. As mentioned by Fink (2003) "the nature of knowledge in each of these
domains is different, and therefore how one adds to that knowledge whether publicly or
personally, is also distinct" (p. 58). Therefore, our role as educators is to move students to this
place of being confident in their ability to add to knowledge.
In addition to incorporating student's pre-existing knowledge into the classroom, another
key element of significant learning experiences is the notion of transfer. Bransford, Brown, and
Cocking (1999) define transfer as "the ability to extend what has been learned in one context
to new contexts" (p. 51). This cognitive ability is key within students. Without it, the
developmental work and skills acquired through one educational experience - such as writing
seminars - would be unable to be applied to new educational experiences. Transfer skills are

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established through understanding the big picture and systems instead of focusing on
memorizing all the details (Bransford et al. 1999). Although none of the curricula explicitly had
a goal of fostering this notion of transfer, this skill is fostered within the breadth requirement that
many of the curricula included. Through exposing students to many different disciplines, they
may begin to make connections in the knowledge or skills needed to be successful. It is within
these connections that the transfer skills are being grown.

References
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (1999). How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Curriculum and Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
https://www.college.upenn.edu/prospective/curriculum-and-requirements

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Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to
developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
G-PAC | Columbian Undergraduate Academic Advising | The George Washington University.
(n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://advising.columbian.gwu.edu/g-pac
Georgetown College. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
http://college.georgetown.edu/academics/core-requirements
Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Our Curriculum: The LSA Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/yourstudentexperience/ourcurriculumthelsaplan
What are the General Education Requirements? (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
http://www.ls.wisc.edu/gened/Req.htm