Central to undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame is the core curriculum, a set of requirements that apply to all students, regardless of major.
The core's “ways of knowing” approach is designed to expose students to diverse modes of thought for approaching, analyzing, and understanding different aspects of our lives and our world. Each course forms a complementary part of the larger whole, bringing individual students closer to attaining the intellectual capacities and practices that fulfill the overall goals of a Notre Dame education as outlined in the University's Vision for Undergraduate Education.
University Learning Outcomes for Undergraduates
The University Learning Outcomes for Undergraduates described below articulate what all Notre Dame undergraduates, regardless of major, should be able to do by the time they graduate. The Core Curriculum is instrumental in helping students acquire these competencies:
- Acquire, synthesize, and communicate knowledge by incorporating relevant disciplinary approaches, cultural perspectives, and Catholic intellectual tradition.
- Recognize moral and ethical questions in lived experiences, evaluate alternatives, and act with integrity.
- Contribute to the common good by displaying a disciplined sensibility and committed engagement in response to complex challenges facing local, national, or global communities.
- Demonstrate the vision and self‐direction necessary to articulate, set, and advance toward their goals.
- Think critically in formulating opinions or accepting conclusions.
- Exhibit creativity or innovation in the pursuit of their intellectual interests.
- Display a level of mastery in their major field(s) of study that enables them to successfully pursue professional careers or advanced study.