The Foundations Program

A 13-Course Catholic Liberal Arts Education

Foundation Program image

Cornerstones: Six Courses in English, Philosophy, and Theology

In Cornerstone courses, you will engage in thoughtful reflection about weighty human concerns by examining literary, philosophical, and theological investigations of the human condition. Cornerstone courses place special emphasis on helping you develop the arts of reading, writing, thinking, and conversing.

  • You will engage in thoughtful reflection about weighty human concerns in search of what is true, what is good, and what is beautiful by:

    1. Reading, analyzing, and interpreting works of literature, philosophy, and theology
    2. Understanding and practicing the forms of inquiry characteristic of literary, philosophical, and theological investigations of the human condition

     

    You will engage in rational discourse and develop the arts of reading, writing, thinking, and conversing by:

    1. Understanding others’ views and the reasons for them
    2. Articulating your own views and giving reasons for them
  • English:

    • ENG 130 Writing in the University
    • LTE 140 Introduction to Literature or ENG 140 Literature and Its Interpretations or FRE, SPA, ITA 204 Introduction to Literature in French, Spanish or Italian

    Philosophy:

    • PHI 100 Socrates and the Search for Truth

    Theology:

    • THE 100 Introduction to Theology

    Choose a second philosophy course from the options below:

    • PHI 151 Ethics and the Good Life
    • PHI 152 The Human Difference
    • PHI 153 The Book of Nature
    • PHI 154 God and the Philosophers

    Choose a second theology course from the options below:

    • THE 150 The Problem of God
    • THE 151 Faith and Reason
    • THE 153 Revelation Ancient and Modern
    • THE 202 Moral Theology
    • THE 203 The Early Church
    • THE 204 Catholicism Today
    • THE 207 Christ Yesterday & Today
    • THE 333 The Mystery of the Church
    • THE 334 Sacramental Encouters
    • THE 343 Social Teachings of the Church
    • THE 265 Introduction to Peace Studies
    • THE 272 Contemporary Religious Thinkers
    • THE 274 Theology and Literature
    • THE 285 St. Augustine’s City of God
    • THE 286 Catholicism and the World’s Religions

Social and Historical Pillar: Two Courses in Social Science and History

The Social and Historical Pillar will help you to situate human behavior within its historical and social contexts, empowering you to further understand the value and diversity of human experience.

  • You will further your understanding of how and why human behavior is situated in its social, political, and historical contexts by:

    1. Analyzing interactions between individuals and social and political forces over time
    2. Examining how and why organizations, institutions, communities, and/or movements create and change practices, rules, policies, and/or laws
    3. Evaluating practices, rules, policies, and/or laws that govern particular organizations, institutions, communities, and/or movements
  • Choose one social science course from the options below:

    Anthropology:

      • ANT 131 Cultural Anthropology

    Criminology:

      • CRM 130 Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
      • CRM 160 Criminology

    Education:

      • EDU 101 Teachers and Teaching in American Schools

    Economics:

      • ECO 110 Microeconomics

    Health and Human Services:

      • HUS 119 Intro to Health and Human Services
      • HUS 121 Human Development Across the Lifespan

    Political Science:

      • POL 110 Political Issues: The Quest for Justice
      • POL 203 Modern States
      • POL 207 Peace and War
      • POL 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, or 318 American National Government area courses
      • POL 321 or 324 American Public Policy area courses
      • POL 337, 338, or 345 Major Foreign States area courses
      • POL 371, 372, 375, or 376 International Politics area courses

    Psychology:

      • PSY 101 General Psychology
      • PSY 210 Social Psychology
      • PSY 240 Psychology of Personality
      • PSY 290 Psychology of Development: Infancy and Childhood
      • PSY 253 Psychology of Learning

    Sociology:       

      • SOC 121 Principles of Sociology
      • SOC 122 Social Problems

    Women’s Studies:

      • WMS 285 Women’s Studies I: Images of Women in America
      • WMS 385 Women of the World

     

    Choose one history course from the options below:

      • HIS 114 or 115 World History I or II
      • HIS 116 or 117 European History I or II
      • HIS 180 or 181 US History I or II
      • HIS 150R History of Rome, taught in Rome

Quantitative and Scientific Pillar: Two Courses in Mathematics and Natural Science

The Quantitative and Scientific Pillar will provide you with a mathematical foundation and an understanding of scientific inquiry, enabling you to appreciate the value of mathematics and the natural sciences as human activities.

  • You will further your understanding of mathematics and the natural sciences as valuable human activities by:

    1. Applying mathematical methods, models, and strategies to solve problems
    2. Utilizing methods and tools employed by the natural sciences
    3. Describing and understanding processes at work in nature
  • Choose one science course:

    Biology:

    For science majors:

      • BIO 150 Biological Principles (nursing)
      • BIO 160 Concepts in Biology, with separate lab
      • CHE 131 General Chemistry I with separate lab
      • PHY 201 Physics I, with separate lab

    For non-sciecne majors:

      • BIO 102 Human Biology in Health and Disease
      • BIO 105 Human Heredity
      • BIO 110 Nutrition
      • BIO 115 Matters and Mysteries of Your Brain
      • BIO 125 Backyard Biology
      • BIO 140 Inquiry Biology for Educators (education majors)
      • CHE 105 Everyday Chemistry
      • ENV 150 Introduction to Environmental Science (environmental science majors)
      • PHY 112 Astronomy

    One math course at placement level:

      • MAT 114 Elementary Functions
      • MAT 117 Calculus I
      • MAT 131 Honors Calculus I

Language, Culture, and Expression Pillar: Two Courses in Fine Art and Foreign Language

The Language, Culture and Expression Pillar will lead you in an exploration of patterns of meaning in languages, cultures, and the arts, helping you cultivate mutual understanding and a sense of the diversity and beauty of human expression.

  • You will further your understanding of the diversity and beauty of human expression by:

    1. Identifying patterns of meaning in language and art
    2. Creating meaning through art and/or in a language other than English
    3. Exploring cultural dimensions of our complex world
  • Choose one language or culture course at placement level:

      • Any Foreign Language course numbered 101, 102, 201-204

    French:

      • FRE 240 Techniques of Translation

    Spanish:

      • SPA 208 Spanish for Health Professionals
      • SPA 210 Spanish Grammar Review
      • SPA 220 Writing in Spanish
      • SPA 225 Business Spanish: Management
      • SPA 226 Business Spanish: Marketing
      • SPA 253 Food in the Hispanic World
      • SPA 255 Sports in the Hispanic World
      • SPA 256 Holiday’s and Celebrations in the Hispanic World

    American Sign Language:

      • ASL 101, 102 American Sign Language I or II

     

    Choose one fine art course:

    Art:

      • ARD 115 Graphic Design I
      • ARH 125 History of Western Art
      • ARH 126 Healthy Perspectives: Reframing Art History
      • ARH 140R Art in Rome
      • ARH 160 Art Ancient and Modern: The Question of Beauty
      • ARH 223R or 224R Renaissance or Baroque Art and Architecture in Rome
      • ART 101 Drawing I
      • ART 106 Sculpture I
      • ART 107 Collage and Assemblage
      • ART 111 Painting I

    Music:

      • MUS 101 Fundamentals of Music and Musicianship
      • MUS 120 Musical Trailblazers and Traditions
      • MUS123 History of Western Music
      • MUS125 World Music
      • MUS126 Global Pop
      • MUS140 Vocal Health and Pedagogy
      • MUS233 Music in the United States
      • MUS 193 Chorale (three times); MUS 195 Band (three times); MUS 196 Jazz Ensemble (three times); or MUS 197 String Camerata (three times)

Forum: One Course

Forum courses build on Cornerstone and Pillar courses by giving you the opportunity to pursue your studies beyond the introductory level in a discipline that you find especially fascinating. In your Forum course, you will examine an enduring question and/or formative debate that has shaped a particular discipline in order to develop a deeper appreciation of this discipline’s nature and its significance within the modern world.

  • You will further your understanding of one humanistic discipline and this discipline’s significance by:

    1. Analyzing an enduring question and/or formative debate
    2. Understanding how and why this question and/or debate develops over time
    3. Exploring how this question and/or debate relates to your life and the contemporary world

     

    You will further your understanding of how and why primary sources shape and illuminate enduring questions and/or formative debates in the humanities by:

    1. Investigating how a particular humanistic discipline understands and uses primary sources
    2. Analyzing one or more primary sources to explain how they shape the humanistic discipline you are studying
  • FORUM COURSES 

    Art History:

      • ARH 325 Nietzsche and the Avante Garde

    Comparative Literature:

      • CLT 225 Dante’s Comedy

    English:

      • ENG 233 Modern Short Story
      • ENG 240 Gothic Literature
      • ENG 263 Children’s Literature
      • ENG 271 Illness Disability and Healthcare in Literature
      • ENG 332 Shakespeare’s Tragedies
      • ENG 371 The 1920s

    History:

      • HIS 270 Immigration and Ethnicity in American History
      • HIS 235 France Since 1789
      • HIS 269 The African American Dream
      • HIS 272 Germany Since 1890
      • HIS 309 Diplomatic History of 19th-Century Europe
      • HIS 359 Revolutionary America
      • HIS 362 Civil War and Reconstruction
      • HIS 363 The Vietnam War
      • HIS 366 Public History and Public Debate
      • HIS 280 Asia to 1800
      • HIS 290 Islamic Middle East

    Latin American Studies:

      • LAS 200 Introduction to Latin American Studies

    Philosophy:

      • PHI 230 Philosophy and Literature
      • PHI 270 Philosophy and Law
      • PHI 290 Property and Civic Life

    Political Science:

      • POL 201 American Government
      • POL 205 Political Philosophy

    Theology:

      • THE 310 The Beginning and The End

    Forum courses cannot double-count with your major but may double-count with your minor or second major.