At DePaul, our core curriculum is known as the Liberal Studies Program, and consists of two components. The first, called the Common Core, emphasizes writing skills, computational and technological proficiencies, and critical and creative thinking skills, as well as an introduction to the urban and Vincentian nature of the University. Common Core experiences include the First-Year Program; the Sophomore Seminar on Multiculturalism in the United States; the Junior Experiential Learning; and the Senior Capstone.
The second component of the Liberal Studies Program is made up of six distinct Learning Domains: 1) Arts and Literature; 2) Philosophical Inquiry; 3) Religious Dimensions; 4) Scientific Inquiry; 5) Self, Society, and the Modern World; and 6) Understanding the Past. These areas reflect a conventional liberal arts and sciences curriculum, yet are not discipline based. While the curriculum is quite varied, the Liberal Studies Program as a whole shares these four learning goals: 1) Reflectiveness; 2) Value Consciousness, 3) Multicultural Perspective, and 4) Creative and Critical Thinking.
All undergraduate students (except School for New Learning) participate in the Liberal Studies Program regardless of college and major. Liberal Studies program requirements vary by college.
The First-Year Program
In Autumn Quarter, all first year students take a course that introduces you to some facet of the intellectual resources of the city, emphasizes DePaul's roles and mission in the city, and provides opportunities to connect classroom learning with persons, communities and institutions in Chicago. You will select either an Explore Chicago or a Discover Chicago course. Discover Chicago courses combine classroom work and an intensive "immersion week." In either type of course, the faculty instructor serves as your academic advisor until you declare a major and are assigned a departmental advisor.
You will take additional Common Core courses in your first year. The First-Year Writing program introduces you to different conventions of writing, and instructs you on how to analyze readings, to write for different audiences, and to take a rhetorical stance in your scholarly papers. There is a Focal Point Seminar that further emphasizes different forms of writing and helps you develop strong oral communication skills. Finally, first-year students begin a two-course sequence in Mathematical and Technology Literacy, which teaches you how to apply quantitative reasoning and information, and to critically evaluate real-world issues and problems using information technologies (e.g., spreadsheets, databases, statistical analysis software, search engines, programming algorithms).
Sophomore Seminar
In the Sophomore Seminar you will take an approved Liberal Studies course that addresses some dimension of multiculturalism in the context of the United States.
Multiculturalism encompasses various dimensions of identity, including but not limited to issues of race and ethnicity, class, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, disability as well as nationality. These issues and their interrelationships regarding the experiences of individuals and groups are the foci of the seminars. In addition, courses generally include the examination of the history of multiculturalism. Students are asked to develop a critical perspective about the meaning of multiculturalism and provide an understanding of the historical and/or contemporary manifestations of inequality. The seminars examine the contributions of at least three cultural/and or ethnic groups to the ongoing development of the American experience and American society and culture. Examples of course titles include: Multicultural Literacy and the American Autobiography; Multiculturalism in the U.S.: Latino Perspectives; History of U.S. Women to 1860; Diversity in the Workplace; and The American Religious Experience.
Junior Experiential Learning
The experiential learning engages you in the first-hand discovery of knowledge through observation and participation in activities in an unpredictable setting, usually (but not exclusively) off-campus. Students are asked to reflect on what they have learned about themselves, others, and a larger social context given the connection between course content and their experience. To do this, you may have contact with a community, an international setting, a workforce environment, or take on a role in the classroom or laboratory that is substantively different than that of student, such as model the professional behavior of a researcher or teacher. Courses may be offered in your major, and can meet both major field and liberal studies requirements. The following types of courses will fulfill the junior year experiential learning requirement:
Internship and Cooperative Education
Study Abroad
Community-based Service-Learning (CbSL)
Academic Practicum
Senior Capstone
You will be required to take a Liberal Studies capstone course in your major field during your senior year. The capstone experience is designed to emphasize the relationship between the ideas and perspectives in your major field and those in the courses and experiences of the Liberal Studies Program.
A liberal studies capstone course can meet both major field and liberal studies requirements. Students who complete one course to fulfill both major field credit and liberal studies credit will complete an additional domain elective (from outside the major). The third language course of the modern language option can fulfill this domain elective.
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