Core Curriculum
Part I: The Common Core (30 credits/10 courses)
1. American History, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses:
| Hist 101 | US History I: to 1865 |
| Hist 102 | US History II: 1865 to 1945 |
| Hist 103 | US History III: since 1945 |
2. Arts appreciation, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses:
| Art 110 | Art Appreciation |
| Art 122 | Ancient to Medieval Art History |
| Art 123 | Renaissance to 20th-Century Art History |
| Danc 100 | Dance Appreciation |
| Mus 100 | Music Appreciation |
| Thea 101 | Theatre Appreciation |
3-4. College writing, two courses (6 credits)
Courses: All students must complete the following two writing courses during the first year at Mercyhurst College:
| Engl 101 | College Writing I (or Engl 108 Academic Discourse) |
| Engl 102 | College Writing II (or Engl 106 English Seminar) |
5. European or world history, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses:
| Hist 105 | European History to the Renaissance |
| Hist 106 | European History since the Renaissance |
| Hist 107 | World History I |
| Hist 108 | World History II |
| Hist 109 | World History III |
6. Mathematics, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one math course during the first year at Mercyhurst College:
| Math 108 | Mathematical Problem Solving |
| Math 109 | Statistics |
| Math 111 | Precalculus I |
| Math 112 | Precalculus II |
| Math 160 | Business/Applied Calculus |
| Math 170 | Calculus I |
7. Natural sciences, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses in the natural sciences with a laboratory:
| Anth 130/131 | Archaeology I & Lab |
| Bio 110/111 | Plant Science & Lab |
| Bio 120/121 | Human Biology & Lab |
| Chem 101/102 | Chemical Principles & Lab |
| Easp 118/119 | Astronomy & Lab |
| Envs 100/101 | Environmental Problem Solving & Lab |
| Geol 100/102 | Physical Geology & Lab |
| Geol 110/111 | Historical Geology & Lab |
| Phys 101/103 | Principles of Physics I & Lab |
8. Philosophy, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses:
| Phil 100 | Philosophical Inquiry |
| Phil 102 | Philosophy of Human Nature |
9. Religious traditions, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses.
| Rlst 100 | Religious Person and Traditions |
| Rlst 110 | Understanding Scripture |
10. Western or world classics, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken during the first year at Mercyhurst College.
| Engl 103 | Western Classics |
| Engl 107 | World Classics |
Part II: The Distribution Core (24 credits/8 courses)
11-12. Behavior/social sciences, two courses (6 credits)
Courses: All students must complete two courses from the following list. Both courses cannot be taken from the same department. One of these courses must be completed during the first year at Mercyhurst College.
| Econ 105 | Macroeconomics |
| Hdfr 110 | Human Growth and Development |
| Hdfr 175 | Human Sexuality and Gender Development |
| Poli 100 | American Government |
| Psyc 101 | Introduction to Psychology |
| Soc 100 | Intro to Sociology |
| Soc 101 | Contemporary Social Problems |
13. Ethics, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete an ethics course from the following list. This course must be taken during the senior year at Mercyhurst College, after Rlst 100 or Rlst 110 and Phil 100 or Phil 102.
| Phil 401 | Applied Ethics (after CC 8 and 9) |
| Rlst 405 | Social Ethics (after CC 8 and 9) |
14. Humanities, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses:
| Arab 101 | Intro to Arabic I |
| Chns 101 | Intro to Mandarin I |
| Engl 104 | British Classics (after CC 10) |
| Engl 105 | American Classics (after CC 10) |
| Fren 102 | French II or above |
| Fren 125 | French Cultures |
| Fren 130 | French Literature (after CC 10) |
| Ger 102 | German II or above |
| Ital 102 | Italian II or above |
| Jpns 101 | Intro to Japanese I or above |
| Jpns/Chns 110 | Far Eastern Ideographs |
| Jpns 125 | Japanese Culture |
| Jpns 130 | Japanese Literature (after CC 10) |
| Latn 102 | Latin II or above |
| Phil 260 | History of Philosophy to the Renaissance (after CC 8) |
| Phil 261 | History of Philosophy since the Renaissance (after CC 8) |
| Russ 102 | Russian II or above |
| Russ 125 | Russian Culture |
| Russ 130 | Golden Age of Russian Literature (after CC 10) |
| Russ 131 | Later Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature (after CC 10) |
| Span 102 | Spanish II or above |
| Span 125 | Latin American Culture |
| Span 130 | Latin American Literature (after CC 10) |
| Turk 101 | Turkish Language & Culture |
15. Mathematics/natural sciences, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses in either the natural sciences or mathematics. This course must be different from those courses taken in the common core sections 6 and 7; and the second natural science course must be from a different department.
| Anth 130/131 | Archaeology I & Lab |
| Bio 110/111 | Plant Science & Lab |
| Bio 120/121 | Human Biology & Lab |
| Bio 150/151 | Biology of Behavior & Lab |
| Chem 101/102 | Chemical Principles & Lab |
| Easp 118/119 | Astronomy & Lab |
| Envs 100/101 | Environmental Problem Solving & Lab |
| Geol 100/102 | Physical Geology & Lab |
| Geol 110/111 | Historical Geology & Lab |
| Math 108 | Mathematical Problem Solving |
| Math 109 | Statistics |
| Math 209 | Statistics II |
| Math 111 | Precalculus I |
| Math 112 | Precalculus II |
| Math 160 | Business/Applied Calculus |
| Math 170 | Calculus I |
| Math 171 | Calculus II |
| Math 235 | Operations Research |
| Mis 126 | C++ Programming I |
| Phys 101/103 | Principles of Physics I & Lab |
| Sci 150 | Understanding Science |
16. Religious studies, one course (3 credits)
Courses: All students must complete one of the following courses after taking Rlst 100 or Rlst 110.
| Rlst 190 | Western Christian Heritage |
| Rlst 210 | New Testament |
| Rlst 230 | Christology |
| Rlst 255 | Religious Perspectives on Marriage & Family |
| Rlst 260 | Catholic Symbols and Sacraments |
| Rlst 275 | Liberation, Religion, and Society |
| Rlst 330 | Hinduism |
| Rlst 340 | World Religions |
| Rlst 360 | Buddhism |
| Rlst 440 | Peace and Justice |
17-18.World perspectives, two courses (6 credits)
Courses: All students must complete two of the following designated courses with a global perspective. At least one course must be chosen emphasizing primarily an area study of or a general study of the non-Western (NW) world defined as Africa, Asia, Far and Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.
Western:
| Heco 442 | Human Needs and Global Problems |
| Poli 303 | Geopolitics |
| Poli 436 | World Politics |
| Soc 442 | Global Issues |
Non-Western (defined as Africa, Asia, Far & Middle East and Pacific Rim):
| Anth 109 | World Geography |
| Anth 112 | World Cultures |
| Arab 125 | Arab & Islamic Culture |
| Asia 125 | Asian Cultures |
| Fren 126 | Francophone Cultures |
| Hist 291 | History of the Modern Middle East |
| Poli 241 | Comparative Politics: Asia |
| Poli 244 | Comparative Politics: Global Balkans |
| Rlst 330 | Hinduism |
| Rlst 340 | World Religions |
| Rlst 360 | Buddhism |
| Rlst 370 | Islam |
NOTES: Engl 098 and Math 099 courses are not part of the core curriculum. Although they earn college credits, these credits do not count toward graduation. A course cannot count for more than one core requirement.