Foundation Areas
- Critical Thinking and Writing (CTW) 1 & 2 (A two-course themed sequence)
- Cultures and Ideas (C&I) 1 & 2 (A two-course themed sequence)
- Mathematics
- Religion, Theology, & Culture 1
- Second Language
This page provides students with a comprehensive list of the courses that satisfy each Foundations requirement. All incoming first year students are pre-enrolled into at least one Foundations Core course prior to their Summer advising and registration appointment.
Critical Thinking and Writing (CTW) 1 & 2
Goals: Critical Thinking, Complexity, Communication
Meta-Goals: Information Literacy and Intentional Learning
Learning Objectives In the first course, students will:
| 1.1 |
Read and analyze texts for audience, speaker/writer, purpose, message, and context |
| 1.2 | Compose rhetorically effective nonfiction texts for different audiences in different modes of presentation |
| 1.3 | Compose texts that resist overly simplistic binary thinking by engaging various perspectives about topics and/or texts |
| 1.4 | Use writing processes as tools for learning and discovery |
Learning Objectives In the second course, students will:
| 2.1 | Locate and select information that genuinely considers multiple, credible perspectives |
| 2.2 |
Demonstrate an engaged, ethical approach to the use of sources, including accurate citation |
| 2.3 |
Compose texts that effectively integrate sources for a clear purpose, audience, and occasion in different modes of presentation |
| 2.4 |
Use writing and information literacy as tools for learning and discovery |
Cultures and Ideas (C&I) 1 & 2 (A two-course themed sequence)
Goals: Global Cultures, Arts & Humanities, Critical Thinking, Perspective
Learning Objectives In the first course, students will:
| 1.1 | Identify significant elements of the cultures examined. |
| 1.2 | Recognize the complexity of the cultures examined. |
| 1.3 | Analyze and/or interpret significant objects, texts, ideas, issues and/or events in their historical contexts, using at least one disciplinary method. |
| 1.4 | Examine and analyze both shared and diverse human experiences across cultures and historical periods in order to comprehend the relevance of the past to the cultural present. |
Learning Objectives In the second course students will:
| 2.1 | Make connections between the cultures and objects, texts, ideas, issues, and/or events examined in C&I 1 and 2. |
| 2.2 | Demonstrate understanding of the complexity and/or larger contexts of the cultures examined. |
| 2.3 | Question and/or evaluate the effects cultural understanding has on the interpretation of the objects, texts, ideas, and/or events. |
| 2.4 | Examine and analyze both shared and diverse human experiences across cultures and historical periods, demonstrating awareness of their relevance to students’ own world view, cultural assumptions, and values. |
Mathematics
Goals: Critical Thinking, Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning, Communication, Complexity
Learning Objectives Students will:
| 1.1 | Demonstrate their problem solving skills, including their ability to interpret problem situations; choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution; persist in the face of difficulty; and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning. |
| 1.2 | Demonstrate their ability to approach mathematical ideas or problems from multiple perspectives (e.g., by using the internal connections between geometry, algebra, and numerical computation; applying the connections between theory and applications; or distinguishing between a formal proof and less formal arguments and understanding the different roles these play in mathematics). |
| 1.3 | Demonstrate an understanding of mathematical content (including the limits to its application) that goes beyond mere fluency in using mathematical symbols, language, and formulas. |
BUSINESS students complete the following, depending on when they enrolled. More information is available from the Leavey School of Business website.
- Students who were enrolled (or had been enrolled) at SCU prior to June 1, 2024, must take MATH 30 and 31 or MATH 11 and 12. There will be no changes or exceptions to this requirement.
- Students starting at SCU on or after June 1, 2024 must take one mathematics course: MATH 11 or 30. Additionally, students majoring in Economics (whether in Business or Arts & Sciences) or Finance must take a second calculus course (MATH 12 or 31).
ENGINEERING students must take MATH 11 and MATH 12.
LIFE SCIENCE students take MATH 35 and MATH 36.
ARTS AND SCIENCES (except Life Science majors) students select any course from this list.
| Mathematics (MATH) |
|---|
| 4 The Nature of Mathematics |
| 6 Finite Mathematics for Social Science |
| 8 Introduction to Statistics |
| 11 Calculus & Analytic Geometry I |
| 12 Calculus & Analytic Geometry II |
| 30 Calculus for Business |
| 35 Calculus for Life Sciences I |
| 36 Calculus for Life Sciences II |
Religion, Theology, & Culture 1
Goals: Global Cultures, Critical Thinking, Complexity, Religious Reflection
Learning Objectives Students will:
| 1.1 | Describe and compare the central religious ideas and practices from at least two locally or globally distinct cultures or communities. |
| 1.2 | Use critical approaches to reflect on their own beliefs and the religious dimensions of human existence. |
Students choose one course from the list below.
| Classics (CLAS) |
|---|
| 5 Mediterranean Religious Traditions |
| Engineering (ENGR) |
|---|
| 16 Values in Technology |
| Religion and Society (RSOC) |
|---|
| 7 South and Southeast Asian Traditions |
| 8 Jews, Judaism, and Film |
| 9 Ways of Understanding Religions |
| 10 Asian Religious Traditions |
| 11 Asian Christianity |
| 12 Latinos & Lived Religion in U.S. |
| 14 Exploring Living Religions |
| 15 Mapping Living Religion |
| 16 Ecstatic Experience, Film, and Religion |
| 19 Egyptian Religious Traditions |
| Scripture and Tradition (SCTR) |
|---|
| 11 Controversies in Religion: Ancient & Modern |
| 15 Texting God |
| 19 Religions of the Book |
| Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality (TESP) |
|---|
| 2 Magicians, Athletes, & God |
| 4 The Christian Tradition |
| 16 Religion, Science and Ecology |
Second Language
Goals: Communication, Perspective
Learning Objectives Students will:
| 1.1 | Demonstrate skill in the use of the modern or classical language for authentic communicative purposes, as appropriate to the language. |
| 1.2 | Demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to the cultural products, practices, and perspectives exhibited in the language studied. |
Students satisfy this requirement by completing a course at the level required by their major (consult degree progress report for your required level):
B.A. and B.S. (Social Sciences) students need to complete the 3rd course of any first year language, i.e., Elementary Language III.
B.S. (Natural Sciences and Mathematics) students need to complete the 2nd course of any first year language, i.e., Elementary Language II.
B.S. (Engineering) students fulfill requirement by two years of high school study in a second language.
B.S.C. (Leavey School of Business) students need to complete the 2nd course of any first year language, i.e., Elementary Language II.
| ARABIC (ARAB) |
|---|
| 21 Intermediate Arabic I |
| 22 Intermediate Arabic II |
| 23 Intermediate Arabic III |
| 50 Intermediate Arabic Conversation |
| CHINESE (CHIN) |
|---|
| 21 Intermediate Chinese I |
| 22 Intermediate Chinese II |
| 23 Intermediate Chinese III |
| 100 Advanced Chinese I |
| 101 Advanced Chinese II |
| 102 Advanced Chinese III |
| 127 Chinese History and Culture |
| CLASSICS, including GREEK and LATIN (CLAS) |
|---|
| 2 - Elementary Latin II |
| 3 - Elementary Latin III |
| 21A - Greek Myth in Introductory Greek |
| 22A - Elementary Greek II |
| 23 - Greek Myth through Introductory Ancient Greek |
| 23A - Elementary Greek III |
| 101 - Intermediate Latin |
| 123 - Roman Comedy |
| 153 - Euripides |
| FRENCH (FREN) |
|---|
| 21 French Language and Francophone Cultures I |
| 21A Close Encounters of a Different Kind: Tales and Legends from the Francophone World |
| 22 French Language and Francophone Cultures II |
| 22A Language, Film, & Youth Culture |
| 50 Intermediate French Conversation |
| 100 Introduction to French and Francophone Studies |
| 101 Introduction to Literary and Cultural Analysis |
| 102 Advanced French III |
| 103 Critical Writing in French |
| 103A (W)rites of Passage: French Writing Workshop |
| 104 The Art of Story-Telling: Creative Writing Workshop |
| 105 Across Language Borders: Interpretation and Translation |
| 106 Oral Communication in French |
| 108 French for a Global Marketplace |
| 110 Contemporary France: Cultures, Society and Politics |
| 111 Introduction to the Francophone World |
| 113 Sub-Saharan African/Caribbean Women Writers |
| 114 Literatures and Cultures of the Maghreb |
| 115 French Literature & Culture I |
| 116 French Literature & Culture II |
| 117 French Orientalism: Representation of Otherness in Literature, Cinema, and Visual Arts |
| 150 The French Revolution in a Global Context |
| 171 20th-Century France: War, Memory, and Trauma |
| 172 Introduction to French Cinema |
| 173 Immigration, Race, and Identity in Contemporary France |
| 174 French and Francophone Novels and Films: Culture, Gender, and Class |
| 175 Transnational Cinema |
| 176 French Perspectives on Social Justice |
| 182 Women in French Literature |
| 183 20th- and 21st-Century French Women Writers |
| 185 Sociolinguistics: The Francophone World |
| 186 Politics of Love |
| GERMAN (GERM) |
|---|
| 21 Intermediate German I |
| 22 Intermediate German II |
| 23 Intermediate German III |
| 100 Advanced German I |
| 101 Advanced German II |
| 106 Advanced German Conversation |
| 108 German Business Culture and Institutions |
| 110 History of German Civilization |
| 111 Contemporary German Civilization |
| 112 German in the Media |
| 113 German Film: From Fassbinder to Fatih Akin |
| 140 German Fairy Tales |
| 150 20th Century Novel |
| 160 The German Novelle |
| 174 German Novels and Films |
| 182 Women in German Literature: Authors and Characters |
| ITALIAN (ITAL) |
|---|
| 21 Intermediate Italian I |
| 22 Intermediate Italian II |
| 50 Intermediate Italian Language & Culture |
| 100 Introduction to Italian Culture |
| 101 Italian Food Culture |
| 102 Made in Italy and Italian Entrepreneurship |
| 106 Advanced Italian Conversation |
| 108 Translation Workshop |
| 113 Introduction to Italian Cinema |
| 114 Contemporary Italian Culture |
| 120 Italian Literature and Culture I |
| 121 Italian Literature and Culture II |
| 125 Colloquium: Italian Literature and Culture |
| 154 Nature and the Italian Literary Imagination |
| 180 Novecento Italian Literature of the 20th Century |
| 182 20th-Century Italian Women Writers |
| 183 Women in Italian Cinema: The Impact of Globalization |
| 187i Destination Italy: Immigration in Film and Literature |
| JAPANESE (JAPN) |
|---|
| 2 Japanese Lang and Culture II |
| 21 Intermediate Japanese I |
| 22 Intermediate Japanese II |
| 23 Intermediate Japanese III |
| 100 Advanced Japanese I |
| 101 Advanced Japanese II |
| 102 Advanced Japanese III |
| 113 Readings in Japanese I |
| 114 Readings in Japanese II |
| 115 Readings in Japanese III |
| SPANISH (SPAN) |
|---|
| 21 Crossing Boundaries (Intermediate) |
| 21A News and Culture in the Hispanic World (Intermediate) |
| 21EL Intermediate Spanish I. Experiential Learning |
| 22 Latino Cultures and Identities in Contemporary Film (Intermediate) |
| 22A Gender, Identity and Food Cultures in Latin America |
| 22B Spanish, Technology, & Culture |
| 22EL Immigration Stories: Cultural, Political, and Personal Narratives (Intermediate) |
| 23 Activism and Social Justice in the Spanish-speaking World (Intermediate) |
| 23EL Experiential Learning (Intermediate) |
| 100 Introduction to Cultural Analysis in Spanish |
| 101 Introduction to Literary & Cultural Analysis |
| 101M Introduction to Literary & Cultural Analysis: Migration |
| 102 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics |
| 103 Spanish Words and Phrases |
| 104 My Hispanic Heritage - Language & Identity |
| 106I Spanish for International Relations |
| 107 Writing Workshop |
| 108 The Art of Narrative Nonfiction: Creative Writing Workshop |
| 110 Oral Communication in Spanish |
| 112 Mexican Culture |
| 113 The Revolution in Mexican Culture |
| 114 Culture and Society of the U.S-Mexico Border |
| 123 Contemporary Spanish Culture |
| 125 Colloquium: Spanish Literature and Culture |
| 130 Survey of Latin American Literature I |
| 131 Survey of Latin American Literature II |
| 132 Hispanic Voices for Social Change |
| 133 Mexican American Literature |
| 135 Colloquium: Latin American Literature and Culture |
| 136 Contemporary Latin American Short Story |
| 137 Latin American Cultures and Civilizations |
| 138 Hispanic Poetry |
| 139 Haunted Literature: Ghosts and the Talking Dead in Latin American Narrative |
| 140 Narratives of Money |
| 142 Narconarratives |
| 143 Detective Short Story |
| 146 Latin American Documentary |
| 147 Cinema, Politics, and Society in Latin America |
| 148 20th-Century Latin American Women Writers |
| 156 Representations of the Migrant Condition in Contemporary Spain |
| 165 Cervantes: Don Quijote |
| 170 Spanish & the Community |
| 175 History of the Spanish Language |
| 176 Spanish and Latinxs in the United States |