What Is UD's Core?

Many colleges and universities have something called a "core curriculum," and almost all have some general education requirements that all students must somehow satisfy. But UD's Core is quite different. UD's Core is an integrated whole that ranges over the spectrum of human experience that will help you understand what the issues of contemporary life really are, beneath the surface.

The Core Courses are designed to show you what the best learners of the past have already discovered, and the fact that everyone is taking the same courses creates a vibrant intellectual community.
(From "The Core," 1988)

The Core Curriculum, a two-year sequence of courses for all undergraduate students, is a nationally recognized treasure. Of the 120 credit hours students complete at UD, over half are in the Core. This extensive requirement allows students not only a broad cultural knowledge, but also a ground for their own discoveries and their later development in a chosen discipline. Much of our Core builds from course to course, so that students can increase and deepen their understanding. The great conversation of the West - the exchanges of thought and imagination across boundaries of time and discipline - is present within the Core. All our students receive an Honors education. This heritage, after all, belongs to them. As one student quoted in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2004 puts it, "The best thing about the college is the amazing respect that professors have for their students." The Core respects students by providing them with a serious curriculum. (From "UD Success Stories," 2004)

Texts in UD's Common Core