Boston College undergraduates leave the Heights having studied a range of disciplines—from art and music to mathematics and the natural sciences—through the Core Curriculum. Each student must satisfy the Core requirements listed below, including at least one course that emphasizes cultural diversity.
The need to make, experience, and comprehend art has been one of the essential, defining human activities since history began. The arts are thus integral to human experience and expression, the development of critical interpretive skills, an understanding of creative processes, and the fostering of imagination and empathy. The critically engaged practice of the arts, arrived at through rigorous training, uniquely nurtures creativity and innovation. Anchored in experimentation and creative problem-solving, the arts challenge students to make connections across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Three credits of coursework in art history, studio art, film, music or theater are required and will address some combination of the following criteria: students will acquire a greater understanding of the technical skills required to create works of art; students will gain knowledge of the aesthetic questions raised by works of art; and students will understand the historical contexts in which such works were created. As a result, students will be able to engage meaningfully with art through creative work and/or to articulate their understanding of art in oral and written expression.
Please visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Print all courses on pagePlease visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
History Core courses offer long-term and global perspectives on the social, economic, political, and cultural factors shaping human experience. They introduce students to the importance of historical context and the process of historical change by examining which aspects of human life have changed and which have endured over time and across different regions of the world. Students learn how to interpret the past using primary sources, and they acquire breadth of knowledge, a critical framework, and analytical skills. By studying past events, students develop an understanding of the historical roots of contemporary societies and come to view the present with a sharper eye, appreciating that it, too, is contingent and will one day be re-examined and reconstructed. Through this process, students become better-informed and more open-minded whole persons, prepared to engage in the world.
Studying a broad sweep of time is essential to forming a rich sense of history. Toward this end, and as part of the Core Curriculum, students take two (2) three-credit History Core courses, one pre-1800 and one post-1800. Learning history also involves more than books and lectures. We learn by doing, and the History Core shows that history is alive and that we are part of it. In addition to reading documents, examining artifacts, writing essays, and attending lectures, students move outside the classroom to explore living history in interdisciplinary ways. We make use of the outstanding resources on campus and in the greater Boston area, visiting museums and historic sites, attending special presentations and performances, and conducting oral interviews.
Print all courses on pagePlease visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Classical Studies - English - Romance Languages and Literatures - Eastern, Slavic and German Studies
Literature, in all its genres, is a fundamental vehicle for understanding human experiences. By taking three credits of the Core Curriculum in literature, students read in order to explore the characteristics and values of their own and other cultures; to discover alternative ways of looking at the world; to gain insights into issues of permanent importance and contemporary urgency; and to distinguish and appreciate the linguistic and formal satisfactions of literary art.
To read literature critically is to examine the human condition through language’s expressive power and to place the reception of literary works in cultural, historical, and social contexts. In Literature Core courses, students will be introduced to disciplinary skills including close reading, analysis of texts, and the practice of writing about them with clarity and engagement. Through shared critical and reflective inquiry, students will explore ways in which meaning is textually produced in the world.
Print all courses on pagePlease visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Mathematics has been a significant component of human knowledge throughout history, and today its reach has expanded beyond the natural sciences and technology to encompass the social sciences, business, law, health care, and public policy, among other fields. The study of mathematics fosters the use of quantitative methods to analyze diverse problems, the urge to recognize commonality in such problems and seek generalization, comfort with mathematical abstraction, and the ability to solve problems in new and unfamiliar contexts. Mathematics is universal, and a well-educated person will rely on these skills throughout life.
Students taking one (1) three-credit Core course in mathematics should therefore:
Please visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Physics
We live in a vast and complex universe and natural world, from the largest cluster of galaxies to the smallest subatomic particle. Science is our way of making sense of and understanding nature through systematic observation and experimentation. Scientific knowledge is organized through logical, theoretical, and mathematical frameworks. Mindful of the impact that discoveries and technology can have on our society, we seek to apply scientific understanding to the ultimate benefit of humankind.
The Natural Science Core consists of two (2) three- or four-credit courses in Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences or Physics. Students completing the Natural Science Core will:
Please visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Philosophy has a permanent and central place in Jesuit higher education and is an important part of the Boston College Core Curriculum. By introducing students to the great philosophical questions, philosophy offers a perspective which makes possible an integrated vision of physical, human, and spiritual reality. It weighs propositions fundamental to personal identity, dignity, religious belief, and social responsibility, and it examines moral issues that affect individuals and communities. The Core requirement in Philosophy teaches critical and analytical skills so that students develop an intellectual and moral framework for considering questions of ultimate value and significance, challenging them to translate philosophical principles into guides for life. All Core offerings in Philosophy bring students to reflect critically on the kinds of claims made in different disciplines from the natural sciences to theology by considering questions about the nature of reason, evidence, belief, and certainty. The two (2) sequential three-credit courses in the Core requirement in Philosophy aim to teach students that the philosophical habit of mind is part of a well-lived life, providing the perspective and tools for critical evaluation of and engagement with contemporary problems and questions.
If desired, students may fulfill the Core requirement in Philosophy in addition to the Core requirement in Theology by completing one of two year-long, twelve-credit sequences - either the PULSE program (PHIL1088 & THEO1088 Person and Social Responsibility I in the Fall and PHIL1089 & THEO1089 Person and Social Responsibility II in the Spring) or Perspectives on Western Culture (PHIL1090 & THEO1090 Perspectives on Western Culture I in the Fall and PHIL1091 & THEO1091 Perspectives on Western Culture II in the Spring). The Philosophy courses for PULSE and Perspectives on Western Culture are listed below. The corresponding Theology courses are listed on the Theology Core page. Please note that you must sign up for the same section number of each course (i.e., PHIL108801 & THEO108801).
Please note that all courses listed below as Perspectives II, III, IV or Perspectives on Art have co-requisites that count for other Core requirements.
Print all courses on pagePlease visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Psychology in Education, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology
The social sciences help us better understand the social worlds in which we live. The social science Core requirement explores the influences on the way people think, feel, and behave in those social worlds by considering the nature of the individual, institutions, and social interactions. Although the social science disciplines have different approaches, they share a common methodology—a theory-driven empirical analysis of data that has relevance to real-world issues. The majority of complex problems that we face in today’s world have economic, political, psychological, and sociological dimensions. The social sciences help students to develop skills to grasp the complexity of the world and to understand themselves and their place in the world.
The Core requirement consists of two (2) three-credit courses chosen from one or more of the following disciplines: economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Core courses in the social sciences emphasize one or more of the following: major concepts and central questions of the discipline, key methods for using logic and evidence to evaluate findings and conclusions, or real-world and policy applications.
Print all courses on pagePlease visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule section in Agora for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Theology is the disciplined reflection on the mystery of God in the world and on the traditions of belief, worship, and ethics that shape communities of faith. It explicitly reinforces the tradition of Jesuit humanism, which prizes the scholarly investigation of religious faith and its impact on human culture. The study of theology is an essential feature of the Core Curriculum in a Jesuit, Catholic university. This implies an institutional commitment to the Roman Catholic tradition but also encourages the study and understanding of other theological traditions.
The goals of the Core requirement in Theology seek to:
The Core requirement in Theology is six credit hours and may be fulfilled with one Sacred Texts and Traditions designated course and one Christian Theology designated course. Alternatively, students may fulfill the Core requirement in Theology in addition to the Core requirement in Philosophy by completing one of two year-long, twelve-credit sequences - either the PULSE program (THEO1088 & PHIL1088 Person and Social Responsibility I in the Fall and THEO1089 & PHIL1089 Person and Social Responsibility II in the Spring) or Perspectives on Western Culture (THEO1090 & PHIL1090 Perspectives on Western Culture I in the Fall and THEO1091 & PHIL1091 Perspectives on Western Culture II in the Spring). The Theology courses for PULSE and Perspectives on Western Culture are listed below. The corresponding Philosophy courses are listed on the Philosophy Core page. Please note that you must sign up for the same section number of each course (i.e., THEO108801 & PHIL108801).
For more information on the Core requirement in Theology, including a full list of Sacred Texts and Traditions and Christian Theology designated Core courses, please see the Theology Department website.