At the CORE of Our Changing World

Many colleges and universities expect their students to complete a variety of courses in particular disciplines, exposing them to fields such as psychology, biology, or literature. At Butler University, we think it’s more important to consider what we want our students to learn, and then design a core curriculum to meet those goals in our changing world. Helping Butler students build the capacity to think critically and develop enthusiasm for the life of the mind are the most important goals of the Core. And we also expect our students to develop their critical skills with both a Writing and Speaking Across the Curriculum requirements.

In our Core, we champion pedagogies that reflect the ideals, goals and practices of liberal education. We believe that how we engage students in Core courses is, in the long run, as critical as what we teach our students. We know that cultural diversity is a key component of our world, and so in our Core, and we ask our students to think about themselves as members of both this community and the world. We hope, finally, that our graduates, through their work in the Core and in their major fields of study, develop the capacity for clear, effective, and critical communication, come to appreciate beauty, and commit to the challenge of lifelong learning.

Key Components of the Core

A First Year Seminar: Self, Community, and the World for all incoming Butler students.

Global and Historical Studies, a sophomore-level course

Areas of Inquiry:

Texts and Ideas

The Social World

The Natural World

Perspectives in the Creative Arts

Analytic Reasoning

Physical Well Being

We also expect our students to engage with both the campus and Indianapolis communities through the Butler Cultural Community Requirement and the Indianapolis Community Requirement.