Core Curriculum

Overview

Our Core Curriculum is divided into three parts - a relatively structured set of common Core elements and a more varied set of general Core elements in which students have a broader choice of courses within areas defined by specific learning objectives and a set of 4 additional graduation requirements to be satisfied by courses or experiences more broadly distributed throughout the curriculum. In all of our Core elements, we are committed to courses structured by learning objectives rather than disciplines. We seek to have Core courses taught by the whole University community. We espouse Butler's mission that claims our students' learning ought to proceed by creating and fostering a stimulating intellectual community built upon interactive dialogue and inquiry among faculty, staff and students.

1) To that end, students enroll in two common elements: First Year Seminar, a two-semester sequence in their first year, and Global and Historical Studies, a sophomore-year sequence of courses.

2) They, then, successfully complete courses in six general areas of inquiry:

  • Analytic Reasoning
  • The Natural World
  • Perspectives in the Creative Arts
  • Physical Well-Being
  • The Social World
  • Texts and Ideas

3) Butler students also complete Writing Across the Curriculum and Speaking Across the Curriculum requirements, as well as two experiences designed to connect them to the campus community: the Indianapolis Community Requirement and the Butler Cultural Requirement.

Overview of Core Structure

The common Core elements:
The First Year Seminar: Self, Community and World (6 hrs)
The Sophomore Requirement: Global and Historical Studies (6 hrs)

The general Core elements are as follows:
Analytic Reasoning (3 hrs)
The Natural World (5 hrs)
Perspectives in the Creative Arts (3 hrs)
Physical Well-Being (1 hr)
The Social World (3 hrs)
Texts and Ideas (3 hrs)

In addition to the common and general Core elements:
The Butler Cultural Requirement (BCR) (8 events)
The Indianapolis Community Requirement (ICR) (1 course)
The Speaking Across the Curriculum Requirement (SAC) (1 course)
The Writing Across the Curriculum Requirement (WAC) (1 course)

Click here to view a list of exemptions.