Core Curriculum

Core Curriculum For All Majors

Lumen de Lumine (Light from Light) core curriculum is essential to the UP learning experience.  It prepares students with a foundation rooted in Catholic tradition to go forth into the world to make a difference in whatever career path you choose to follow.

Why the liberal arts?

Why is the Core an essential part of the whole-person formation you’ll receive at University of Providence?  As you progress through the Core, you’ll be challenged to

Consider multiple perspectives

Human beings and the world we inhabit are wonderfully multi-faceted. The Catholic liberal arts tradition holds that appreciating and engaging with this complexity–which ultimately has one divine source—requires work in a range of disciplines.  You’ll discover different kinds of insight into the human condition when you read literature, analyze a sociological study, and engage with a philosophical text. This diverse inquiry will help you expand your perspective in new and exciting ways.

Ask important questions

Your core courses are designed to give you time and space to dig into important questions with your classmates and professors.  What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to “make a living” and to live as a productive human being? What does it mean to participate in the spiritual and religious dimensions of life?  How do we best serve the poor and vulnerable?

Adapt to new challenges

Throughout your life, you can expect to assume many different roles.  People are changing careers at an unprecedented rate.  You’ll encounter employers who require highly adaptable critical thinking, technological, and communication skills.  The Lumen do Lumine core also prepares you to offer the empathy, creativity, and flexibility that lead to successful careers—and interpersonal relationships.  This comprehensive, integrative education positions you for lifelong success in this rapidly changing world.

Excel as a citizen and community-member

Vibrant political institutions and healthy communities depend on people with well-developed habits of self-reflection, a passion for truth, sharp reasoning, compassion, and clear communication skills.   By asking you to engage with global issues, service learning, and sustainability, all while providing rigorous practice in writing, and communication, the core helps prepare you for civic participation and leadership.

Make ethical decisions

The breadth and depth of practice you’ll receive in moral and ethical reasoning will help you navigate thorny ethical issues that inevitably will arise your social, work, and personal lives.  Students of all backgrounds express appreciation for the Core’s focus on human dignity, justice, the common good, and care for creation.

For a list of the core courses you’ll take as a University of Providence student, see the academic catalog

Course Catalog