Mar 29, 2024  
Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2012-2013 
    
Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2012-2013 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

University Core Curriculum



Goals and Objectives of the Core Curriculum

Consistent with the goals of the University and with the desire to provide undergraduate students with an education founded strongly in human values, Loyola Marymount University has adopted the following goals and objectives.

Goals:

  • To provide a strong undergraduate humanistic education within the traditions of the Society of Jesus and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
  • To foster the desire for knowledge and to provide the skills necessary for a lifetime of intellectual growth in a global society.
  • To prepare students to play active roles in addressing the problems and challenges they will face in attempting to create a just world.

Objectives:

  • To develop an understanding of religious experience and beliefs, with particular attention to theological questions as addressed by Catholic Christianity.
  • To develop a habit of philosophical reflection.
  • To develop an understanding and appreciation of the history of humankind in the arts, literature, and philosophy.
  • To develop a knowledge of the structures, values, and practices of contemporary societies.
  • To develop the arts of precise and elegant expression in speaking and writing.
  • To develop the skills of critical thinking.
  • To develop quantitative skills and an understanding of the history and principles of mathematics and science and technology.
  • To cultivate and engage the creative imagination.
  • To explore ways to live more fully and to act more responsibly within a culturally diverse world.

The following core curriculum encourages intellectual breadth. No matter the student’s major, all students should be acquainted with the nature of discourse and practice in the major areas of knowledge that will prepare students for life after Loyola Marymount University.

Students should consult the College or School sections of this Bulletin for core curriculum requirements specific to each College or School.

Core Curriculum Requirements

American Cultures
College Writing
Communication or Critical Thinking
Critical and Creative Arts
History
Literature
Mathematics, Science and Technology
Philosophy
Social Sciences
Theological Studies

American Cultures

American Cultures courses will examine and compare the American experience of at least three of the following groups: African American, American Indian, Asian American, Chicana/o-Latino/a, and European American. The objective of these courses is to explore the contributions of these groups to human knowledge and development. Classes will also explore the varieties of cultural expression, behavior, and interaction.

First- and second-year students choose from any lower division course listed or cross-listed as AMCS. Third- and fourth-year students choose from any upper division course listed or cross-listed as AMCS.

A single course will generally not fulfill two core requirements. The only exception is a course that satisfies another core requirement which is also cross-listed as AMCS.

College Writing

Proficiency in Writing

All entering first-year students will demonstrate writing proficiency by completing an essay administered in all ENGL 110  sections during the first week of classes. Based on performance in this essay, students will remain in ENGL 110  or be placed in ENGL 100  (English as a Second Language). Some students will be recommended to enroll in ENGL 111 (Elective Writing Lab).

College Writing Courses

The required course in college writing teaches students how to produce clear and logical, thoughtful and persuasive expository prose suitable to a variety of academic disciplines. To do this effectively, students must learn to be critical readers and thinkers. A critical analysis of both reading and writing enables students to create more meaningful and effective prose. ENGL 110  will fulfill the college writing requirement. ENGL 100  will not fulfill the college writing requirement but is required of certain students based on their performance in the essay administered in all ENGL 110  sections during the first week of classes. A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in ENGL 110 . All students who receive a grade of C- (1.7) or lower must retake ENGL 110  at LMU and receive a grade of C (2.0) or higher.

ENGL 100 English for Academic Purposes 

Students enroll in ENGL 100  based on their performance in an essay administered in all ENGL 110  sections during the first week of classes. This course is designed to give students essential skills in writing and reading English. Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in order to pass this course.

ENGL 110 College Writing 

The art of clear and effective college writing. This course will teach students how to generate clear and persuasive expository prose suitable to a variety of academic disciplines. Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in order to fulfill the college writing requirement. Students who receive a C- (1.7) or lower in ENGL 110  must enroll in ENGL 110  the next semester.

Communication or Critical Thinking

Communication

The communication offerings develop students’ abilities to analyze issues and problems more logically. Students will prepare arguments, presentations, and speeches. They will also learn to listen more critically and speak more effectively in a variety of settings.

Critical Thinking

The course in critical thinking helps students to improve their reasoning skills through a study of logic and its application to several types of argumentation, both oral and written. The students are taught both the technical skills of argument evaluation and the other skills needed to construct sound arguments and debates. 

Critical and Creative Arts

Critical Arts

Critical Arts courses are those courses in the history and theory of the arts which analyze artistic works in their social contexts as well as the aesthetic expectations and conventions which inform them.

Creative Arts

The objective of courses in the Creative Arts is to develop individual expression through exploration, analysis, and creation of artistic works.

History

This category of courses analyzes the major concepts, ideologies, and movements that have dominated the course of civilization in order to develop in students the historical perspective necessary to better understand the global society in which they live.

Literature

Prerequisite: Successful completion of college writing requirement.

Core literature courses enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of literary works. A study of fiction, poetry, or drama familiarizes the students with both the strategies available to the fiction writer, poet, or playwright in creating the literary work and the variety of critical approaches for analyzing and evaluating literature.

Mathematics, Science and Technology

Proficiency in Mathematics

All students must demonstrate proficiency in mathematics. The mathematics course(s) required for a student to demonstrate mathematics proficiency teaches the student the quantitative and analytic skills needed to function as an informed citizen in an increasingly technological world.

Any student with a grade of 4 or 5 on at least one of the Calculus A/B, Calculus B/C, or the Statistics Advanced Placement Examinations has already demonstrated proficiency in mathematics.

Students in the College of Communication and Fine Arts and students in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts who are NOT required to take a mathematics course as part of their major requirements normally demonstrate proficiency in mathematics by receiving credit in Quantitative Skills for the Modern World (MATH 102 ). The Mathematics Placement Examination is not necessary for enrollment in this course.

Students in the College of Business Administration, the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, and the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts majoring in economics or liberal studies demonstrate mathematics proficiency by receiving credit in the mathematics courses required by their particular majors. These students must take the Mathematics Placement Examination to determine placement in appropriate classes. If the results of this placement examination indicate, students are required to enroll in and pass Algebra (MATH 101 ) before they qualify to enter the mathematics course required by their major. In all cases, mathematics proficiency is met only after receiving credit in the mathematics coursework required by the major.

Psychology majors demonstrate mathematics proficiency by passing Elementary Statistics (MATH 104 ) with a grade of C (2.0) or better. These students do not take the Mathematics Placement Examination but enroll directly into Elementary Statistics (MATH 104 ).

Special Circumstances

  • Students desiring to take MATH 106 , MATH 111 , MATH 112 , MATH 120 , MATH 122 , or MATH 131  in order to fulfill the mathematics proficiency requirement should see their advisor for appropriate action. The Mathematics Placement Examination is required before taking any of these courses.
  • Transfer students should see the Dean of their College or School for specific information.

All students should see their individual College or School section in the Bulletin and their major requirements described in the Bulletin for further specific information.

Mathematics, Science and Technology Courses

Prerequisite: Credit in MATH 101  or higher, or placement into MATH 106  or higher.

These courses introduce the student to the methodology and mathematics used in a field of mathematics, science, or engineering as well as provide a more in-depth study in a specific area. These courses include laboratories and/or demonstrations providing the student with hands-on experience. 

Philosophy

The lower division core course is designed to introduce students to the nature of philosophy as a discipline and to address selected central metaphysical and epistemological issues surrounding the question of human nature.

Upper division courses examine questions that a person asks in order to form an intelligent philosophy of moral choice, with particular attention to those moral concepts that have been most important in shaping Christian culture. The approach may emphasize either the major moral theories or selected contemporary moral problems.

Social Sciences

These courses will introduce students to systematic, empirically grounded investigations of individuals and the structures, values, and practices of contemporary societies. Students develop conceptual and analytical skills necessary to understand the economic, political, psychological, cultural, and/or social conditions that influence our lives.

Theological Studies

A general objective of Theological Studies courses is for students to face the issues of religious beliefs and their consequences in their lives.

The objectives of the lower division core courses are to examine the nature of religion, the nature of Christian faith, and the methods for understanding scripture.

The objectives of the upper division core courses are to deepen the students’ knowledge of at least one of the three areas covered in the lower division course under one of the following categories: biblical theology, historical theology, systematic theology, moral and practical theology, and world religions.