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University Core Curriculum

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Overview

As a Catholic, Vincentian, Metropolitan, and Global university, St. John's offers a core curriculum that enacts a Catholic and Vincentian identity, affirms the values of the liberal arts and sciences, and develops an engaged citizenry to serve their communities.

The core, based in our Catholic and Vincentian traditions, provides a unique foundation emphasizing the dignity of the human person and the diversity of human communities, the objectivity of moral values, and ongoing critical self-reflection on the relationship between faith and reason.

The University’s Catholic identity demands the inclusion of all voices and perspectives in our common task to understand the world and how we should live in it. It provides an entry into humanity’s ongoing search for shared, universal values, as expressed in the University’s core values of truth, love, respect, opportunity, excellence, and service.

Contact Information

Please contact your academic unit or advisor. If you do not know your academic unit or advisor’s name, please access DegreeWorks via signon.stjohns.edu. This information is listed at the top of your Advisement Report. 

 

Encourages students to ask the central Vincentian question: “What must be done?”

Students are equipped with the knowledge and values necessary to discern what the moment requires, and with the skills to listen, learn, engage, and persuade. St. John’s University graduates are well prepared to flourish in the workforce and make a difference in the world.

Coursework

Students entering St. John's in the Fall 2023 will follow a new 39-credit core.  Course descriptions can be located in the Undergraduate Bulletin by searching the course title or key words of the course title.  To ensure that you have located the correct course, please make sure the course number searched matches the course number indicated below.  All courses are three (3) credits, unless otherwise noted.

1. First Year Seminar

First Year Seminar (FYS 1000)

2. English

First Year Writing (FYW 1000)

3. English

Literature in a Global Context (ENG 1100)

4. Speech

Fundamentals of Public Speaking (SPE 1000)

*For Pharmacy majors, Interpersonal Communication for the Pharmacist (RCT 1005) is required.

5. History

The Emergence of Global Society (HIS 1000)

6. Philosophy

Philosophy of the Human Person (PHI 1000)

7. Theology

Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach (THE 1000)

8. Philosophy

Metaphysics (PHI 3000)

9. Ethics

Choose one course from the approved list below based on your college.  The abbreviation for Philosophy is “PHI” and the abbreviation for Theology is “THE”.  See your advisor with questions. 

  • For students enrolled in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The School of Education, or Collins College of Professional Studies:
    • Introduction to Catholic Moral Theology (THE 3010) 
    • Theologies of Peace (THE 3310)  
    • Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching (THE 3020) 
    • Ecology and Environmental Ethics (THE 3330)  
    • Ethics, Religion, and Global Development (THE 3350)  
    • Justice, Spirituality, and Social Change (THE 3360)
    • Ethics (PHI 2200 or PHI 1020)
    • Additional courses approved for Collins College of Professional Studies students only are:  
      • Media Ethics (PHI 1024)
      • Christian Responsibility (THE 1040)
  • For students enrolled in The Peter J. Tobin College of Business:
    • Ethics and Business (PHI 2220 or PHI 1022)
    • Moral Theology of the Marketplace (THE 3305)  
  • For students enrolled in College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences:
    • Ethics and Health Care (PHI 2240)
    • Moral Theology of Health Care (THE 3300 or THE 1042)

10. Theology: Sacred Texts and Traditions

Choose one course from the approved list below based on your college.  See your advisor with questions. 

  • For students enrolled in The School of Education:
    • Spirituality of the Educator (THE 2410)
  • For students enrolled in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Collins College of Professional Studies:
    • Systematic/Constructive Theology
      • The Mystery of God (THE 2200 or THE 1030)
      • Jesus in the Christian Faith (THE 2205)
      • Perspectives on the Church (THE 2210)
      • Women in Theology (THE 2340)
      • Liberation Theologies (THE 2245)
    • Biblical Studies
      • Reading the Old Testament (THE 2110)
      • Reading the New Testament (THE 2120)
    • Religious Studies
      • Introduction to Judaism (THE 2820)
      • Introduction to Hinduism (THE 2830 or THE 1056)
      • Introduction to Buddhism (THE 2840 or THE 1060) 
      • Introduction to Islam (THE 2850)
      • Race and Religion in the U.S. (THE 2255)
      • Science and Religion (THE 2920)
      • Additional courses approved for Collins College of Professional Studies students only are:  
        • Religions of the World (THE 1050)
        • Introduction to Krishna (THE 1070)
    • Historical Theology
      • History of Christian Theology I: Origins Through the Middle Ages (THE 2501)
      • History of Christian Theology II: Reformations to the Present (THE 2502)
      • Global Catholicism (THE 2800)
      • Additional course approved for Collins College of Professional Studies students only is:
        • An Introduction to Vatican II (THE 1071)
    • Spirituality Studies
      • Christian Spirituality and Mysticism (THE 2400)

11. Science/Quantitative analysis

Choose Scientific Inquiry (SCI 1000), a course in data analysis, or a science-related discipline. Major sequence courses for STEM majors are applicable.  See your advisor for course placement.

12. Mathematical, Logical, Quantitative, and Computational Reasoning

Choose one course from the approved list below based on your college.  Major sequence courses for business, math-intensive, and STEM majors are applicable.  See your advisor for course placement.

  • For students enrolled in The Peter J. Tobin College of Business:
    • Modern Statistics I (BUA 1333)
  • For students enrolled in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The School of Education, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Collins College of Professional Studies:
    • Mathematics for Liberal Arts (MTH 1000)
    • Mathematics of Fairness (MTH 1100)
    • Introduction to Logic (PHI 3400)
    • Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences (PSY 2030). This course has a corequisite of a lab (PSY 2030L)
    • Sports Analytics (SPM 4553)

 13. Social Justice

All students can choose one course from the below listing that engages critical analysis of topics such as power, inequality, intersectionality, marginality, difference, and identity. 

  • Language and Culture (ANT 1000)
  • Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES 1000)
  • Economics of Poverty and income Inequality (ECO 1320)
  • Toni Morrison: Selected Novels (ENG 1077)
  • Introduction to Literature and Culture/Race in American Culture (ENG 2100)
  • Women and Literature (ENG 3750)
  • Struggles for Social Justice (HIS 1505)
  • History of Colonial South Asia (HIS 2313)
  • History of Human Rights and Social Justice (HIS 3160)
  • Asian-American History (HIS 3375)
  • African-American History to 1900 (HIS 3711)
  • African-American History since 1900 (HIS 3712)
  • Dante and the Search for Social Justice (ITA 3904)
  • Legal Aspects of the Civil Rights Movement (LES 1112)
  • Social Justice (PHI 3740)
  • Debate in a Global Contexts (RCT 1010)
  • Language and Intercultural Communication (RCT 1155)
  • Migration and Exile in Latin American and Latinx Literatures (SPA 3917)
  • Inequality; Race, Class and Gender (SOC 1170)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sport (SPM 1552)
  • Feminist and Womanist Theologies (THE 3240)

If you enrolled at the University prior to Fall 2023, the University Core Curriculum consist of 48 credits. 

The Core (consists of 48 credits)

  • 27 common credits that are taken by every St. John’s student, regardless of college or major field of study
  • a minimum of 21 credits from the Distributed Core requirements, that vary by college or program of study

Course descriptions can be located in the Undergraduate Bulletin (Full Bulletin) by searching the title of the course (in bold font). All the following courses are required and are three (3) credits, unless otherwise noted:

  1. Discover New York (DNY 100C)
  2. First Year Writing (FYW 1000C)
  3. English: Literature in a Global Context (ENG 1100C)
  4. History: The Emergence of Global Society (HIS 1000C)
  5. Philosophy: Philosophy of the Human Person (PHI 1000C)
  6. Philosophy: Metaphysics (PHI 3000C)
  7. Science: Scientific Inquiry (SCI 1000C)
  8. Speech: Fundamentals of Public Speaking (SPE 1000C)
  9. Theology: Catholic Perspectives on Christianity (THE 1000C)

Courses of the Distributed Core

  1. EITHER two courses in a second language OR Creativity in the Fine Arts AND Language and Culture (6 credits)
  2. Mathematics (3 credits)
  3. Philosophy (Ethics) (3 credits)
  4. Theology (6 credits) (including one course in Moral Theology)
  5. Social Sciences (3 credits)

Individual colleges may require additional Distributed Core courses. Students should see their Academic Advisors for assistance in choosing courses of the Distributed Core.

Course Descriptions (see 2021-2023 University Bulletin)

A Student's Guide to Navigating the New University Core Curriculum:

Guide to University Core Curriculum (Start Term Fall 2023 or subsequent term)