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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 starting in the Fall 2023 semester will follow a new 39-credit core curriculum. Individual schools and colleges may require additional “College Core” courses. Students should view their DegreeWorks Student Advising Report, contact their Academic Advisors, or refer the Undergraduate Bulletin for further information.  

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

FYS 1000 - First Year Seminar 

2. First Year Writing

FYW 1000 - First Year Writing  

3. Speech

SPE 1000 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking 

or

RCT 1005 - Interpersonal Communication for the Pharmacist for Pharmacy majors

4. English

ENG 1100 - Literature in a Global Context 

5. History

HIS 1000 - Emergence of Global Society 

6. Philosophy

PHI 1000 - Philosophy of the Human Person 

7. Philosophy

PHI 3000 - Metaphysics

8. Theology

THE 1000 - Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach 

9. Theology: Sacred Texts and Traditions

Choose one course from the list below.

  • Systematic/Constructive Theology
    • THE 2200 or THE 1030 - The Mystery of God
    • THE 2205 - Jesus in the Christian Faith
    • THE 2210 - Perspectives on the Church
    • THE 2340 - Women in Theology
    • THE 2245 - Liberation Theologies
  • Biblical Studies
    • THE 2110 - Reading the Old Testament
    • THE 2120 - Reading the New Testament
  • Religious Studies
    • THE 2820 - Introduction to Judaism
    • THE 2830 or THE 1056 - Introduction to Hinduism
    • THE 2840 or THE 1060 - Introduction to Buddhism
    • THE 2850 - Introduction to Islam
    • THE 2255 - Race and Religion in the U.S.
    • THE 2920 - Science, Technology and Religion
    • THE 2810 - Introduction to World Religions
    • THE 1050 - Religions of the World
    • THE 1070 - Introduction to Krishna
  • Historical Theology
    • THE 2501 - History of Christian Theology I: Origins Through the Middle Ages
    • THE 2502 - History of Christian Theology II: Reformations to the Present
    • THE 2800 - Global Catholicism
    • THE 1071 - An Introduction to Vatican II
  • Spirituality Studies
    • THE 2400 - Christian Spirituality and Mysticism
    • THE 2410 - Spirituality of the Educator 

10. Ethics

Choose one course from the 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:

  • PHI 1020 - Ethics 

  • PHI 1024 - Media Ethics 

  • PHI 2200 - Ethics 

  • THE 1040 - Christian Responsibility 

  • THE 1043 - Ecology and Environmental Ethics

  • THE 3010 - Introduction to Catholic Moral Theology

  • THE 3020 - Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching 

  • THE 3310 - Theological Ethics of Peace 

  • THE 3330 - Theological Ethics and Ecology 

  • THE 3350 - Ethics, Religion, and Global Development 

  • THE 3360 - Justice, Spirituality, and Social Change 

For students enrolled in The Peter J. Tobin College of Business:

  • PHI 2220 or PHI 1022 - Ethics and Business

  • THE 3305 - Theological Ethics of the Marketplace

For students enrolled in College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences:

  • PHI 2240 - Ethics and Health Care

  • THE 3300 - Theological Ethics of Healthcare 

11. Mathematical and/or 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:

  • BUA 1333 - Modern Statistics I

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:

  • MTH 1000 - Mathematics for Liberal Arts
  • MTH 1100 - Mathematics of Fairness
  • PHI 3400 - Introduction to Logic
  • PSY 2030 & PSY 2030L - Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences
  • SPM 4553 - Sports Analytics 

12. Science/Quantitative analysis

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

13. Social Justice

Choose one course from the approved list below based on your college. All courses engage critical analysis of topics such as power, inequality, intersectionality, marginality, difference, and identity.

For students enrolled in The Peter J. Tobin College of Business:

  • ECO 1320 - Economics of Poverty and Income Inequality

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:

  • ANT 1000 - Language and Culture 

  • ANT 1060 - The Anthropology of Global Poverty 

  • ART 2140 - Power and Persuasion in Art

  • ART 2660 - Urban Documents, Society & Culture

  • ART 3100 - Women in the Arts 

  • CMC 1010 - Debate in a Global Contexts 

  • CMC 1155 - Language and Intercultural Communication 

  • CRES 1000 - Critical Race and Ethnic Studies 

  • ENG 1077 - Toni Morrison: Selected Novels 

  • ENG 2100 - Introduction to Literature and Culture/Race in American Culture 

  • ENG 2400 - English, Language Ideologies, and Power 

  • ENG 2750 - Women and Literature 

  • ENG 2795 - Illness and Literature 

  • ENG 3660 - Race, Colonialism, and the Environment

  • FRE 3820 - Afro-Caribbean Francophone Literature (conducted in French)

  • FRE 3922 - Afro-Caribbean Francophone Literature (conducted in English) 

  • FRE 3850 – Race and Immigration in France (conducted in French)

  • FRE 3908 - Race and Immigration in France (conducted in English) 

  • FRE 3860 - Human Rights and Globalization in Africa (conducted in French)

  • FRE 3920 - Human Rights and Globalization in Africa (conducted in English)

  • GOV 2160 - U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy

  • GOV 3310 - Comparative Diversity, Identity, and Governance 

  • HIS 1505 - Struggles for Social Justice 

  • HIS 2313 - History of Colonial South Asia 

  • HIS 3160 - History of Human Rights and Social Justice 

  • HIS 3375 - Asian-American History 

  • HIS 3711 - African-American History to 1900 

  • HIS 3712 - African-American History since 1900 

  • ITA 3904 - Dante and the Search for Social Justice 

  • PHI 3740 - Social Justice 

  • PSC 1004 - Legal Aspects of the Civil Rights Movement 

  • SOC 1170 - Inequality; Race, Class and Gender 

  • SPA 3611 - Migration and Exile in Latin American and Latinx Literatures (conducted in English) 

  • SPA 3917 - Migration and Exile in Latin American and Latinx Literatures (conducted in Spanish)

  • SPM 1552 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sport 

  • THE 3240 - Feminist and Womanist Theologies 

 

If you enrolled at the University prior to Fall 2023, the University Core Curriculum 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

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

Course descriptions can be located in the Undergraduate 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: 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)

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

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