The CORE

Concordia is among a distinctive group of universities that offer a common, coherent core curriculum for all of its students. Rather than asking you to cobble together a meaningful general education experience from a vast array of disconnected distribution courses, Concordia's Core is carefully crafted so that you discover the purpose of a liberal arts education - to grow intellectually, ethically, and spiritually. Through the Core, all Concordia students engage in a shared academic experience that provides a foundation for further learning and for life.

‣►Our Distinctive Core Curriculum, Experienced

Concordia's Core is comprised of classic liberal arts courses offered in small, innovative learning communities. Core courses are taken together in linked pairs: biology with theology, mathematics with philosophy, and history with literature. The transfer Core has its own unique pair: philosophy with theology. Core classes typically have just 25 students, giving you a close-knit learning community.

Concordia's Core classes are mostly taught by full-time professors. Interaction with the professors is not limited to the classroom setting either. You are encouraged to meet with your professors during office hours. In fact, Core classes typically offer tutorials where you meet with your professors individually to discuss your papers and develop your ideas.

In this Core community, you will wrestle with life's foundational questions and ideas. You will be challenged to read great works closely, think critically and creatively about problems, communicate your ideas effectively in writing and speech, and make meaningful connections between academic disciplines, the Christian faith, and life. By developing your knowledge and strengthening your intellectual habits, you will become broadly prepared for life and further studies. You will develop into a wise, honorable, and cultivated citizen who can tackle life's challenges and use your gifts to serve society and the church.

"The Core challenged my faith but in the process made it stronger and really helped affirm why I chose Concordia over other private schools and especially over any public ones. I really grew and matured academically and spiritually."

Quick Notes on the Core

• Concordia University Irvine is a member of the Association for Core Texts and Courses’ Liberal Arts Institute. This prestigious institute—composed of 12 universities that include Columbia, St. John’s, Pepperdine, and Notre Dame—is committed to the preservation and promotion of “the integrated and common study of world classics and texts of major cultural significance.”
• In a recent survey of core liberal arts curricula at over 1,000 universities, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni rated just 19 colleges higher than Concordia. Concordia received a higher rating than numerous elite private and public universities like Harvard, Westmont, and the University of California—Irvine.

‣►One-on-One with Professors and Peers

Core Courses

Commendation for the Core

"Concordia’s Core is rich in both educational traditions of the West and new explorations of the traditions of the wider world. Concordia’s Core provides both disciplinary and interdisciplinary means of education, grounded in the Western, secular and Judeo-Christian, intellectual and spiritual developments, that will allow students to reach out from the West to works, faiths, and traditions around the world. The Core courses are remindful of the great courses in Literature, Humanities and Civilization that have been offered to students at some of the finest universities in the land."
(J. Scott Lee, Executive Director of the Association for Core Texts and Courses)

Core Resources

Core Handbook: What exactly is the Core? What will I investigate and do in each Core course? What should I do to excel in the Core? Where do I go if I need help? You will find answers to these and other questions in the Core Curriculum Handbook.

Core Peer Tutors: Concordia’s Core Tutoring Center has dozens of peers who have excelled in the Core and want to help you excel too. Tutors can help you with your readings, papers, assignments, and study skills. Tutoring is free of charge.

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