Core, Diversity, and Distribution Requirements for Baccalaureate Degrees

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Core Requirements

The core curriculum is based on the faculty’s belief that a liberal arts education should be broad and inclusive, introducing students to ideas and values of continuing concern and providing them with historical and spiritual perspectives on the complex problems of our society. The core curriculum is also designed to provide Covenant students with common learning experiences, to emphasize the God-ordained unity of knowledge, to provide a global rather than a provincial emphasis in learning, to focus students’ attention not only on the past and the present but also on the future, and to develop students’ capacities to learn not only through ratiocination but experientially. Crucial to the success of the core curriculum is the pervasiveness of a biblical perspective in every course.

All students who are candidates for a baccalaureate degree are required to take courses or demonstrate competency in each area of the core curriculum. Exceptions to these requirements are listed in the sections of the catalog describing particular majors. Normally, one semester of the two course sequence of Christian Doctrine I, II and Cultural Heritage of the West I, II are required to be completed at Covenant. If a core requirement is fulfilled by demonstrating proficiency, no credit hours are awarded. These hours will be replaced with elective hours applied toward the minimum of 126 hours needed to graduate. Some programs will require more than 126 hours.

All students who are candidates for a baccalaureate degree are required to complete an Intercultural Experience. All Intercultural Experiences must be pre-approved by a faculty member of the Intercultural Competencies Committee.

Normally the core foreign language and the core natural science lab requirements must be completed with in-person foreign language instruction and in-person science laboratory component instruction. When extraordinary circumstances arise that make in-person instruction impossible, the Core Oversight Committee may approve the acceptance of online courses to fulfill core natural science laboratory and foreign language course requirements. Students will follow the normal procedure to request approval for a course through the Letter of Good Standing/Transient Student Request Form with the Office of Records noting the circumstance and why they would be unable to take this course in a future term warranting approval of the course.

One component of this broad liberal arts core curriculum is the skill of public speaking. Beginning in Fall 2006, most departments will offer a ‘Speech Intensive’ or “S” course that will satisfy this component. Many departments have designated their Capstone Project as the “S” course, which means this will come at the end of a student’s studies at Covenant. Some departments have not designated an “S” course and students pursuing those majors will be required to complete ENG 252 Speech . Below is a summary definition of what qualifies a course as an “S” course.

“S” course definition: A course in which students are required to make a prepared and organized oral presentation (minimum 12 minutes) to a class of peers and faculty. Instruction about form, content, and assessment will precede the oral presentation, and rubric-based evaluation of content, form, and delivery will follow it. In addition to whole-class instruction, there will be some level of mentoring interaction between professors and individual students.

With each list of major requirements, majors have designated the “S” course for the major or listed separately an alternate course which will satisfy this component. If the student completed the major’s “S” course prior to Fall 2006, it will not satisfy the “S” requirement, and the student will need to complete ENG 252 Speech to satisfy this requirement. However, if the student takes that major’s “S” course in a future term, the student will not be required to take ENG 252 Speech .

Another core component is writing skills that are grounded in our “W” courses, also taught within our majors as defined below.

“W” course definition: A course in which the conventions of formal writing in the discipline are taught, including adherence to a style manual or other disciplinary parameters. A major writing assignment will incorporate pre-writing instruction about form, content, and assessment, and subsequent rubric-based assessment will address both content and form. In addition to whole-class instruction, there will be some level of mentoring interaction between professors and individual students. The Capstone may not count as a “W” course.

Diversity (DIV) Courses

Diversity courses will explore one or more of the following: genders, ethnicities, races, religions, social classes, disabilities, or cultures other than Anglo-American and white majority European as their primary subject matter. A DIV course offered by a student’s major department may fulfill both the DIV and a major requirement. A DIV course may not fulfill the DIV and another distribution requirement below. A diversity course code (DIV) will appear with the course description. Students who successfully complete this requirement will demonstrate the ability to:

* Identify the role of races, genders, ethnicities, religions, social classes, disabilities, or cultures in shaping human knowledge and cultural production.

* Empathize with perspectives other than their own.

* Connect course knowledge to broader concerns for, and commitment to, the physical and spiritual worth and welfare of all image bearers.

Diversity Approved Courses:

ART 371 Women, Art, and Culture 3 hour(s).
ART 372 Global Modernisms 3 hour(s).
ART 374 Race in American Art and Visual Culture 3 hour(s).
BIB 374 Global Theology 3 hour(s).
CDV 300 Living and Working in a Multicultural Context 3 hour(s).
CDV 350 Introduction to Social Innovation 4 hour(s).
COS 270 Computing and the Future of Bias 3 hour(s).
ECO 348 Microfinance 3 hour(s).
ECO 360 The Economics of Asia in the 21st Century 3 hour(s).
ECO 410 Economic Development in the Majority World 3 hour(s).
ECO 420 U.S. Urban Poverty 3 hour(s).
EDU 234 Teaching in a Pluralistic Society 3 hour(s).
ENG 275 African-American Literature Since 1900 3 hour(s).
ENG 276 Literature Across Cultures 3 hour(s).
FRE 220 Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion in Contemporary France 3 hour(s).
FRE 230 Introduction to French Cinema 3 hour(s).
FRE 332 French Civilization and Culture II 3 hour(s).
FRE 355 Contemporary Francophone Literature 3 hour(s).
HIS 220 Immigration in American History 3 hour(s).
HIS 351 History and Culture of African Americans to 1865 3 hour(s).
MIS 302 World Religions 3 hour(s).
NSC 114 Ecological Diversity of South America: Ecuador 4 hour(s).
PHI 151 Nonwestern Philosophy 3 hour(s).
PSY 333 Cross-Cultural Psychology 3 hour(s).
SOC 344 Men, Women, and Society 3 hour(s).
SOC 419 Social Diversity & Inequality 3 hour(s).
SPA 331 Hispanic Civilization and Culture I 3 hour(s).
SPA 332 Hispanic Civilization and Culture II 3 hour(s).
SPA 351 Hispanic Literature I 3 hour(s).
SPA 352 Hispanic Literature II 3 hour(s).
SPA 353 Hispanic Literature III 3 hour(s).
SPA 361 Hispanic Culture through the Media Arts 3 hour(s).
SPA 375 Hispanic Communities in the US I 3 hour(s).
SPA 376 Hispanic Communities in the US II 3 hour(s).

Distribution Requirements

Distribution requirements allow a student to select courses of interest to gain exposure to a variety of disciplines contributing to the broad liberal arts emphasis. Below are the four distribution requirements with the courses that can satisfy these components. Normally, courses from a student’s major department may not fulfill a core distribution requirement. Courses fulfilling a core distribution requirement may also apply toward a second major or minor requirement. See the section below, Courses Satisfying Multiple Requirements, regarding scenarios when a core distribution requirement may also apply toward a major program requirement. A distribution course code (i.e. FAR, HUM, LAB, SSC) also appears with the course description.

Fine Arts (FAR) Distribution Courses

Explore varied elements of human artistic inquiry and/or expression. Students who successfully complete this requirement will have demonstrated the ability to:

* Engage various elements of human creative process as found in the visual, musical or theatrical arts.

* Appreciate the products of human creativity in the visual, musical or theatrical arts.

* Think biblically about the process and products of human creativity in the visual, musical or theatrical arts.

Fine Arts Distribution Requirement Approved Courses:

ART 100 Introduction to Art 3 hour(s).
ART 110 Drawing Principles 3 hour(s).
ART 270 Introduction to Art History 3 hour(s).
ART 373 Art and the Church 3 hour(s).
ART 374 Race in American Art and Visual Culture 3 hour(s).
FRE 230 Introduction to French Cinema 3 hour(s). Taught in English
MUS 161 Introduction to Musical Structure 3 hour(s).
MUS 171 Introduction to Musical Style 3 hour(s).
MUS 172 The Study of Music as a Discipline 3 hour(s). FAR for music minors.
MUS 220 Songwriting 3 hour(s).
MUS 245 Introduction to Musical Theatre 3 hour(s).
THT 202 Introduction to Theatre 3 hour(s).
THT 235 Acting I 4 hour(s).
THT 251 Modern and Contemporary Drama 3 hour(s).
THT 302 The Performing Arts and Christian Thought 3 hour(s).
THT 310 Playwriting 3 hour(s).
THT 315 Screenwriting 3 hour(s).

Humanities (HUM) Distribution Courses

Explore varied elements of human culture, thought, and/or literary expression. Students who successfully complete this requirement will have demonstrated the ability to:

* Engage various elements of human thought, literary expression and cultural development.

* Recognize the interplay between human thought, literary expression and cultural development.

* Think biblically about the process and products of human thought, literary expression and cultural development.

Humanities Distribution Requirement Approved Courses:

ASL 201 Intermediate American Sign Language I 3 hour(s). **
ASL 202 Intermediate American Sign Language II 3 hour(s). **
BIB 302 History & Expansion of Christianity I 3 hour(s).
BIB 303 History & Expansion of Christianity II 3 hour(s).
ENG 114 Introduction to Literature Through Writing 3 hour(s).
ENG 201 Introduction to Literary Studies 3 hour(s).
ENG 203 American Literature: Beginnings to 1865 3 hour(s).
ENG 204 American Literature: 1865 to 1965 3 hour(s).
ENG 240 The Inklings 3 hour(s).
ENG 275 African-American Literature Since 1900 3 hour(s).
ENG 276 Literature Across Cultures 3 hour(s).
FRE 201 Intermediate French I 3 hour(s). **
FRE 202 Intermediate French II 3 hour(s). **
FRE 220 Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion in Contemporary France 3 hour(s). Taught in English
FRE 331 French Civilization and Culture I 3 hour(s).
FRE 332 French Civilization and Culture II 3 hour(s).
HIS 111 History of the United States I 3 hour(s).
HIS 112 History of the United States II 3 hour(s).
HIS 150 Introduction to History 3 hour(s).
HIS 213 The Formation of Europe to 1550 3 hour(s).
HIS 214 Age of Europe 1550-1871 3 hour(s).
HIS 220 Immigration in American History 3 hour(s).
HIS 225 Excavating Gotham: Public History In New York City 3 hour(s).
HIS 241 American Religious History 3 hour(s).
HIS 250 The New South 3 hour(s).
HIS 351 History and Culture of African Americans to 1865 3 hour(s).
HIS 352 History and Culture of African Americans since 1865 3 hour(s).
PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy 3 hour(s).
PHI 102 Introduction to Logic/Critical Thinking 3 hour(s).
PHI 130 Contemporary Moral Issues 3 hour(s).
PHI 151 Nonwestern Philosophy 3 hour(s).
SPA 201 Intermediate Spanish Through Culture 3 hour(s). **
SPA 202 Intermediate Spanish Conversation and Reading 3 hour(s). **
SPA 331 Hispanic Civilization and Culture I 3 hour(s).
SPA 332 Hispanic Civilization and Culture II 3 hour(s).
SPA 390 Don Quixote Against the World 3 hour(s).
** One intermediate level language course will satisfy the core humanities, but only if the course was completed at Covenant.

Natural Science Lab (LAB) Distribution Courses

Explore elements of scientific investigation and content, including hands-on laboratory experiences, in one or more of the natural sciences. Students who successfully complete this requirement will have demonstrated the ability to:

* Engage various elements of scientific exploration in physical or biological sciences.

* Appreciate the products of scientific study in physical or biological sciences.

* Think biblically about the process and products of scientific endeavor in physical or biological sciences.

Natural Science Lab Distribution Requirement Approved Courses:

CHE 103 Concepts of Chemistry 4 hour(s).
NSC 105 Physical Science 4 hour(s).
NSC 106 Issues in Contemporary Biology 4 hour(s).
NSC 107 Concepts in Human Heredity 4 hour(s).
NSC 108 Concepts of Geology 4 hour(s).
NSC 109 Current Issues in Environmental Science 4 hour(s).
NSC 110 Concepts of Physical Geography 4 hour(s).
NSC 111 Earth Science Survey 4 hour(s).
NSC 112 Astronomy 4 hour(s).
NSC 114 Ecological Diversity of South America: Ecuador 4 hour(s).
NSC 115 Science in Perspective 4 hour(s).
NSC 120 Science and Stewardship 4 hour(s).
PHY 231 General Physics for Scientists and Engineers I 4 hour(s).
Other natural science lab courses will fulfill this core requirement for science majors.

Social Science (SSC) Distribution Courses

Explore human behavior at the individual, group, and structural levels, as well as the interplay of these factors. Courses will make use of social and/or behavioral science methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Students who successfully complete this requirement will have demonstrated the ability to:

* Engage various elements of the exploration of human social interactions, institutions and behaviors.

* Appreciate the products of the study of human social interactions, institutions and behaviors.

* Think biblically about the process and products of the study of human social interactions, institutions and behaviors.

Social Science Distribution Requirement Approved Courses:

ECO 150 Economics & Contemporary Issues 3 hour(s).
ECO 202 Principles of Microeconomics 4 hour(s).
HIS 217 Presidential Politics and Elections 3 hour(s).
HIS 218 Studies in U.S. Constitutional History 3 hour(s).
POL 105 Political Research Methods 3 hour(s).
POL 200 Comparative Politics 3 hour(s).
POL 202 American Government 3 hour(s).
POL 210 International Relations 3 hour(s).
POL 217 Presidential Politics and Elections 3 hour(s).
PSY 100 General Psychology 4 hour(s).
PSY 330 Lifespan Development 3 hour(s).
PSY 333 Cross-Cultural Psychology 3 hour(s).
SOC 141 Principles of Sociology 3 hour(s).
SOC 201 Sociology of Sport 3 hour(s).
SOC 229 Cultural Anthropology 3 hour(s).
SOC 241 Social Problems 3 hour(s).
SOC 244 Social Psychology 3 hour(s).
SOC 246 Crime and Delinquency 3 hour(s).
SOC 341 The Family 3 hour(s).

Courses Satisfying Multiple Requirements:

To encourage breadth in the overall academic programs, normally courses with a prefix from a student’s major department may not fulfill a core distribution requirement. For example, a history major may not use an HIS or POL prefix course from the History, Politics and International Studies Department to fulfill a core distribution requirement. Also, a course fulfilling an Interdisciplinary Studies major requirement may not fulfill a core distribution requirement.

There are some scenarios where a course could fulfill two requirements. Courses fulfilling a core distribution requirement may also apply toward a second major or minor requirement. A course required for a major program with a prefix outside of the major department, may be used to fulfill a major and a core distribution requirement. For example, a Business major requires ECO 202 Principles of Microeconomics, which is offered by the Economics and Community Development Department. ECO 202 may fulfill the core social science distribution requirement as well as the business major requirement. A core diversity (DIV) course offered by a student’s major department may fulfill both the DIV and a major requirement.