The College | Arts & Sciences

Discovery Curriculum: Overview of Degree Requirements

The Discovery Curriculum enables students to develop distinctive plans that cover a broad range of subjects and cohesive areas of study. To achieve this goal, the Discovery Curriculum includes the following requirements:

Core Skills
Writing 1, taken your first year - 3 Units
Writing Intensive (WI)*, taken Junior or Senior year - 3 Units
Quantitative Analysis (QA)* - 3 Units

Social & Cultural Perspectives
Social Differentiation (SD)* - 3 Units
Cultural Diversity (CD)* - 3 Units

Coherent Course Work
Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NS) - 8-9 Units
Social Sciences (SS) - 8-9 Units
Language & the Arts (LA) - 8-9 Units
Textual & Historical Studies (TH) - 8-9 Units

A Coherent Curriculum Plan, by the end of your second year

Completion of an approved major

In addition to the requirements above, you must complete:

• A total of 30 units at the 300 / 400 / 500 levels
  
• A total of 120 units required for graduation

Courses with one of these four designations may also partially fulfill the coherent course work requirements in the four Areas with Clusters (NS, SS, LA, TH); thus, they may “double count.”

 
Core Skills
These courses stress the importance of securing superior fundamental academic skills and a higher level of mastery in writing and quantitative reasoning. You take one course in each category; a minimum grade of C+ is required:

Writing 1
This course, taken your first year, provides foundational skills to prepare you to write effectively for a university audience.

Writing Intensive (WI)*
Courses designated WI, taken your junior or senior year, further strengthen your written communication skills. The WI course you choose combines advanced work in your major with concentrated attention to writing in that discipline; if a writing intensive course is not available in your area of specialization, another WI course may be substituted.

Quantitative Analysis (QA)*
Courses designated QA enhance your skills in quantitative reasoning, analysis, and problem solving. Through them, students learn to develop numerical analyses, make sense of complex arrays of quantitative data, and understand statistical arguments.

Social & Cultural Perspectives
Courses designated SD and CD emphasize your development of a breadth of social and cultural perspectives. You take one course in each of the two categories; they may be taken Pass/Fail.

Social Differentiation (SD)*
Courses designated SD consider the organization and possible division of societies by social categories, such as race, class, ethnicity, and gender.

Cultural Diversity (CD)*
Courses designated CD deepen your understanding of the diversity of cultures beyond those that are Anglo-American. Such courses may also explore diversity of values and cultures within nations and regions.

*Courses with one of these four designations may also partially fulfill the coherent course work requirements in the four Areas with Clusters (NS, SS, LA, TH); thus, they may “double count.”

Coherent Course Work
The elements described below enable you to develop coherence, integration, and meaningful connections between courses, as well as foster breadth and depth in your academic program. Within each of four Areas, students take 8–9 units of course work (this typically means 3 courses per Area since courses are usually 3 units each). The four Areas are:

• Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NS): This Area includes courses in biology, chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, mathematics, and physics, but also courses from other departments and programs, such as psychology, environmental studies, and anthropology.
  
• Social Sciences (SS): This Area involves the empirical and theoretical study of human action; it includes courses from anthropology, economics, education, political science, and psychology, as well as courses from other departments and programs.
  
• Language & the Arts (LA): This Area involves the study of a wide range of forms of expression, including languages, dance, drama, music, visual arts, film, and logic.
  
• Textual & Historical Studies (TH): This Area comprises courses in history, literature, philosophy, and religion, as well as other departments and programs traditionally related to the humanities.

Areas with Clusters
A Cluster within an Area is a group of related courses that are closely linked by a focus on a subject or by a method of analysis. You complete a Cluster in each of the four Areas. A minimum of 6 units in each Area must be taken as part of a Cluster.

Clustering enhances the coherence of a liberal arts education; it creates both synthesis and synergy. By taking clustered courses, you discover that the whole — the Cluster — is greater than the sum of its parts — the individual courses. Your exploration of a subject through a cluster of courses is intended to broaden and deepen your understanding and to possibly present that subject through the perspectives of different disciplines.

Plan
During your first two years, you explore existing and new interests. By the end of your second year, you create and submit your coherent Curriculum Plan by means of the Arts & Sciences online Planner. Please see your four-year advisor for guidance on using the online Planner.

Major
You must complete a major of no fewer than 18 units of courses numbered 300 or above. Additionally, you are encouraged to complete a synthesizing Capstone Experience in your major as a way of culminating your undergraduate education. To learn more about the areas of study, click here.