Central Curriculum

Susquehanna's innovative Central Curriculum provides students the skills necessary to succeed in graduate studies and in an increasingly diverse marketplace. Debuting in the 2009–10 academic year, the required coursework spans all academic departments and ties directly to the learning goals faculty and staff have developed for all Susquehanna students.

The Central Curriculum courses provide the foundation for 21st-century learning in six main areas: Richness of Thought, Natural World, Human Interaction, Intellectual Skills,  Connections and Capstone. The curriculum is distinctive in its approach to diversity study and cross-cultural learning, and also in its emphasis on ethics and intellectual skills-intensive courses. 

Cross-Cultural Learning and Diversity

All students will participate in a cross-cultural experience and afterward complete a course that will support reflection on the experience. Susquehanna's GO (Global Opportunities) Program provides students the flexibility to meet this requirement through a semester-length GO Long study-away program or a Go Short program.

The cross-cultural experience course is included in the curriculum's Connections section, which also calls for all students to take two diversity courses. One diversity course will introduce students to human diversity on a theoretical level. Examples include Introduction to Women's Studies and Cultural Anthropology. The other diversity requirement will be an intensive course likely to occur within the student's major, or an elective course. The intensive course will help students apply their understanding of diversity issues to real world scenarios. 

Ethics

So that all students will leave Susquehanna with a strong sense of personal and professional ethics, they will complete an ethics course in the curriculum’s Human Interaction section. As a result, they will understand and be able to articulate the implications of ethical questions in life and society. They will learn multiple theories for evaluating ethical claims and be able to take and justify an ethical position. Examples of such courses are Resolving Moral Conflicts and Faiths and Values. In addition, all students will choose an ethics intensive course, which will delve into ethical reasoning and analysis in a more applied manner.

Skill Intensives

After taking a Writing and Thinking course, students will further develop their writing and oral skills through intensive courses in their major area of study. As a result, they will learn to listen effectively and articulate an informed opinion and argument orally and in writing. They also will learn to use the appropriate presentation skills based on the audience and situation. The third skill requirement—team intensive—will prepare students to develop positive working relationships within a team to analyze and solve problems. These courses, and others in the Intellectual Skills section of the curriculum, are essential for Susquehanna students to contribute effectively as educated citizens of our world.