Core Curriculum Program

Core Curriculum Program Overview

The Core Curriculum Program (the Core) is a 42-semester-hour program of study that is required of undergraduates to ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life.

Each course in the Core has been reviewed and approved on the basis of its potential to contribute to the achievement of the following six core objectives.

  • Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
  • Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
  • Empirical and Quantitative Skills - to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
  • Teamwork - to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
  • Personal Responsibility - to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making
  • Social Responsibility - to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities

Core Curriculum Program Courses

Students are encouraged to consult their degree plans for specific Core course requirements for their majors. Core curriculum courses are organized according to the Foundational Component Areas are listed below.

Communication
Select 6 hours of the following: 16
Foundation of Communication *,2
Writing and Rhetoric I 2
Writing and Rhetoric II *,2
Mathematics
Select one of the following:3
College Algebra
Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences
Calculus for Business & Social Sciences
Contemporary Mathematics
Statistics for Life *,^
Calculus I
Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
Life and Physical Sciences
Select two of the following:6
Science for Life I (Non-Majors Biology)
Biology I
Biology II
Anatomy and Physiology I
Anatomy and Physiology II
Principles of Microbiology
Introductory Chemistry *
General Chemistry I *
General Chemistry II
Environmental Science I: Intro to Environmental Science
Essentials of Geology *
Physical Geology
Historical Geology
Physical Geography
Introduction to Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies
Introduction to Astronomy: Solar System
General Physics I
General Physics II
University Physics I
University Physics II
Language, Philosophy and Culture
Select one of the following:3
Literature and Culture *
Literature of the Western World: From the Classics to the Renaissance *
Literature of the Western World: From the Enlightenment to the Present *
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Ethics
Spanish Civilization
Latin American Civilization
Introduction to Spanish Literature
Introduction to Latin American Literature
Creative Arts
Select one of the following:3
Art and Society
Art History Survey I
Art History Survey II
Film and Culture *,^
Understanding and Enjoying Music *
Elements of Musical Style
Theatre Appreciation
American History
Select 6 hours of the following:6
U.S. History to 1865 *
U.S. History Since 1865 *
Texas History
Government/Political Science
POLS 2305U.S. Government and Politics *,^3
POLS 2306State and Local Government *,^3
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Economics *
Macroeconomics Principles *
Microeconomics Principles *
Child Growth and Development
Mexican American and Latinx Politics
General Psychology *
Introduction to Sociology *
Component Area Option
Select 6 hours of the following: 36
1 - 2 Foundational Component Area Courses (not counted in a Foundational Area) 4
and/or
Public Speaking
Total Hours42
1

Students who have taken COMM 1315 Public Speaking (3 sch) previously at TAMUCC or another institution can count these courses toward completion of the Communication Foundational Component Area.

2

Students should complete the Communication Component Area by the end of the sophomore year. Students who transfer into the University without equivalent credit should complete these courses as soon as possible.

3

For 4-SCH courses that are taken as a Foundational Component Area requirement, students may count the extra 1 SCH of each course as part of the Component Area Option (to a maximum of 3 SCH).

4

Students who have passed MATH 2413 Calculus I (4 sch) may take MATH 2414 Calculus II (4 sch) to satisfy up to 4 hours of the Component Area Option.

*

Online offering

^

Blended offering

Transfer Students and the Core Curriculum Program

Transfer students will be advised through their college’s academic advising center.

For a list of transfer courses that will fulfill specific Core requirements, please see the appendix entitled “Lower-Division Transfer Courses: Common Courses.”

Students transferring credit hours to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi from other institutions may have various means of fulfilling the Core requirement.