College of Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum
Class of 2027 and Later (CASCC)
For students pursuing degrees under the requirements of the Course Catalog for Academic Year 2023–24 and subsequent academic years
Other students, see the College Core Curriculum (CCC) requirements
The College of Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum is designed to give students the breadth of study necessary to be broadly educated citizens aware of a wide expanse of human knowledge and experience, and to help students discover and develop new interests and useful skills. In addition to broad exposure to ideas, the curriculum also requires students to spend part of their studies delving deeply into a particular area of study through the choice of a major.
The curriculum is centered on the ethos of the liberal arts. Through study in the College of Arts & Sciences, students will develop facility with tools such as writing, oral communication and information literacy. These skills will be developed through the study of academic disciplines that interpret, reflect and critique human experience, as well as learning of human knowledge about and human connection to natural phenomena. These disciplines will be studied individually and in reference to one another to provide students with a collection of intellectual and essential skills to understand and contribute to subjects both timeless and contemporary. Students will be prepared to appreciate the world we inhabit and, more significantly, be prepared to be responsible and engaged citizens of our interconnected world.
Within the structure of the curriculum, students will have latitude to determine their exact course of study with the support of faculty advising. Such latitude is inherent in the design of the curriculum so as to promote intellectual exploration and growth.
Components of the College of Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum
There are four components to the College Core Curriculum — each with its own set of requirements.
Foundational Experiences
- 1 Foundation Seminar
- 1 Integrated Perspectives Course
- 1 Foreign Language Course*
- 1 Lab Science Course*
- 1 Quantitative Reasoning Course*
- 1 Race, Power and Inequality Course*
- 1 Nature, People and Justice Course*
- 1 Global Connections Course*
*These courses may double count in the Disciplinary Exploration section of the curriculum.
Explore Foundational Experiences requirements
Disciplinary Exploration
- 2 Natural Sciences & Mathematics Division Courses
- 2 Social Sciences Division Courses
- 4 Arts & Humanities Division Courses
Learn more about Disciplinary Exploration requirements
Disciplinary Depth
- The Major(s)
- Academic Conventions of Writing, Speaking and Information Literacy
- Culminating Experience
Read about Disciplinary Depth requirements
Additional notes: AP and IB credits may only be used to fulfill Disciplinary Exploration requirements. Credits transferred from other institutions may be used to fulfill CASCC requirements (Foundational Experiences or Disciplinary Exploration) only when approved by the appropriate department chair and/or the director of the CASCC. Any course that fulfills a CASCC requirement may also count toward a major or minor or to fulfill the Writing Requirement. Courses satisfying major requirements may satisfy other requirements.
CASCC Credit for Transfer Courses
There are many courses that can transfer to Bucknell and receive a core curriculum designation. Some will need to go through an approval process, but some may be pre-approved.
Learn more about getting core curriculum credit for transfer courses