Core Curriculum

As a Christian liberal arts college, Gordon is dedicated to preparing you for a lifelong journey of Christian faithfulness. The Core Curriculum exists to help us carry out this mission. Taken over your four years at Gordon, the Core Curriculum will ensure that your educational and transformational journey is not one-dimensional, but characterized by both depth and breadth. You will achieve depth by digging deeply into your major area of study, and breadth by exploring a wide range of academic disciplines through the Core Curriculum. The Learning Outcomes for the Core Curriculum were developed to align with these objectives and guide the teaching and learning process.

The Core Curriculum consists of two parts:

Common Core

Developing a Christian perspective on life and learning

The Common Core introduces you to topics and questions that are valuable in developing a Christian worldview, and for pursuing shalom in a diverse world. It ensures that all students, regardless of their majors, will share a common educational experience. This collective experience plays a central role in fostering a vibrant community of learning and marks one of Gordon’s defining characteristics.

Common Core Requirements

First-Year Seminar: The Great Conversation–Foundations in Thinking, Reading, and Writing (2-4)
Biblical Studies and Theology (12):
- Old Testament History, Literature, and Culture (4)
- New Testament History, Literature, and Culture (4)
- Christian Theology (4)
The Scientific Enterprise (4)
Historical Perspectives (4)
La Vida/Discovery
World Language (0-8)

Exploratory Core

Exploring the breadth of the liberal arts and sciences from a Christian perspective

The Exploratory Core gives you the opportunity to explore the arts and sciences from a faith perspective, with courses in each of the four main fields of inquiry—fine arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. As part of our shalom commitment, students entering in 2022-2022 will complete at least one shalom tagged course from the Social Science or Fine Arts options.