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The Core at The College of Saint Rose

What is The Core and why does it matter?

The set of courses required outside of your major are called different things at colleges and universities, such as liberal arts, liberal education, or general education requirements.

At Saint Rose, we believe these courses are essential to your college education. That’s why we call it The Core.

In high school, you learned the foundations – drilling concepts and facts so you would learn what you needed to know to get to college. Now, we take you to the next level of your educational growth.

The Core at Saint Rose isn’t just a menu of courses you choose from so you can check them off on your way to your degree. We want you to enjoy this journey and build valuable critical-thinking skills that help you to be:

  • Intellectually flexible and curious
  • Culturally literate
  • A wise consumer of information and good researcher
  • An advocate for yourself and others
  • A strong problem-solver and communicator
  • A socially responsible citizen who makes ethical decisions based on mutual respect

Now more than ever, the professional world seeks employees who can work in diverse teams, problem-solve, and adapt to changing circumstances. The Core helps you to develop these skills, which serve you in your career and in life.

People are shifting career paths now more than ever. With the foundation of The Core, you will be prepared to be successful in many roles, no matter what degree you earned at Saint Rose.

How The Core works

The Core is 33 credits of your bachelor’s degree program. Nine areas of emphasis comprise The Core, and you have flexibility to choose courses under each area of emphasis.

  1. Expository Writing, Speaking, and Research Techniques
  2. Literary Studies
  3. Study of World Languages and Cultures
  4. Philosophical and Religious Traditions
  5. Scientific Knowledge and Inquiry
  6. Mathematical Reasoning
  7. Computational Logic and Reasoning
  8. Social Scientific Knowledge and Inquiry
  9. Historical Knowledge, Analysis, and Perspective

Our diversity requirement

Because development of the whole person and building an inclusive community are part of our Saint Rose founding values, we feel it is important that our students strive to understand those with experiences that may differ from their own. That’s why we require that all students pursuing bachelor’s degrees at Saint Rose take three credits that fulfill our diversity requirement. Those credits can be either a class within a student’s major or a class that also counts toward The Core.

Explore our full catalog for undergraduate courses of study at The College of Saint Rose.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Core is 33 credits. For the average bachelor’s degree program, that’s approximately 28% of your courses at Saint Rose, though that percentage varies by major.

General education or liberal arts and sciences courses are a required part of a bachelor’s program under the New York State Department of Education. But beyond that – and most importantly –The Core helps build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and introduces you to new ideas and perspectives. You can better understand the world around you, and people from various backgrounds, with this sort of foundation. You’ll be a better contributor to your community as a result.

There are enough choices within each area of emphasis that you can find a course that suits your needs. And don’t forget, Saint Rose was named a top 25 institution for undergraduate teaching by U.S. News & World Report. Our professors are here to help, and we have wonderful free resources available to all students, such as our Tutoring Center and Writing Center. Fulltime students also may elect to take one course each semester, including courses which fulfill The Core requirements (except ENG 105), on a pass/fail basis.

Most of the courses in The Core will be taken in your first and second years at the College. Transfer students who meet the Seamless Transfer requirements would not have to take courses within The Core.

Your advisor will work with you to check over your schedule each semester and help keep you on track to graduation.

Let’s talk about it!

Our undergraduate admissions team has a combined 50+ years of experience and is happy to answer any questions you might have!

Undergraduate Admissions Team

Scanlan Hall
1001 Madison Ave.
Albany NY, 12203

518.454.5150