Belmont Abbey Core Curriculum
The Belmont Abbey College Curriculum
All traditional students must complete the requirements of the core curriculum, which constitutes 50-53 of the 120 credit hours required for graduation. In addition to the core curriculum, each student selects an academic major, to which may be added a second major or a minor.
As its name suggests, the core curriculum lies at the heart of undergraduate education at Belmont Abbey College. Our core curriculum, along with our Catholic, Benedictine heritage and our historic campus, distinguishes the College from all other schools in our region. The knowledge, skills, and virtues that we seek to instill through core courses are a tangible manifestation of the spirit of the Benedictine founders of the College—as are the basilica, monastery, and original school buildings. They all testify that the mission of Belmont Abbey College is to cultivate both the mind and the spirit.
The focus of our core curriculum is the Platonic triad of the good, the true, and the beautiful. The goal of this curriculum—and of all study at the Abbey—is to enable students to grow in knowledge and virtue so that they can live full lives that will benefit themselves and others. We believe that studying the liberal arts in the light of Judeo-Christian values, reflecting on them, and cultivating the habits of mind they encourage will help students to think critically, to write and speak well, to master quantitative skills, and to understand how different disciplines, periods, cultures, and peoples have dealt with the great questions of life. Contemplating these questions ideally leads to wisdom and prepares students to live lives of integrity, constantly striving to improve themselves and the world in which they live. The Abbey’s core courses, beginning with the First-Year Experience, introduce students to the knowledge, values, traditions, and academic culture characteristic of a Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts education. The faculty of Belmont Abbey College have therefore developed the following list of Core Competencies that we believe our core curriculum inculcates in our students:
- Students will understand the principles and processes of the natural sciences, social sciences, and mathematics.
- Students will be theologically literate, acquainted with the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and show an appreciation for the Benedictine ethos.
- Students will understand and appreciate the traditions and history of Western thought and culture.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to reason critically and analytically.
- Students will be information literate and will be able to demonstrate they can access needed information, evaluate information and sources critically, and use information effectively, legally, and ethically.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to write competently.