What Will They Learn?SM rates each college on whether the institution (or, in many cases, the Arts & Sciences or Liberal Arts divisions) requires seven core subjects: Composition, Literature, Foreign Language, U.S. Government or History, Economics, Mathematics, or Natural or Physical Science. The grade is based on a detailed review of the latest online course catalogs.
The fact that a college has requirements called Literature or Mathematics does not necessarily mean that students will actually study those subjects. "Distribution requirements" on most campuses permit students to pick from a wide range of courses that often are narrow or even outside the stated field altogether. To determine whether institutions have a solid core curriculum, we defined success in each of the seven subject areas outlined as follows:
Composition. An introductory college writing class, focusing on grammar, style, clarity, and argument. Writing-intensive courses or seminars and writing for a discipline where the instructors are not from the English or composition department do not count if they are the only component of a writing requirement. Remedial courses and SAT scores may not be used to satisfy a composition requirement.
Literature. A comprehensive literature survey. Narrow, single-author, or esoteric courses do not count for this requirement, but introductions to broad subfields (such as British or Latin American literature) do.
Foreign Language. Competency at the intermediate level, defined as at least three semesters of college-level study in any foreign language, or three years of high school work, or an appropriate examination score.
U.S. Government or History. A survey course in either U.S. government or history, with enough chronological and topical breadth to expose students to the sweep of American history and institutions. Narrow, niche courses do not count for the requirement, nor do courses that only focus on a narrow chronological period or a specific state or region.
Economics. A course covering basic economic principles, generally an introductory micro- or macroeconomics course taught by faculty from the economics or business department.
Mathematics. A college-level course in mathematics. Includes advanced algebra, trigonometry, calculus, computer programming, statistics/probability, or mathematical reasoning at or above the intermediate level. Remedial courses or SAT Reasoning Test scores may not be used as substitutes. Symbolic or mathematical logic courses and computer science courses count, while linguistics courses or computer literacy courses do not, as the math content is usually minimal.
Natural or Physical Science. A course in astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, physics, or environmental science, preferably with a laboratory component. Overly narrow courses, courses with weak scientific content, and courses taught by faculty outside of the science departments do not count. Psychology courses count if they are focused on the biological, chemical, or neuroscience aspects of the field.
With these criteria in mind, we assign grades based on how many of these seven subjects students are required to complete. If a qualifying course were one of several options that also included unqualified courses, the institution did not receive credit for the subject. The grading system is as follows:
A: 6-7 core subjects required
B: 4-5 core subjects required
C: 3 core subjects required
D: 2 core subjects required
F: 0-1 core subjects required