The essence of the Calvin Core
The Calvin Core is designed to equip you for a life of significance and service. You will be introduced to the Reformed Christian theological tradition, acquire basic competences and skills, and develop broad knowledge and understanding in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences. Your studies will culminate in a cross-disciplinary exploration of a contemporary challenge or enduring question.
Classes You’ll Take Here
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Foundations
Draw from the wisdom of scripture and thinkers across the disciplines as a foundation for your liberal arts education.
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Competencies and Skills
Develop skills in writing, information literacy, language, and physical fitness for lifelong learning and wellness.
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Knowledge and Understanding
Gain a breadth of knowledge across the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, mathematics, and world languages, building towards greater understanding of God’s world.
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Cross-Disciplinary Integration
Diversity and Difference
Work across barriers to further justice and embody the reconciling power of the gospel.
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Environmental Sustainability
Care for the earth as a gift from the Creator and as a home that sustains life in all its interdependent forms.
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Global Regions and Cultures
Engage with neighbors around the world and honor the experiences and perspectives of all God’s children.
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Contemporary Challenges and Enduring Questions
Apply cross-disciplinary perspectives to examine enduring questions and to address contemporary challenges and begin living out your vocation in Christian witness to the world.
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Technology and Society
Choose from courses like…
Mathematical Sciences
- CS 100: Creating Interactive Web Media
- Learn how to produce and publish your own interactive content on the web.
- DATA 102: Foundations of Data Science and Analytics
- Learn how to make big decisions using big data.
Arts, Oral Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric
- COMM 180: Communicating with Digital Media
- In cutting-edge production facilities, you will learn fundamental techniques of filming and editing to create engaging digital media stories.
Contemporary Challenges and Enduring Questions
- IDIS 310: Science in Society
- Explore the types of questions that can be answered by science and how scientists work with the rest of society to tackle important challenges in areas like health and the environment.
And many more!
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Social Justice, Law, and Ethics
Choose from courses like…
Humanities
- POLS 110: Foundations of Political Community
- Learn how conceptions of identity relate to different understandings of political community, and ultimately, to the question of who and what a citizen is.
- POLS 240: Freedom, Justice, and Political Authority
- Enter into to a millennia-old conversation regarding the biggest questions about what is most fundamental to our humanity, what the good life looks like, and the promises and perils involved in trying to live together well.
- COMM 305: Persuasion and Propaganda
- Study practical skills in persuasion, learning how to ethically influence others in work and everyday life and then how to critique and resist persuasive messages that can harm us.
- REL 262: Social Justice: From the Prophets to Jesus
- Explore contemporary political issues through the biblical lens of social and ecological justice and delve into the Bible's complex portrayal of difficult topics like race, gender, and disability.
And many more!
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The Arts
Choose from courses like…
Arts, Oral Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric
- ENGL 260: The Craft of Writing
- Plunge into several genres of writing—short fiction, poetry, memoir, creative non-fiction, book reviews—in preparation for the writing major and the life of the freelance writer.
- MUSC 103: Understanding and Enjoying Music
- Learn to listen well so you can understand how people everywhere use music to express who they are and who they want to be.
- MUSC 182: Gospel Choir
- Sing, clap, dance and rejoice with fellow students who share a passion for gospel music and the connections made in its presence, while learning a variety of gospel styles such as traditional, praise and worship, contemporary, improvisation, and more.
- MUSC 236: Music in Worship
- Learn about the history of music in worship from Biblical times to the present and discuss philosophical, scriptural, aesthetical and practical considerations in worship service planning with a focus on the use of music.
And many more!
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Global Health and Culture
Choose from courses like…
Environmental Sustainability
- BIO 364: Global Health, Environment, and Sustainability
- Use current scientific synthesis reports to explore why planetary health matters to human health and the practical steps we all can take to ensure a more sustainable future as a fitting response to God’s call to care for the creation.
- ENST 210: Human Impacts on the Environment
- While meeting in Calvin’s Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens, you will learn about ecological systems that sustain the beauty and diversity of God’s creation and about how humans have modified those systems over time, impacting it both positively and negatively.
Global Regions and Cultures
- HIST 242: Africa and the World
- Discover and explore the multitude of connections between Africa and different world regions over history.
- SPAN 309: Introduction to the Hispanic World II
- Gain a better understanding of our Hispanic neighbors by learning about their fascinating and often surprising history as well as their rich and diverse cultural contributions.
And many more!
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Off-Campus Opportunities
Choose from opportunities like…
Environmental Sustainability
- Impact of Clean Water: Honduras
- Travel to Honduras to experience how the quest for clean water shapes the lives of the local people.
- Dutch Sustainability: Is Orange the New Green?
- You will explore the Netherlands’ richly varied history through daily field excursions focusing on land reclamation, water management, infrastructure design, energy production, food production, and environmental preservation—innovations that have given rise to complex interrelationships between Dutch society, technology, and environment.
Global Regions and Cultures
- Cross-cultural Medicine in Nepal
- Compare and contrast healthcare systems between Nepal and the US by staying at a missionary hospital in a rural region of Nepal, a rehabilitation hospital for Nepalis living with disabilities, and learning about challenges in nutrition and mental healthcare in Nepal. You will learn about the joys and challenges of living in a different culture and deepen your faith and compassion for others as you interact with the Nepali people.
Humanities
- On Pilgrimage with Dante and Florence
- Study one of the world’s most famous stories of an epic journey by taking one yourself! Spend May living in the heart of Florence—one of the world’s most fabulous cities—learning about the literary, cultural, and theological contexts of Dante’s Divine Comedy. And the gelato is pretty great, too!
- British History and Culture
- Discover the rich complexity of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—by studying its history, by traveling on numerous excursions throughout Britain, and by living in the busy port city of Liverpool.
And many more!
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Graduate with a fuller view of God’s world and your place in it.
The Calvin Core prepares you to make a lasting impact in your world, providing you the opportunity to learn broadly in ways that match your interests.
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