WCore Liberal Arts Education
WCore
WCore is Westminster University's general education program designed to give you a well-rounded academic experience. In this program, you’ll take foundational courses to expand your knowledge, investigate and express your interests, and explore new subjects and ideas.
WCore courses will help you develop academic literacy early and apply your knowledge in meaningful ways. Instead of memorizing facts, you’ll develop skills in synthesis, communication, and disciplinary research. Class sizes are small, allowing you to get the support and attention you need from your professors. With a manageable number of required credit hours, you will have flexibility in your schedule to pursue minors, electives, or even take additional WCore courses that interest you.
Your advisor can help you design a major or choose which minor is right for you. Ultimately, WCore will help you reach your educational goals and prepare you for what lies ahead when you leave Westminster.
AP and IB credits will count toward graduation as general electives and fulfill some major requirements. However, they will not count toward the completion of WCore.
Honors College students meet all of Westminster’s general education requirements through their course curriculum and do not need to take WCore courses.
WCore Requirements
WESTX courses help you explore career pathways, discover on-campus resources and opportunities, and build the confidence and skills needed to succeed after graduation.
- WESTX 101 Westminster Experience: In your first semester, get to know university resources and policies; consider majors, minors, and career options; and prepare for academic success.
- WESTX 201 Career Exploration: During your second year, dive deeper into career paths by developing professional skills and decision-making strategies.
- WESTX 301 Career Readiness: Develop career confidence in your final year by learning the skills and strategies that connect your major to the professional world.
Explore your interests across disciplines through courses designed for active and engaged learning. Choose 1 course per area:
Creativity and Performance
Develop and expand your creative thinking and problem-solving skills through innovation, divergent thinking, and risk-taking. Creativity and performance courses allow you to hone your unique voice using synthesis, reflection, critique, and creative expression.
Course examples:
- MUSC 132 Sound, Music, and Technology
- LMW 230 Introduction to Creative Writing
- SOC 210 Meow or Never: Cats in Society
- ART 128 Maker Lab
Critical Explorations
Cultivate critical thinking and communication skills by investigating texts, media, ideas, and historical periods. Critical explorations courses teach you the skills to construct an academic argument, use scholarly sources, and gain information literacy through drafting, reflecting, and revising academic writing.
Course examples:
- FILM 110 Making Sense of Movies
- HIST 202 America’s Best Idea: History of National Parks
- LMW 202 Worlds of Fantasy
- PHIL 208 Philosophy of Love and Sex
Culture and Diversity
Broaden your cultural awareness, challenge assumptions, and engage with diverse cultural traditions around the world. Culture and diversity courses help you develop your sense of civic responsibility by examining problems in historical and cultural contexts.
Course examples:
- GNDR 101 Gender, Sex, and Identity
- NURS 109 Sociology, Wellness, and Health
- PHIL 216 Ethical Issues in Health and Healthcare
- SOC 253 Sociology of the Family
Mathematics and Reasoning
Explore mathematical and logical reasoning to better evaluate data and ideas, construct arguments, and identify patterns. Mathematics and reasoning courses provide you with opportunities to apply skills to real-world scenarios.
Course examples:
- CMPT 150 Math and Technology of Entertainment Arts
- PHIL 103 Critical Thinking
- MATH 103 Counting Votes
- MUSC 209 A Mathemusical Offering
Physical and Natural World
Explore and explain how our natural world works by asking questions about the unknown, synthesizing knowledge, and exploring how new knowledge is generated across a variety of disciplines. Physical and natural world courses take a look at modern science and society using common disciplinary strategies.
Course examples:
- BIOL 201 Geobiology of the Universe
- ENVI 115 Science of the Environment
- NEURO 117 Yep! Brains are Cool
- PHYS 208 Citizen Science Astronomy Research
Power, Institutions, and Behavior
Examine how people think and interact with the world through courses focused on power, institutions, and behavior. You’ll examine power dynamics, societal structures, and human behavior, gaining insight into your relationship with the world, and an understanding of how it operates.
Course examples:
- COMM 101 Disinformation in the USA
- HIST 124 Film and Memory
- NURS 101 Aging Matters
- PHIL 131 Philosophy of Gender and Power
Learning Communities are a combination of 2 courses from different disciplines that are linked by a common theme. All full-time, first-year students are required to join 1 Learning Community in the Fall Semester. You’ll be with the same group of students for both courses, so you can build on shared experiences and develop lasting relationships. There are plenty of options, so you can choose a learning community that fits your interests.
Engaging the World is a graduation requirement that deepens your understanding of global communities and your role within them, preparing you to be an informed global citizen. You'll build on what you learned in your first- and second-year WCore courses to advance social transformation, equity, and parity within local and global communities. You’ll also challenge your biases and prejudices and develop a deeper understanding of your place in an integrated, complex, and interdependent society.
Complete the Engaging the World requirement with one of the following offerings:
A senior capstone is a required course you take during your senior year where you produce a project that demonstrates the knowledge and skills you've developed at Westminster. Project types vary depending on the course objectives specific to your major.
Examples of capstone projects include creating a visual art collection; designing a poster to describe independent research; writing a reflection on an impactful clinical experience; developing a collection of poems; and presenting a business plan.
You may choose to share your capstone project, or a different project, at the Westminster Student Showcase. The Student Showcase is an annual event where the entire campus community is invited to explore students’ research, professional and clinical experiences, field studies, art exhibits, and more.
Your Path to Engage, Explore, Experience, Extend
WCore is designed to fit your interests every step of the way. Your WCore experience will look something like this:
First Year: Engage
- Engage with a Learning Community in Fall Semester
- Register for WESTX 101 Westminster Experience
- Register for your choice of WCore courses
Second Year: Explore
- Fulfill the Engaging the World requirement with Sophomore Study Away if you enrolled as a first-year student the previous Fall
- Register for WESTX 201 Career Exploration
- Register for your choice of WCore courses
Third Year: Experience
- Land an internship
- Travel and learn through an Engaging the World experience
Fourth Year: Extend
- Register for WESTX 301 Career Readiness
- Complete a capstone project and share it during the Student Showcase
I never thought that it was possible for me to feel enlightened by a math class, but
Social Justice by the Numbers has opened my eyes to the way that math impacts society—and
how math literacy can be essential to combating various social issues. The knowledge
I've gained from this class has been surprising; the world of mathematics is a lot
more intertwined with society than I could ever have imagined.”
Blake
It was an extraordinary experience to learn about all of the national parks' geology,
how they formed and how they still continue to change today which then gives light
as to why these lands should be protected and preserved. I found this course to be
very interesting for the fact that I was born and raised in Utah and therefore I was
very eager to learn about the many national parks that I've grown up exploring and
the National Parks that I have yet to visit.”
Katrina
When it came time to do a final creative project [for (being} Creative], Heidi inspired
me to dream big and think small: so I designed what my dream theatre company would
be. The class ended, and that dream grew to a reality and I have now done two productions
(working on a third) that have all raised funds for different nonprofit organizations
while giving a voice to women.”
Maggie