Mission Statement

A Quinnipiac education fosters in-depth learning, the gaining of disciplinary expertise (the major), and promotes an interdisciplinary understanding of the expertise in local and global contexts (the University Curriculum). In addition, a QU education inspires students to learn how to work independently both in and outside the classroom to gain a closer and more complex sense of themselves as citizens, intellectuals and human beings. Through the University Curriculum, intentional learning is fostered by studying human cultures, artistic and literary expressions, the physical and natural worlds, and the forces that have shaped and continue to shape our world. Students develop a flexible and open mind, the capacity to learn from others, effective communication skills and the ability to influence potential solutions to global problems. Students demonstrate their abilities through classroom and civic engagement, in both their local and global communities. A student’s education at Quinnipiac University is a single, reciprocal process with specialized education in the major integrated with general education, with each providing dimension to the other. In the way that the major leads a student to deep, disciplinary knowledge, general education leads a student to broad knowledge gained from multiple perspectives and in concert, they support the students’ achievement as measured by the Essential Learning Outcomes. A Quinnipiac University graduate is a well-rounded individual who demonstrates knowledge of science, cultures, numeracy, the arts, history and society as well as an ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges.

The requirements of the University Curriculum ensure that all students receive a broad education that exposes them to different perspectives and ways of knowing, producing lifelong learners who can, upon graduation, become leaders in their professions, in the communities where they live, and in their role as informed citizens. The University Curriculum also contributes significantly to the development of the Essential Learning Outcomes that are expected for graduates of Quinnipiac University.

Statement of Purpose for the Breadth Component

As a consequence of personal inquiry and a balanced, purposeful selection of courses representing diverse perspectives, students will:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of science, cultures, numeracy, history, arts and society.
  • Develop the skills, knowledge and diverse perspectives necessary to address complexity.
  • Acquire the scientific and cultural literacy necessary to be an informed and ethical citizen who can contribute to local and global society.
  • Reflect on and continue to develop meaning in their own lives and to see meaning in the lives of others.

This will be accomplished through a process whereby students:

  • Practice and compare a balanced mix of disciplinary perspectives across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, math and fine arts.
  • Progress toward achievement of the essential learning outcomes.
  • Examine multiple perspectives, environments and cultures ranging from the local to the global.
  • Interpret complex problems and challenges in novel ways, engendering and nurturing the habit of a flexible and open mind that seeks new opportunities and conceives new solutions.

University Curriculum for Bachelor’s Degree Candidates

For all bachelor’s degree candidates entering Quinnipiac University during or after Fall 2016, the University Curriculum consists of a minimum 46 credits as outlined in the following curriculum structure. Specific credit and course requirements for the UC may vary by major.

Foundations of Inquiry (4 classes = 12 credits)

FYS 101First-Year Seminar3
EN 101Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing3
EN 102Academic Writing and Research3
MA Mathematics3
MA 110, MA 140, MA 141, MA 151, MA 170, MA 176, MA 205, MA 206, MA 229, MA 275, MA 285
Total Credits12

First-Year Seminar

A Quinnipiac University education is directed toward forming a mindset of life-time learning, establishing an inclusive, excellence-driven community, nurturing local and global communities, and fostering lifelong connections and success. The first-year seminar initiates such an education as the starting point of the University Curriculum. Each student enrolls in a faculty-designed seminar constructed to help examine a complex problem, an enduring question, or new ideas from multiple perspectives. This seminar is designed to accomplish three essential goals that help prepare students for 21st-century careers and citizenship. First, it introduces students to the concept of inquiry as a process that utilizes multiple approaches and perspectives to investigate problems, questions, or ideas systematically. Students learn that the process of inquiry includes the collection, analysis and evaluation of various types of evidence. Second, the seminar enables students to practice inquiry through an investigation of a problem, question, or idea that faculty select from their areas of expertise. Finally, students begin to develop complex thinking skills that they will deepen throughout their undergraduate experience in the University Curriculum.

First-Year Writing

In the two-semester “Writing as Inquiry” foundational sequence of the University Curriculum, students are introduced to the idea that academic reading and writing are the forms of inquiry they will engage in throughout their education, including their major and capstone courses, and beyond. Reading and writing as forms of inquiry include comprehending difficult written materials across a variety of discourses, analyzing contexts and audiences and applying that analysis in their reading and writing practices. The courses in the breadth component will refine reading and writing as forms of inquiry in disciplinary and interdisciplinary contents, enabling an understanding of a variety of discourses and writing strategies for effective communication, including the conventions of writing as they influence the successful exchange of ideas in academic, professional and public forums.

Mathematics

Mathematics is both an art and a science, laying the foundation for many of the advances in modern science, technology and civilization. The power of mathematics lies in its focus on precise and logical reasoning to draw conclusions and make discoveries in many domains, both abstract and concrete. A student who studies mathematics learns strategies to solve problems, analyze situations, and justify conclusions. Mathematics is a foundational mode of inquiry required of all undergraduate students. Several courses fulfill this foundational requirement; each student selects the mathematics course based on interest and the requirements of their major. 

Disciplinary Inquiry (4 classes = 13 credits)

In the “Disciplinary Inquiry” phase of the University Curriculum, students make their first encounters with specific knowledge and methodologies in the disciplinary areas. This phase familiarizes students with the kinds of knowledge produced in these disciplinary areas and thus informs their choices as they undertake their “Personal Inquiry.” 

Students select one course from each of the disciplinary areas:

  • Natural Sciences: 4 credits
  • Humanities: 3 credits
  • Social Sciences: 3 credits
  • Fine Arts: 3 credits

Personal Inquiry (6 classes = minimum 18 credits)

The “Personal Inquiry” (PI) phase requires 18 credits with at least three Disciplinary Inquiry areas represented. This allows students significant flexibility in the selection of coursework. The Personal Inquiry requirement has two parts:

Part 1: In addition to those selected under Disciplinary Inquiry above, students will select one course from three different disciplinary areas:

  • Natural Sciences
  • Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Fine Arts

Part 2: The remaining three courses can be from disciplinary areas in Part 1 and/or UC Breadth Electives. Students can combine Disciplinary Inquiry areas and UC Breadth Electives in any pattern that totals 9 to 12 credits. [Note: natural science courses that are treated by the Registrar as two separate courses (lecture and lab) shall be treated as one course for the purposes of the PI requirement. Students could thus take up to four lecture-lab pairings in the PI.]

Integrative Capstone Experience (1 course = 3 credits)

If the Integrative Capstone is completed in the student’s major, then the student selects an additional unrestricted course in the University Curriculum.

Intercultural Understanding (1 course = minimum 3 credits)

As students purposefully select courses and progress through the Breadth part of the curriculum, it is imperative that all students develop the skills, knowledge and diverse perspectives necessary to acquire the understanding necessary to be informed and ethical citizens who can contribute to the local and global society.

To achieve this goal, within their 31 breadth component credits students are required to take at least 3 credits in classes marked as “I” (Intercultural Understanding). The classes with “I” designation can be chosen from any area in Disciplinary and/or Personal Inquiry. 

AN 101HHonors Local Cultures, Global Issues3
AN 103HDirt, Artifacts and Ideas3
ARB 210Arab Culture and Society3
CJ 232Women in the Criminal Justice System3
CN 210Chinese Culture and Civilization3
IB 105International Business Environment3
IB 201Globalization and International Business3
IT 211Italian Cinema (in Eng.)3
JP 210Introduction to Japanese Culture3
JS 101Introduction to Justice Studies3
PS 262Psychology of Women and Gender3
SO 320HHonors Sociology of Hip-Hop Culture3

University Curriculum Breadth Electives (formerly called “UC Electives”)

University Curriculum (UC) Breadth Electives are courses with generalizable and transferrable knowledge that are based in a single academic discipline outside of the four Disciplinary Inquiry areas (Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Fine Arts) or that reflect nationally established interdisciplinary areas. Such courses increase the disciplinary, methodological and cultural perspectives available to students in the University Curriculum, thereby extending the breadth of their knowledge to navigate successfully a complex and dynamic world.

AC 350Data Analysis With Excel3
ADPR 102Introduction to Advertising and Integrated Communications3
COM 215Social Media and Society3
FYS 101First-Year Seminar3
SO 320HHonors Sociology of Hip-Hop Culture3

Natural Sciences

AN 104Bones, Genes and Everything In Between3
AN 104LBones, Genes and Everything Lab In Between Lab1
BIO 207Coral Reef Organismal Diversity - An Immersive Approach3
CHE 111LGeneral Chemistry II Lab1
ENV 223Plastics - Miracle Or Curse?3
PHY 101Elements of Physics3
PHY 101LElements of Physics Lab1
PHY 111General Physics II3
PHY 111LGeneral Physics II Lab1
PHY 121University Physics4
PHY 122University Physics II4
SCI 102LEarth Sciences Lab1
SCI 161Nutrition: an Investigative Experience3

Social Sciences

AN 101HHonors Local Cultures, Global Issues3
AN 103HDirt, Artifacts and Ideas3
CJ 232Women in the Criminal Justice System3
IB 105International Business Environment3
IB 201Globalization and International Business3
JS 101Introduction to Justice Studies3
PS 261Social Psychology3
PS 262Psychology of Women and Gender3
SO 101Introduction to Sociology3
WGS 265HWork and Occupations3

Humanities

ARB 210Arab Culture and Society3
CN 210Chinese Culture and Civilization3
EN 222Comics and Graphic Novels3
JP 210Introduction to Japanese Culture3

Fine Arts

AR 102Art History: Ancient Through Medieval3
AR 140Basic Visual Design3
AR 210The Creative Process3
AR 241Color Theory3
AR 250Studio Art: Special Topic3
AR 251Studio Art: Drawing3
AR 252Studio Art: Painting3
AR 258Photography II3
AR 262Studio Art: Watercolor3
DR 140Stagecraft3
DR 150Performance Fundamentals Fundamentals3
DR 160Acting I3
DR 181Improvisational Acting3
DR 270World Theater History and Dramatic Literature I3
DR 275World Theater History and Dramatic Literature II3
IT 211Italian Cinema (in Eng.)3

Policy for Students Who Fail FYS 101

First-year students entering the university in the fall semester who withdraw from or fail to receive a passing grade for FYS 101 during that semester are given one chance to repeat the course during the first spring semester that they are enrolled at Quinnipiac. If on their second attempt they fail to complete or pass the course successfully, they may not take FYS 101 again. The student who fails to complete FYS on their second attempt receives no credit for FYS 101 and the failing grade (F) or course withdrawal remains on their transcript. The student must thereafter substitute 3 credits from any other UC-designated course to count toward required general education credits.

FYS 101 Policy for Transfer Students

A student who transfers to Quinnipiac with less than sophomore standing (fewer than 27 credits) shall enroll in FYS 101 in the student’s first semester at Quinnipiac. The policy for students who fail FYS also applies to transfer students with less than sophomore standing. Students who transfer to Quinnipiac with 27 or more credits must substitute any UC-designated course for FYS 101 to count toward the general education credits needed to graduate. 

Students may consult the 2015–16 University Catalog for more information on the University Curriculum required of all bachelor’s degree candidates who entered Quinnipiac University prior to Fall 2016.