All undergraduates share a common core curriculum designed to ensure students have a well-rounded base of knowledge and to spark academic curiosity. Each student will additionally have school- and major-specific requirements depending on the area(s) of study. Through their courses in the Newcomb-Tulane College general education curriculum, students cultivate their spirit of intellectual inquiry and creativity; hone their skills in the vital areas of critical thinking and effective communication; and learn to make well-grounded judgments about information and arguments. They develop their sense of personal and social responsibility and their local and global awareness in order to become informed, engaged and conscientious members of their communities.
The catalog content is determined by the Dean of Newcomb-Tulane College and the Newcomb-Tulane College Curriculum Committee.
The Tulane University Catalog is published by the Office of the University Registrar. To update course information or with questions about Newcomb-Tulane College catalog content, please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@tulane.edu or (504) 865-5231.
Approved by the Faculty, March 2017
Newcomb-Tulane College’s general education curriculum was revised to develop information literacy, critical thinking, and personal and social responsibility in our students.
The core curriculum—which is composed of a minimum of 30 credits—is divided into two parts: proficiency requirements and a distribution of knowledge. To ensure that students experience the breadth of knowledge at the collegiate level, AP and IB courses can be used to satisfy proficiency requirements only in Formal Reasoning and Foreign Language.
Courses will be designated as satisfying the distribution requirements according to the content and methodology rather than the departmental affiliation of the course.
The new core curriculum general education requirements will go into effect with the entering class of 2018.
Courses proposed to satisfy core requirements will be ratified by the Newcomb-Tulane Curriculum Committee.
Newcomb-Tulane College expects all students to demonstrate the ability to communicate successfully in writing for a variety of audiences and purposes, including academic writing, through rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, primary and secondary research, flexible writing processes, and developing knowledge of conventions. This requirement strengthens writing skills and prepares students for the range of writing they will be called upon to produce in their lives and careers.
Tier 1: Freshman writing (ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1011) unless the student is exempt due to their score on the A.P/I.B./Cambridge-A level exams. See https://advising.tulane.edu/sites/advising.tulane.edu/files/AP-IB%20Char... to determine minimum scores required. Students receiving exemption from ENGL 1010/1011 are required to take an approved Tier-1 writing class during their first year. At least 1/3 of the grade based upon writing (excluding in class exams), but no revision is required.
Tier 2: One additional Tier-2 writing course at the 2000 level or above taken from an approved list. At least 1/3 of the grade based upon writing (excluding in class exams), to include revision and re-evaluation by the instructor.
Student are encouraged to take the Tier-1 writing course prior to taking the Tier-2 writing course; however, students are not prohibited from taking the Tier-1 and Tier-2 courses simultaneously.
Note: creative writing courses cannot be used to satisfy the writing proficiency requirement.
Learning Outcomes – Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the student to demonstrate their proficiency in writing through the following objectives:
For Tier-2 Writing Classes, the above objectives plus:
Newcomb-Tulane College expects all students to demonstrate they think with rigor and precision and can use formal or mathematical models for logical reasoning and objective analysis. Students will display basic quantitative literacy at a minimum.
One course in mathematics or symbolic logic (PHIL 1210)
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the students to demonstrate their proficiency in formal reasoning through the following objectives:
In an increasingly interconnected world, it is essential that Newcomb-Tulane College students learn to understand and communicate in languages other than English. Beyond practical considerations, language education opens doors to the wide variety of human cultures and histories that are a critical part of learning to cooperate and solving global problems. Students should demonstrate a linguistic knowledge other than their language of origin.
The foreign language proficiency requirement is achieved in any of the following ways:
This requirement is waived for students in B.S.E. programs.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require that students demonstrate their foreign language proficiency through demonstration of the following objective:
A course can satisfy only one of the distribution areas
Study in the natural sciences teaches students about the physical world, including matter, energy, and their interrelations and transformations. Students learn to describe, predict, and understand natural phenomena based on empirical evidence obtained from observation and experimentation. Mathematics is the science of number, quantity and space, and may be studied in its own right or as it is applied to other disciplines. Students should have an appreciation of what science is, how science is done, and the mathematical tools used in scientific endeavors to deal with the ever-increasing body of scientific and technical knowledge.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require that the student demonstrate their understanding of mathematics and the natural sciences through the following objectives:
Mathematics:
Natural Sciences
The Social and Behavioral Sciences encompass the empirical and interpretive study of political, social and economic institutions and the relationships between individuals within a society. Social scientists use multiple methods, including quantitative and qualitative research, to understand human behavior. Newcomb-Tulane College contends that study in the social sciences helps students learn to be active, responsible, and reflective members of society.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require that the student demonstrate their competence in the social and behavioral sciences through the following objectives:
Tulane undergraduates should evaluate literary, philosophical, and historical texts. This area of the curriculum introduces exposes students to the methods used to examine and interpret fundamental issues of human experience.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the student to demonstrate their proficiency through the following objectives:
Newcomb-Tulane undergraduate students should be able to understand the creative process and various forms of artistic expression. The arts are a necessary and fundamental medium through which people communicate, understand, and respond to the complexity and richness of the human experience. Education in the arts helps students to be well-rounded and creative thinkers with the capacity to develop new ideas and enriches their lives by cultivating their sense of aesthetics.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the student to demonstrate their proficiency through one of the following objectives:
The Tulane Interdisciplinary Experience Seminar (TIDES) Program provides students the opportunity to make meaningful connections with a small group of their peers and some of our best faculty. Active learning, intellectual challenges, and social co-curricular activities define the TIDES experience. To promote interdisciplinary scholarship and an
understanding of mission and scope of the Newcomb-Tulane College, all undergraduates participate in a TIDES seminar during their first year at Tulane. These courses bring together small groups of students and faculty to explore academic topics and the city of New Orleans from multiple academic perspectives.
Requirement: This requirement can be satisfied by TIDES (1 course) or The Honors Colloquium.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the student to demonstrate their competence through the following objectives:
At Tulane, academic service learning is an educational experience based upon a collaborative partnership between the university and local, national, and international communities and partner organizations. Service learning guides students in applying academic knowledge to meet community-identified needs and address systemic inequities. Through structured reflection, students develop critical thinking skills, deepen their academic learning, and gain an enhanced sense of civic responsibility and social justice.
Requirements:
Students develop their commitment to civic engagement through two tiers of service. All students will complete their public service tiers through service-learning courses, an approved public service internship, or an approved public service research experience. These courses can also be used to satisfy other areas of general education.
Tier 1—service-learning courses at the 1000-3000 level to be completed by the end of the 1st semester of Junior year, requiring a minimum of 20 hours of service per semester
Tier 2—options include: service-learning courses at the 3000-level or above, a public service internship, international community engagement programs, Public Service Fellows program, a service independent study course/Honors Thesis, or an approved Study Abroad course--to be completed from the 1st semester as a Sophomore through the last semester as a Senior.
Service Learning courses require a minimum of 20 hours of service per semester. Those service learning courses designated as requiring a minimum of 40 hours of service carry one additional credit hour. No course may carry more than 4 credits.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the student to demonstrate their civic engagement through the following objectives:
The Race and Inclusion requirement ensures that all Newcomb-Tulane College graduates are exposed to issues surrounding race and race relations in the United States from many perspectives – historical, political, cultural, economic, artistic, social, and more. This requirement brings to the forefront the histories of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.
Courses that fulfill this requirement will focus on the intersections of race with power, privilege, equity, justice, and/or inclusion and will focus at least 60% their content on these issues in the United States. These courses may also be used to satisfy proficiency or distribution core curriculum requirements.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the students to demonstrate their competence through the following objective:
Global Perspectives coursework focuses on a global-international context and provides students with the tools to identify and explore various non-U.S. cultural perspectives. Newcomb-Tulane College seeks to prepare its graduates to be global citizens who are aware of and understand the wider world and their place in it so that they can take an active role in their communities.
Requirements: Courses that fulfill this requirement will focus at least 60% content with stated objectives to develop historical, cultural, and societal knowledge of an area beyond the United States. These courses may also be used to satisfy proficiency or distribution core curriculum requirements.
Learning Outcomes: Courses that fulfill these requirements will require the students to demonstrate their competence through the following objectives:
