When you think about General Education requirements, you might think about a list of classes you have to take before you can get to the important classes in your major.
But what if those Gen Ed classes were the foundation for everything else? What if they were designed to prepare you personally and professionally? That is the goal of the new St. Ambrose Core curriculum, launching Fall 2026 on the St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy campuses.
Its mission is simple but bold: To provide students with the knowledge, skills, and ethical grounding to work mercifully and courageously to create a just future.
What is the Core curriculum?
A streamlined set of Gen Ed courses that help you build foundational skills for your degree, work, and life—rooted in Ambrosian values: wisdom, courage, mercy, justice, and service.
Students take 12 classes (one in each interdisciplinary area), 36 credits total.
More options to design your degree
One of the biggest changes in the new Core is flexibility. Because the new requirements are streamlined, 36 credits, you have more room to make your degree your own.
This structure gives you the space to supplement your major with:
- Minors
- Certificates
- Micro-credentials
This means you can design a distinctive academic pathway that prepares you for a successful career and a meaningful life.
Cultivate the skills you need for today’s workplace
Employers today aren’t just looking for people who know facts; they are looking for people who can think, communicate, and solve problems. These are the actual tools you’ll use whether you’re launching a startup, advocating for change in your community, or just trying to figure out what’s real on the internet.
The Core is organized around six essential skills that you will develop across 12 interdisciplinary areas:
- Holistic inquiry and analysis: Using both faith and reason to engage with the questions that matter most.
- Effective communication and creative expression: Learning how to write and communicate more effectively and to express oneself creatively.
- Quantitative literacy and problem solving: Using data and math to evaluate information and formulate plans of action.
- Human literacy and critical thinking: Using evidence to explore the natural world, history, and the human experience.
- Intercultural knowledge and civic engagement: Examining global and local differences and recognizing the power of diverse perspectives.
- Integrative learning and ethical action: Applying theological and philosophical lenses to complex questions to envision a just world.
These skills aren’t separate boxes you check off. They build on each other. And by the time you’re done with the new Core, you’ll have a toolkit for navigating a complicated world with confidence.
Focused on real-world questions
Memorizing content can be stressful, and it’s sometimes hard to understand why that content matters. Core courses are question-based. They are designed around contemporary and enduring, relevant questions that foster connections between what you learn in the classroom and what is happening in the real world.
These courses are learner-centered, meaning they honor the knowledge you bring to the table while challenging you to apply what you learn to complex problems.
The bottom line
The new Core curriculum is the foundation for your entire educational experience. It’s about more than just a degree; it’s about becoming who you are meant to be.
Ready to plan your path? Consult with your academic advisor to see how the Core curriculum fits into your journey.
