Nor’easter Core Curriculum

Nor’easter Core Curriculum Framework

The Nor’easter Core (NC) curriculum ensures that all UNE undergraduates develop depth, breadth, and rigor in their education. The core curriculum identifies seven content areas that are critical to understanding our complex and evolving world, and it ensures that UNE undergraduates pursue foundational study in each, which is subsequently reinforced throughout their education. In total, students take 13 core courses, reflecting 40 credits, to fulfill their general education requirements. The seven Critical Content Tenets of the Nor’easter Core curriculum are:

  • Power, Knowledge, and Justice
  • Human Experience
  • Human Health
  • Health of Natural Ecosystems
  • Creativity and the Arts
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Scientific Method

Nor’easter Core Curriculum Objectives

The Nor’easter Core Curriculum prepares students to:

  • Express original ideas through written, oral, and graphical forms;
  • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate and learn with and from others;
  • Apply disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge, including creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and quantitative reasoning in academic and real-world situations.

Overview of the Nor’easter Core Curriculum

The Nor’easter Core curriculum engages students in a breadth of academic study and develops intellectual skills characterized by a well- scaffolded sequence of scientific, mathematical, humanities, and social- behavioral coursework. The following visual depicts the progression and intentionality of the Nor’easter core coursework.

Foundational Knowledge and Skills Courses

One Nor’easter First Year Seminar Course

The first-year seminar course is designed to support first-year students’ transition into the academic and social fabric of the university and help align their personal growth with academic success. This course is designated with an FYS attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for FYS:
  1. Identify available student services on campus, such as those offering academic assistance, health and wellness support, financial aid, technology resources, and career counseling. 
  2. Develop a plan for academic success that utilizes evidence-based learning strategies and an understanding of UNE core values, the academic code of conduct, and the Nor’easter core curriculum.
  3. Articulate the opportunities and responsibilities that result from membership in a community with a shared purpose, whether university/local, regional, and/or global.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to share ideas, evaluate arguments, and/or pose questions related to the disciplinary/interdisciplinary/interprofessional content, either orally or in writing.
  5. Demonstrate the ability to locate academic and/or scholarly sources to answer questions posed by the disciplinary/interdisciplinary/interprofessional lens of the course.
One Nor’easter First Year Writing Course

The first-year writing course cultivates effective foundational written and oral communication abilities. This course is designated with an FYW attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for FYW:
  1. Analyze their reading and writing practices to identify growth and areas requiring ongoing development. (Metacognition - META)
  2. Approach writing as a recursive process, which involves peer review, substantial revision of drafts for content, organization, and clarity (global revision), as well as editing and proofreading (local revision). (Revision - REV)
  3. Develop and support written claims by engaging with texts and integrating their own ideas with those of others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis. (Claims & Text Integration - C&TI)
  4. Treat reading and writing as connected activities through annotating, taking notes, and using writing for inquiry, learning, and thinking. (Reading - READ)
  5. Utilize sentence-level, source integration, and citation conventions in revised, edited, and proofread texts. (Conventions - CONV)
One Nor’easter Creativity and the Arts Course

Students will create an artistic artifact or solution to a problem through creative thinking, authentic personal expression, and innovation. These courses are designated with a CA attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for CA:
  1. Recognize in themselves a capacity for creative process, expression, and engagement in the creative arts.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of several of the world's traditions of art and creative expression.
  3. Engage in creative thinking to explore a problem or relevant question.
One Nor’easter Scientific Method Course

Students implement the scientific method as a means of acquiring knowledge in a course that includes a laboratory component. These courses are designated with an SM attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for SM:
  1. Apply observation, generation and experimentation to test hypotheses and assumptions.
  2. Assess the validity of scientific arguments including those in peer reviewed literature.
  3. Evaluate and interpret objectively gathered scientific data to draw conclusions in multiple contexts and effectively communicate them in written and oral formats
One Nor’easter Quantitative Reasoning Course

Students apply quantitative reasoning to solve real-world problems. These courses are designated with a QR attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for QR:
  1. Identify and apply appropriate methods for solving real-world quantitative problems to make informed decisions
  2. Judge the soundness and limitations of an evidentiary argument that is based on quantitative data.
  3. Summarize data verbally, numerically, symbolically, and/or graphically to effectively communicate the results of data analysis.

Expanding Awareness of the World

One Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice Course Within a Social Science Discipline

Students evaluate the challenges of engaging with diverse perspectives, people, and communities and their role in contributing meaningfully to a more just and equitable society at local and global levels. These courses are designated with a PKJS attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for PKJS:
  1. Recognize and explain ideas, historical complexities, sociopolitical systems and/or economic systems that produce and perpetuate inequality as well as those that envision and enact justice. 
  2. Analyze and interpret the intersecting effects of privilege, power, and inequality related to categories of difference such as race, class, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability.
  3. Identify and assess how one’s situatedness and biases, in global power structures and history, impacts their experiences of and perceptions about the world.
One Nor’easter Human Experience Course Within a Humanities Discipline

Students evaluate human behaviors, institutions, and systems from global perspectives that are grounded in cultural humility through a historical context. These courses are designated with an HEHU attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for HEHU:
  1. Identify, describe, and interpret diverse forms of human cultural production and assess how they shape and are shaped by global, cultural and historical contexts.
  2. Identify, analyze, and evaluate how human structures and narratives influence individual and collective experience.
  3. Demonstrate an awareness of their place in history and the contingency of the modern worldview through critical inquiry and self-discovery.
One Nor’easter Health of Natural Ecosystems Course

Students evaluate the impact of human interaction with Earth systems and best practice solutions to environmental problems. These courses are designated with an HNE attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for HNE:
  1. Identify fundamental environmental concepts to generate socially just, creative, collaborative, and sustainable solutions to environmental problems.
  2. Analyze the impact of climate change and resource consumption choices on global sustainability by integrating information from the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and marginalized ways of knowing.
  3. Act as planetary citizens: aware, appreciative, protective and restorative of Earth Systems upon which they and all life fundamentally depend – to act ethically and responsibly in relation to the earth.
One Nor’easter Human Health Course

Students formulate an informed view of the holistic, multifaceted nature of human health and health equity. These courses are designated with an HH attribute in the registration system.

Student Learning Outcomes for HH:
  1. Describe the interdependence of the holistic health of humans, cultures, societies, and natural systems.
  2. Develop an informed, ethical foundation for assessing how personal actions impact the health of individuals, communities and the natural environment.
  3. Assess how social, cultural, political and economic systems are shaped by individual bias and structural inequality and lead to differential understandings, expectations, and experiences of health.

Broadening Understanding of Social and Global Issues

Students enroll in three additional courses (nine-credits) selected from the Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice designation (PKJS or PKJO) and/or the Nor’easter Human Experience designation (HEHU or HEO) offered in any disciplinary area.

Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice – Open Courses

These courses are Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice courses approved to meet the tenet outside social science disciplines. These courses are designated with a PKJO attribute in the registration system. Student learning outcomes are the same as PKJS.

Nor’easter Human Experience – Open Courses

These are Nor’easter Human Experience courses approved outside the traditional humanities disciplines. These courses are designated with an HEO attribute in the registration system. Student learning outcomes are the same as HEHU.

Deeper Dive in Select Area

The Deeper Dive course requires students to take one 300- or 400- level course outside of their major to provide depth to the general education curriculum. Students choose a deeper dive course from an extensive distribution of approved offerings. Select majors have a designated deeper dive course in order to fulfill all programmatic requirements. The deeper dive courses are designated with a DD attribute in the registration system.

Note: Deeper Dive courses are also coded as meeting other tenets. While students must take one Deeper Dive that satisfies the disciplinary exclusion rule for their program, they may take additional Deeper Dive courses to fulfill other areas of the core if they have not yet satisfied the other tenets.

Habits of Mind

The Nor’easter Core curriculum also recognizes that understanding the challenges in today’s evolving world requires uniting problem-based, hands-on, active learning with liberal education. Effective teaching and learning practices require an integration of a complex set of skills conceptualized as habits of mind. All course offerings in the Nor’easter Core curriculum emphasize at least one habit of mind. The Nor’easter Core curriculum's six habits of mind include:

  • Civic Engagement: Students integrate knowledge and experiences to engage in and promote a civil society.
  • Modes of Communication: Students compose “texts” in a range of modes for a variety of purposes through clear and persuasive communication.
  • Information Literacy: Students responsibly construct information, drawing upon credible sources.
  • Critical Thinking: Students apply critical thinking skills and habits of mind to make informed decisions and solve problems.
  • Ethical Reasoning: Students apply ethical reasoning as a habit of mind in personal, public, or professional settings.
  • Collaboration: Students apply strategies for collaboration in diverse disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional settings.

Summary

The Nor’easter Core Curriculum is outcomes-based and emphasizes active, engaged approaches to learning. It challenges students to transfer knowledge from one academic area to another, appreciate different disciplinary perspectives on the same topic, and integrate what they have learned to construct their own knowledge. Courses in the Nor’easter Core cultivate effective oral and written communication, collaboration, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving skills, and appreciation of diversity. The Nor’easter Core curriculum is intrinsically valuable, influencing graduates to be informed citizens ready to contribute to a complex, dynamic society.

Nor’easter Core Courses

Nor’easter First Year Seminar Course (FYS attribute)

FYS 110First-Year Seminar3

Nor’easter First Year Writing Course (FYW attribute)

WRT 110Becoming a Writer: Composition3

Nor’easter Creativity and the Arts Courses (CA attribute)

ART 101Watercolor3
ART 102Photography3
ART 104Painting I3
ART 105Elements of Acting3
ART 106Two-Dimensional Design3
ART 109T-Shirt Design3
ART 110Ceramics I3
ART 111Scientific Illustration3
ART 113Three Dimensional Fundamentals3
ART 114Printmaking3
ART 118Drawing & Design Fundamentals3
ART 124The Painted Book3
ART 130The Art of the Letter3
ART 199Topics in Art3
ART 200Advanced Drawing3
ART 207Landscape Painting3
ART 214Color Digital Photography3
ART 215Art Appreciation in Morocco3
ART 230Graphic Design3
ART 234Digital Animation3
ART 324The Painted Book 3D (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ART 395Studio Concentration Seminar (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
BUMG 120Innovation through Technology3
CMM 110Intro to Communications3
CMM 115Media Production Fundamentals3
CMM 225Topics in Digital Storytelling3
MUS 101Introduction to Music3
MUS 104Introduction to Singing Voice3
MUS 115Music Appreciation3
MUS 150African Drumming Ensemble3
MUS 152Beginning Fiddle Music3
MUS 218Music in Film & Animation3
SPC 100Effective Public Speaking3
WRT 111 (Topics in Creative Writing)
WRT 211Creative Writing: Poetry3
WRT 212Creative Writing: Short Fiction3
WRT 312Fiction Writing Workshop (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3

Nor’easter Scientific Method Courses (SM attribute)

BIO 104
104L
General Biology
and General Biology Lab
4
BIO 105
105L
Biology I: Ecology/Evolution
and Bio I: Ecology/Evolution Lab
4
BIO 106
106L
Biology II: Cellular/Molecular
and Bio II:Cellular/Molecular Lab
4
CHE 110
110L
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Lab
4
CHE 130
130L
Principles of Chemistry
and Principles of Chemistry Lab
4
CHE 150
150L
University General Chemistry I
and University General Chemistry I Lab
4
MAR 105
105L
Ecology and Evolution of Marine Organisms
and Eco/Evo of Mar Organisms Lab
4
MAR 106
106L
Cellular and Molecular Biology of Marine Organisms
and Cell/Molec Bio/Marine Orgs Lab
4
MAR 150
150L
Discovering the Ocean Environment
and Discovering the Ocean Environment Lab
4
PHY 110General Physics I w/Lab4
PHY 210University Physics I4

Nor’easter Quantitative Reasoning Courses (QR attribute)

DSC 301Intro to Database Design/SQL (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
GIS 161GIS I: Fundamentals of Geospatial Science and Technology3
MAT 120Statistics3
MAT 150Statistics for Life Sciences3
MAT 151Statistics for Environmental Sciences3
MAT 180Precalculus3
MAT 190Calculus I4
MAT 340Graph Theory w/Applications (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
MAT 345Math of Games and Puzzles (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHY 305Revolutions of 20th Century Physics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3

Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice - Social Science Courses (PKJS attribute)

ANT 101Introduction to Anthropology3
ANT 211Medical Anthropology3
ANT 228Anthropology of Gender3
ANT 312Human Trafficking (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
BUEC 203Macroeconomics3
BUEC 204Microeconomics3
CRL 170Introduction to Criminology3
ENV 130Political Ecology and Economic Justice3
GLS 100Introduction to Global Studies3
GWS 200Intro to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies3
PSC 101Intro to American Politics3
PSC 105Intro Political Science3
PSC 110Power & Knowledge: Inventing Traditions3
PSC 125Understanding Law:An Introd3
PSC 200Intro to Political Theory3
PSC 204Intro Comparative Politics3
PSC 210Constitutional Law3
PSC 240American Foreign Policy3
PSC 241The Role of Human Rights in World Politics3
PSC 278Human Traditions II: Empire, Genocide, and Politics3
PSC 304Middle E.& N. Africa thru Film (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 307R&P:Political Islam & Islamic (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 312The Family and Politics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 31320th Cent Compar Revolution (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 319Education Law (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 330Theories & Politics of War (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 333Triple Threat: Populism, Fascism, Nationalism (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 357Contemporary History and Politics in Morocco (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 412International Organization (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 450Contemporary Feminist Theories (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSY 215 (Psychology of Gender)
PSY 236Mental Health & Society3
SOC 150Intro to Sociology3
SOC 170Deviance and Crime3
SOC 240Race/Class/Gender: Social Perspective3

Nor’easter Power, Knowledge, and Justice – Open Courses (PKJO attribute)

BIO 340Biology of Sex & Gender (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
or GWS 340 Biology of Sex & Gender
BUMG 303Management of Nonprofit Organizations (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
BUMG 313Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
BUMG 335International Management (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
EDU 133Controversial Topics in Education3
EDU 385Diversity Issues in Schools (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
EDU 499Causes & Costs of Inequity (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 116Democratizing Literature: British Literature II3
ENG 135Dog Stories3
ENG 200Writing, Revolution, & Resistance in U.S. Lit3
ENG 201Who and What is an American? Reimagining US Lit3
ENG 204Animals, Literature, & Culture3
ENG 206Introduction to Literary Theory & Criticism3
ENG 214 (Freedom & Authority)
ENG 216Criminals, Idiots, & Minors: Victorian Women and the Law3
ENG 221Justice3
ENG 237Topics in US Lit After 18653
ENG 321Literary Topics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 329Spinning the Globe (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENV 130Political Ecology and Economic Justice3
ENV 331Women and the Environment3
GWS 276Women in the Ancient World3
or HIS 276 History Human Trad I
GWS 278Women in the Modern World3
or HIS 278 History Human Trad II
HIS 290History Hands On Topics3
HIS 313American Indian History and Culture (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
HIS 324History of Medicine & Empire (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
IHS 310Ethics for Interprofessional Practice (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 201Bio-Medical Ethics3
PHI 278Philosophy Human Trad II3
PHI 302Debating Ethics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 303Race, Racism & Beyond (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
SPE 350Special Education Law (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
SSW 200Introduction to Social Work3
SSW 300Human Behavior and Social Work Theory I (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3

Nor’easter Human Experience - Humanities Courses (HEHU attribute)

ARB 101Beginner Arabic I3
ARB 102Beginner Arabic 23
ARB 201Intermediate Arabic I3
ARC 190Exp Cultures thru Archaeology3
ARH 210Art History Survey I3
ARH 211Art History Survey II3
ARH 270Art in the Modern World3
ENG 115Pilgrims, Poets and Other Yahoos: British Literature I3
ENG 140Indigenous Film and Literature3
ENG 202Lyrics3
ENG 209Introduction to Linguistics3
ENG 215Science Fiction3
ENG 229 (Topics in British Literature Before 1800)
ENG 235Topics in US Literature to 18653
ENG 276English Human Trad I3
ENG 278English Human Trad II3
ENG 300Literary Topics: (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 301Nature Films (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 310Writing & Women's Health (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 326Topics in Literature & Health (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 330Topics in British Literature (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 401Literatures of the Sea (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 420Victorian Monsters (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
GLS 490Center Global Hum Seminar (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
HIS 150Telling Tales of the Past3
HIS 199Expl: Topics in History3
HIS 204Growing Up Female3
HIS 222US His I: Contact - Civil War3
HIS 223US History II: Reconstruction-Present3
HIS 250 (American Women's History I)
HIS 251American Women's History II3
HIS 266History of Drugs in the Americas3
HIS 276History Human Trad I3
HIS 278History Human Trad II3
HIS 290History Hands On Topics3
HIS 291War Letters3
HIS 292Mourning the Dead3
HIS 335Env Hist of New Eng Seminar (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
or ENV 335 Env Hist of New Eng Seminar
HIS 343Modern Tourism (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
HIS 344 (Postwar: Europe After WWII) (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)
HIS 349History of Gender and Sexuality in Latin American History (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
HIS 353Sex and the City (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
HIS 395What Really Happened? (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
LIL 320Topics in Arts & Humanities (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 110Problems of Philosophy3
PHI 205The Future of Humanity3
PHI 276Philosophy Human Traditions I3
PHI 278Philosophy Human Trad II3
PHI 325Topics in Philosophy (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 370Philosophy of Psychology (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 402Philosophy of Biology (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 430What's Really Real? (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
SPA 101Basic Spanish3
SPA 211Intermediate Spanish3
SPA 301Advanced Spanish (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
WRT 304 (Reading and Writing in Digital Environments) (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)

Nor’easter Human Experience – Open Courses (HEO attribute)

ANT 332Anthropology of Magic (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ARC 235The Archaeology of New England3
CMM 211Introduction to Journalism3
CMM 240 (Social Media: Theory & Practice)
EDU 204Trauma Responsive Education3
EDU 242
242L
Comparative Ed/Global Context
and Education Up Close Travel
3
ENV 124Lit, Nature & the Environment3
ENV 333
333L
Nature Writers w/ Field Lab
and Nature Writers Lab (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)
4
ENV 334
& ENV 334L

and (Contemporary Nature Writing w/Lab) (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)
0
ENV 399Topics ENV Studies w/ Field Lab (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)4
MAF 210Intro to US Ocean Governance3
MAF 310US Ocean & Coastal Law (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
MAF 315US Aquaculture Policy and Management (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 201Intro Intern Relations3
PSC 260Politics of Evil3
PSC 273Human Traditions I: Freedom of the Will and Political Freedom3
PSC 274Human Traditions I: Myths and Epics: The Interconnections Among Societies3
PSC 275Human Traditions II: Liberty and its Limits3
PSC 276Human Traditions I: Religion, Law & Politics3
PSC 277Human Traditions II: Law & Politics3
PSC 278Human Traditions II: Empire, Genocide, and Politics3
PSY 250Lifespan Dev in Context3
PSY 255Social Psychology3
SOC 212Society & Culture Morocco3

Nor’easter Health of Natural Ecosystems Courses (HNE attribute)

BUEC 390Environmental Economics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENV 104Sustainability for a Healthy Planet3
ENV 105BGLC: Sustainability for a Healthy Planet3
ENV 200Environment and Society: A Global Perspective3
ENV 208Climate Change: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions3
MAF 200Intro to Marine Pollution3
MAF 300Climate Change, Oceans & Law (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
MAR 316Science in Society (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
OBI 345Sustain & Eco-Rec Planning (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHY 218Energy and Climate Change4

Nor'easter Human Health Courses (HH attribute)

ANT 241Plagues and Populations3
BUEC 385Health Economics (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
ENG 208Narrative Medicine & Writing3
ENG 227Illness Narratives3
HIS 317Revolutionary Medicine (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
NUTR 220Nutrition3
NUTR 410Nutrition Across Seven Continents (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PHI 276Philosophy Human Traditions I3
PHI 278Philosophy Human Trad II3
PSC 325Politics of Public Health (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3
PSC 410 (The Decline and Fall of Modern Democracy) (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)
PSY 105Introduction to Psychology3
PSY 205Abnormal Psychology3
PUB 200Foundations in Public Health3
PUB 212Social Determinants of Health3
SSW 320Human Behavior and Social Work Theory II (Also fulfills the Deeper Dive requirement)3

Stand Alone Nor'easter Deeper Dive Courses (DD attribute)

BIO 309Pathophysiology3