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Core requirements are basic courses that students must take to be admitted to a school or program or to graduate. Many US schools have reduced their core requirements to allow for more student choice, but some schools, like St. John’s College, have an extreme dedication to essential requirements.
Essential requirements are the name given to the core courses a student must take to be admitted to a school or program or the courses they must complete, in addition to the graduation requirements, where applicable, in order to graduate. Core requirements are usually basic classes, intended to give the student a liberal arts education. Traditionally, basic requirements have played a huge role in the American educational experience, with many schools devoting much of the first two years of study to basic requirements. In recent years, however, this has changed drastically, with many schools known for their top requirements largely dropping or downsizing to allow for more student choice.
At the middle school and high school levels, core requirements often make up the vast majority of a student’s education. As US states and the federal government often require certain areas of study, the basic requirements can get quite lengthy. Within the core high school requirements, however, a certain amount of flexibility may be available. For example, although two years of science curriculum may be required, it may be up to students to choose to take biology, physics, chemistry, geology, or some other course that meets the core requirements. In this way, the core can remain quite broad, while acknowledging the role of choice, with a small portion of elective classes making up the remainder.
At the university level, essential requirements once played a prominent role in the United States. The first two years were generally seen as a time for students to gain the breadth of their education by fulfilling certain General Education requirements that covered all areas of study. This tense was designed not only to provide a solid foundation upon which further education could build, but also to help expose students to areas of study they were previously unaware of, which could help them make a better informed choice.
These essential requirements are being dropped or relaxed at universities across the United States in recent years. This is largely due to the greater depth of study that students are expected to achieve in their majors, even at undergraduate levels. As more students come to college with a strong major decision in mind, being forced to take classes unrelated to that major can be frustrating and, in many cases, can be the deciding factor in deciding whether a prospective student chooses to enroll in a college or not. As a result, even universities that are traditionally quite strict on their core requirements, such as the University of Chicago, have begun to lower their requirements.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, several colleges remain where virtually the entire curriculum consists of core requirements. The St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Annapolis, Maryland is the most famous example of this type of school. The curriculum of St. John’s College is built around the Great Books Program, with all students following roughly the same arc. This means four years of compulsory mathematics, four years of literature, four years of philosophy, four years of political science, four years of ancient Greek, Middle English and early English and French, three years of laboratory science and two years of music. This extreme dedication to essential requirements is intended to provide students with a broad liberal arts education, in the classical model, and as a result, no awards are given.
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