Rooted in the time-tested foundation of the liberal arts and sciences, the five-course interdisciplinary Core Curriculum is a contemporary education that celebrates not only the tradition of the individual disciplines, but also the inexhaustible knowledge that we gain when we compare, integrate, and reflect on these subjects.

The Core encourages reflection on the central questions: Who am I? What can I know? And, based on what I know, how should I act?

The Core Curriculum comprises one course in each of five areas: the sciences, western civilization, the social sciences, literature and philosophy, and the fine arts. In these courses students examine great ideas, historic milestones, and works of art; discover connections among the traditional disciplines; learn to reason logically, to sift through deception and cant, and to integrate knowledge.

Students complete these five courses during the freshman and sophomore years. All interdisciplinary Core courses must be completed at Roger Williams.