Inaugurated in 2001, MCLA's Core Curriculum is an exciting new venture in learning. It combines the strong foundation of a traditional curriculum with various alternative paths for students to build their own new knowledge on that foundation.  The Core asks students to take courses in four areas that progress toward a capstone senior seminar which welds together the wisdom accrued in the student's major with more general questions from across the spectrum of human inquiry.

Core Education courses are small, and they stress basic critical thinking, clear writing, and looking at topics and issues from different perspectives. Each of the four areas of basic learning challenges students to raise thoughtful questions, evaluate conclusions and arguments, and devise creative solutions to knotty problems.

The four subject areas in the Tier II Core Curriculum are:

• Creative Arts
• Human Heritage
• Self and Society
• Science and Technology

Tier III Capstone Courses challenges students to integrate knowledge from several disciplines, applying academic learning and critical thinking skills to modern-day issues while encouraging students to work with others and become engaged citizens in the context of today’s world. Spring 2008 course descriptions are now online .