Wright State Core

The Wright State Core is an integrated program of relevant courses that provides students with the breadth of skills, depth of knowledge, and range of experience expected of university graduates. Wright State graduates will be life-long learners who are engaged, conscientious, educated citizens of a diverse world and prepared for professional success.

The Wright State Core fosters the knowledge and skills essential for critical thinkers who:

• Solve multi-disciplinary problems with innovation, empathy, and adaptability.
• Ethically engage with their work, individuals, and the world around them.
• Work effectively both independently and collaboratively.
• Appreciate the arts and sciences.
• Reason both quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Engage in meaningful civic activities locally and globally.
• Appreciate their own and other cultural heritages.
• Engage effectively with the increasingly interconnected global and technological environment in which they live and work.

The Core curriculum consists of a minimum of 36 hours of coursework, divided into a first-year seminar, five basic elements A through E, and additional core requirements. The learning outcomes for the five Core elements and some of the additional core requirements align with the Ohio Transfer 36 (OT36) learning outcomes. Ohio Transfer 36 guarantees the transferability of courses in general education among Ohio’s public post-secondary institutions. As part of additional Core requirements, students complete courses in the areas of global inquiry, inclusive excellence, integrated writing, and any additional hours necessary to satisfy the total hours for the Core. All courses included in the Core must be approved for OT36 at the state level. In rare cases, an exception may be made for a course that does not qualify for OT36 but is deemed necessary by the Core Oversight Committee.

A minimum number of credit hours has been established for the first-year seminar and each of the five elements (Table 1). A minimum number of courses must also be taken with a designation assigned in each of the areas of global inquiry, inclusive excellence, and integrated writing (Table 1).

This policy applies to degree-seeking undergraduate students. Transfer students and students seeking a second undergraduate degree should also refer to other university policies that address these specific situations.

Specific learning objectives and outcomes for each element of the Core are maintained by the Office of the Provost and are listed on the Wright State Core website of the Office of Academic Affairs. Any changes made to the learning objectives and outcomes must be done in consultation and agreement with the Core Oversight Committee and Faculty Senate. The core curriculum should undergo review every 5 years.

This Policy establishes the Wright State Core that will apply to new students beginning Fall Semester 2025. The Core Curriculum for students who already completed coursework at Wright State prior to that date will be determined in accordance with the prior version of this Policy (eff. 4/2/2019), which is linked in the Resources section below. However, current students who prefer to work under this version of the Core Curriculum may submit an academic petition to do so.

Table 1: Wright State Core Curriculum

Category	Element	Requirement	Minimum Hours
	First Year Seminar	At least one course designated as First Year Seminar	3
A.	English Composition and Oral Communication	One First Year Writing Course One Second Year Writing Course	6
B.	Mathematics, Statistics, and Logic	One Mathematics, Statistics, and Logic Course	3
C.	Arts and Humanities	Two Arts and Humanities Courses from two different disciplines, and at least one must be a History (HST) course	6
D.	Social and Behavioral Sciences	Two Social and Behavioral Science Courses from two different disciplines	6
E.	Natural Sciences	Two Natural Science Courses, and at least one course must include a lab	7
Additional Core Requirements
	Global Inquiry	One course in Element C: Arts and Humanities or Element D: Social and Behavioral Sciences must be a with a Global Inquiry (GI) course designation.	Included in the above elements
	Inclusive Excellence	At least two courses designated as Inclusive Excellence (IE).
	Integrated Writing	Students must take at least three Integrated Writing (IW) courses. This three-course requirement can be met in one of two ways: Two IW courses in the Core and one IW course in the Major; or One IW course in the Core and two IW courses in the Major Some programs may specify the distribution of IW courses, and others may leave this to the individual student and advisors to decide.
	Additional Core Courses	Additional approved Wright State Core courses from any of the Elements A-E.	5
	Total		36

 

Transfer Students: See University Policy 3240 Transfer Student Requirement for Completion of WSU Core.

Prior Policy 4130: Wright State Core (Eff. 4/2/2019) (PDF).