A&S College Core Requirements

The A&S College Core is the foundation for undergraduate study in the College of Arts and Science for all students entering Vanderbilt in Fall 2025 and later. Centered on exploratory and integrative learning, the College Core offers students common intellectual experiences, a firm grounding in the arts and sciences, and meaningful pathways through their education.

A broad and deep education in the arts and sciences is a training ground for the pursuit of knowledge, and for a life of sustained curiosity and purpose—whether as an artist or activist, scholar or entrepreneur, professional or citizen. This kind of education is vital for confronting complex and swiftly evolving challenges, none of which can be addressed by a single discipline or from a single vantage point. By connecting disparate methods, perspectives, and bodies of knowledge, you will learn to decipher and shape the world you will encounter as a graduate.

Through the A&S College Core, you will develop Core Capacities that equip you to communicate clearly; to analyze intricate problems; to challenge your assumptions; to evaluate diverse types of data; and to probe important social, scientific, cultural, and ethical questions. You will hone these fundamental competencies by taking a set of Core Courses, which together provide an invitation to the richness and breadth of an arts and science education.

The Core Capacities are:

• Written & Creative Expression (A)
• Systemic & Structural Reasoning (B)
• Cultural & Interpretive Investigation (C)
• Data Literacy & Computational Thinking (D)
• Ethical & Social Engagement (E)

To complete the College Core, you must earn 16 capacity tags:

• 4 tags in Capacity A
• 3 tags in Capacity B
• 3 tags in Capacity C
• 3 tags in Capacity D
• 3 tags in Capacity E

All students transferring into Vanderbilt after their first year of study:

• Are exempt from the First-Year Core
• Need only earn 10 capacity tags
• Take 2 Exploratory Core courses in A&S
• Fulfill the Capacity Course, World Language, and Inquiry Lab requirements either at Vanderbilt or via approved transfer credit

A: WRITTEN & CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Cultivating expression that informs and inspires, whether on the page, stage, screen, or canvas

Effective use of written language is essential for thinking precisely, for building bridges across existing divides, and for conceiving alternative futures. To communicate confidently and creatively, we must be able to present ideas clearly, and to adjust our modes and registers of expression for different audiences. Because skillful writing matters as never before in an age of computer-assisted text production, these courses center the written word but also invite students to experiment with media such as the diagram, the podcast, and the paintbrush—all powerful tools to communicate within and about our world.

B: SYSTEMIC & STRUCTURAL REASONING

Analyzing complex systems, whether molecules, formal theories, or societies

The natural and social world is made up of interacting systems, where any individual component is influenced by multiple forces and, in turn, influences many others. To grasp problems and opportunities in this complex environment, we must be able to analyze intricate relationships, consider possible ramifications of change, and predict the outcome of specific interventions. Whether considering cellular events involved in carcinogenesis, traffic patterns that affect daily carbon release, or social systems that produce structural racism, these courses equip students to tackle highly challenging problems.

C: CULTURAL & INTERPRETIVE INVESTIGATION

Deepening our understanding of cultures familiar and unfamiliar, past and present

A wealth of values, histories, and traditions make up the human record—shaping the experiences of individuals and groups, the artifacts and archives they create, and the configuration of our global present. To navigate this variegated landscape, we must read, listen, and observe closely, locate our own assumptions, and attend to the settings in which knowledge is produced. Whether concerned with ancient architecture or modern literature, or the transnational migrations of people or of ideas, these courses prepare students to approach cultural differences with empathy and imagination.

D: DATA LITERACY & COMPUTATIONAL THINKING

Evaluating and employing varied kinds of evidence, from statistics to stories

To make informed and independent decisions, we must be able to critically evaluate a variety of information sources, interrogate their origins, and analyze their significance. Scientific methods and quantitative reasoning are key to such determinations, especially in data-rich and computer-enabled settings. Whether weighing competing public health narratives, the validity of mathematical models for financial markets, or the implications of disinformation for democratic processes, these courses help students clarify problems for which data are abundant but meaning may be obscure.

E: ETHICAL & SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

Examining power, justice, and responsibility, in settings ranging from the classroom to the planet

Challenging ethical questions confront us in every domain of life. What moral obligation do we have to ourselves, to each other, to our local, national, and global communities, and to the non- human world? Whether considering collective responsibility for global income disparities, the role of social values in the design of technological systems, or the relationship between historical and contemporary wrongs like sexism and racism, these courses ask students to interrogate their own beliefs and to take on the perspectives of diverse others in order to reason carefully about matters of justice, equity, and power.