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College Core

The A&S College Core is the foundation for undergraduate study for College of Arts and Science students who enrolled in Fall 2025 and later (students who enrolled before Fall 2025 will take AXLE). The College Core curriculum is flexible and intuitive, offering students common intellectual experiences, a firm grounding in the arts and the sciences, opportunities to explore their interests, and meaningful pathways through their education.

 

Overview | Capacities and Tags | Courses | Transfer Students | Contact

Overview: How it Works

The Core is designed to teach you five Core Capacities—fundamental competencies that will benefit you for life as both a successful professional and an engaged citizen. You will hone these fundamental competencies by taking a total of nine Core Courses:

  • 2 First-Year Core seminars
  • 2 Exploratory Core electives
  • 5 Capacity Courses

In completing these courses, you must earn a minimum of 16 capacity tags.

You will also take one World Language course and one Inquiry Lab course.

Read the details below.

Core Capacities and Capacity Tags

You will develop five Core Capacities through the College Core:

  1. Written & Creative Expression (A)
  2. Systemic & Structural Reasoning (B)
  3. Cultural & Interpretive Investigation (C)
  4. Data Literacy & Computational Thinking (D)
  5. Ethical & Social Engagement (E)

Read more about the Core Capacities.

To complete the College Core, you must earn at least 16 capacity tags, distributed as follows:

  • 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

You can select from hundreds of courses across the college that carry these tags; courses are indicated as such in YES and in the Undergraduate Catalog.

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Courses

The College Core consists of the following courses:

  • The First-Year Core (2 seminars)
  • Exploratory Core (2 courses)
  • Capacity Courses (5 courses)
  • World Language course (1 course)
  • Inquiry Lab course (1 course)
First-Year Core

All first-year A&S students take two First-Year Core seminars:

  • CORE 1010: Being Human (Fall) – tagged A, C, E
  • CORE 1020: Science, Technology, and Values (Spring) – tagged A, B, D

These small, discussion-based seminars are intended to broaden your thinking and understanding, expose you to new perspectives and ideas, and encourage thoughtful and engaged dialogue.

Exploratory Core

After the first year, you will enroll in two Exploratory Core electives (CORE 2500s), designed to probe complex, multi-faceted problems and expose you to new areas of study. Each Exploratory Core course carries two capacity tags. The particular tags for each course will vary depending on the subject matter.

Capacity Courses

You will also take five Capacity Courses, offered across the college, including at least one in each of the three major divisions of the college: humanities and fine arts (tagged LE: HFA), social and behavioral sciences (tagged LE: SBS), and math and natural sciences (tagged LE: MNS). These courses aim for breadth and general competencies, complementing the depth and specialized skills that you gain through your major. Each Capacity Course carries up to two capacity tags.

Additional Requirements

To complete the College Core, you must also take:

  • 1 World Language course (tagged LA), offered at second-semester proficiency or above. (Note: to enroll in a second-semester proficiency course, you will need to take a first-semester proficiency course, complete an appropriate placement test, or gain approval from the director of undergraduate studies in a relevant language department.)

Visit the Vanderbilt Center for Languages for more information about language study at Vanderbilt and the wide range of options available.

  • 1 Inquiry Lab (tagged LB), offered in many departments and designed to teach you how to design, conduct, and analyze research.

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College Core for Transfer Students

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

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Contact

If you have questions about the A&S College Core, please contact your pre-major adviser.

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