Curriculum
Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Vocation and Ministry

Framework for Learning

The function of the Framework for Learning is to make explicit how Concordia University understands and applies its mission statement. To help realize the goals of the mission statement, the total educational experience of Concordia students-both in and out of the classroom-is placed within an overarching structure called the Framework for Learning.

Goals and Competencies

Aesthetic

Goal: to increase awareness, understanding and informed critical appreciation of artistic expression and to foster creative talents within the student.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. understand the importance of artistic expression in reflecting and shaping the life of human communities;
B. appreciate the arts by exploring them in relation to philosophical, religious and social thought;
C. appreciate the arts by experiencing major forms of artistic communication;
D. appreciate and examine the relationship of the arts and ineffable aspects of human experience;
E. value one's self as a contributor to, appreciation of and participant in various avenues of artistic expression.

Intellectual

Goal: to develop the ability to think critically, incorporating skills for imagining, organizing, analyzing and evaluating.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. reason logically, reflectively and independently;
B. examine, analyze and integrate ideas, applying inductive, quantitative and abstract thinking;
C. synthesize and formulate new ideas;
D. arrive at thoughtful, informed and ethical decisions;
E. use appropriate and current technology in problem solving, research and analysis.

Physical

Goal: to foster informed healthful living, balanced service to God and humanity and enlightened care for self.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. demonstrate strategies that promote lifelong health;
B. implement and evaluate a personal physical fitness plan;
C. implement a health-conscious lifestyle, including intellectual and emotional wellness;
D. balance health of physical self and service to God and humanity.

Spiritual

Goal: to foster understanding of the Gospel and its Biblical source from the perspective of Lutheran theology, including implications of the Gospel for human experience and for vocation in home, workplace, public life and congregation.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. appreciate and understand the content of the Bible, with appropriate reference to the Gospel and Lutheran theology;
B. describe the Christian tradition, noting the university's Lutheran heritage and examine the range of Christianity's influence on human history and culture;
C. relate with sensitivity to various religious traditions;
D. understand the complexities of the intersections of religion and society, including questions of ethics and vocation;
E. serve the larger community and reflect on the significance of that service.

Communication

Goal: to develop an awareness of communication processes and the desire and skill to improve writing, speaking, research, synthesis and analysis.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. understand and demonstrate the writing and speaking process, developing theoretical knowledge of and applying skills in interpersonal, public and intercultural communication contexts;
B. respond to texts with attention to logic, style, voice, organization and effect;
C. use skills of logic, research, evaluation and synthesis in a variety of contexts;
D. describe communication factors in the development, maintenance and dissolution of relationships;
E. demonstrate a responsible, ethical use of all forms of communication;
F. demonstrate application of technology as a communication tool.

Interpersonal

Goal: to develop understanding of self and self in relation to others.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. understand human behavior individually, in groups and in organizations;
B. understand his/her own experience and paradigms, discover biases and their effects on behaviors, thought processes, feelings and spirituality;
C. develop empathy and understanding for others from similar as well as from different backgrounds;
D. develop self-understanding within the context of relationships with others;
E. demonstrate cooperative approaches to conflict resolution.

Civic

Goal: to understand the structure and operations of governments as well as the dynamic interplay between individual and corporate identities; to examine patterns and processes of culture and social structure.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. evaluate and understand current and historical societal issues;
B. compare and contrast issues, societal institutions and policies in the U.S. with those of other countries;
C. articulate a coherent democratic and just vision for the U.S., including the rights and responsibilities of its citizens and the role of the state;
D. participate in the body politic: campus, city, state, national, or international.

Global

Goal: to facilitate an informed understanding of our global interdependence and the ability to interact effectively with people, language and cultures other than a student's own.

Competencies: With the help of the Concordia community the student will:

A. relate with an informed perspective to people of at least one other culture of the world;
B. relate with an informed perspective to people of at least one other culture of the United States;
C. identify economic, political, religious, scientific, technological, geographical, environmental and other links in our global community;
D. work towards justice and environmentally responsible living within a global perspective;
E. recognize and act upon the difficulties caused by ethnocentrism.

As indicated above, the Framework for Learning shapes the entire Concordia educational experience, entailing not only overt academic work but also chapel and spiritual life opportunities, service learning, foreign study, internships and a wide array of campus life activities. All academic coursework-majors and minors, study in professional programs, electives and especially the general education curriculum-is explicitly guided and informed by the Framework for Learning and is designed to support its goal.

General Education Requirements

General Education

In particular, the general education curriculum is represented by the areas listed alphabetically below. To the extent relevant to each area and to the particular disciplines or courses the area represents, Concordia students will be expected to mature in their ability to (a) discover, confront and explore unfamiliar information and ideas; (b) use available academic resources and skills to think analytically, critically and synthetically; (c) use appropriate and current technology for research and problem solving; and (d) ideally move beyond the academic data itself to formulate and express new insights and ideas.

FIRST YEAR SEMINAR (1 CREDIT REQUIRED)

Required of all students with 20 credits or less

FINE ARTS (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

The fine arts curriculum increases students' awareness, understanding and critical appreciation of varied aesthetic expression; and seeks to foster their creative talents.

(# Recommended for Teacher Education)

HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

History offerings help students understand historical sources on their own terms and to recognize the interplay of political, intellectual, social, economic and cultural factors in the development of civilizations. It thereby provides one method whereby present-day circumstances can be better understood and evaluated. Political science courses help students understand their own government and the role of each citizen in the democratic process. Applied globally, political science pertains to the relationships between different governments and peoples and explores how their interests and welfare are connected by many of the same factors examined by historians.

COMMUNICATION (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

Communication courses pertain to the study of verbal and nonverbal messages between communicators in interpersonal, group, public, intercultural and mass media contexts. Communication theory and analysis informs student choice of ethical as well as effective strategies and skills used to relate and respond to ideas.

GLOBAL STUDIES (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

Very broadly construed, global courses help students recognize global interdependence and/or cultural connections; as such, they enhance students' ability to work constructively with a people, language, or culture other than their own.

SOCIAL AND BEHAVORIAL SCIENCE (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

Social and behavioral science courses provide the perspectives and tools for students to understand human behavior individually, in groups and in organizations.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION (3 CREDITS REQUIRED)

The health and physical education curriculum provides students with the resources and strategies necessary for healthy, balanced and vigorous lives.

LITERATURE (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

The literature curriculum helps students develop their abilities to think critically about, write coherently on and discuss enthusiastically a variety of literary texts; students develop both an intellectual understanding of the power of literature and an aesthetic appreciation for diverse literary works.

MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCE (8 CREDITS REQUIRED)

Mathematics offerings are designed to develop students' understanding of basic mathematical concepts, to develop their abilities to analyze and solve mathematical problems and to promote mathematical awareness in the analysis of problem solving strategies and the interpretation of results. Natural science courses examine the physical nature of the world. Biology involves plant, animal and human life; physical science deals with the processes of the earth; while earth science studies the earth and the universe.

All students must take a total of 8 credits of mathematics and natural science, with at least two credits in each of the following three areas.

Mathematics (minimum 3 credits required)

# Recommended for Teacher Education.

Biology (minimum 3 credits required)

Physical Science (minimum 2 credits required)

RELIGION AND THEOLOGY (8 CREDITS REQUIRED; 4 BIBLE, 4 CHRISTIAN FAITH)

Students meet their general education requirements in theology by taking a minimum of three credits from the "Bible" category and four credits from the "Christian Faith" category. Students in professional church work programs must select from those courses in both categories that are also requirements in the minor in confessional Lutheranism.

Note: # courses for Church Work students

Biblical (3 or 4 credits)

Christian Faith (4 credits)

WRITING (4 CREDITS REQUIRED)

The writing course provides students with an awareness of written communication-specifically the process of research, synthesis and analysis-as well as opportunities to practice their own writing skills in an academic setting.