The Office of University Core Curriculum (UCC) is responsible for administrative matters relative to the UCC Program.  The UCC Program at Ball State is composed of 41 hours and provides a broad-based educational foundation to the academic major.  The program has received national recognition by the Association of American Colleges and Universities by being selected as one of only 16 universities to participate in their Strong Foundations Project which resulted in the publication of Strong Foundations:  Twelve Principles of General Education Programs.

The UCC Program is designed to help students develop knowledge, skills, and values.  The goals of the program state that students will acquire:

1. An ability to engage in lifelong education by learning to acquire knowledge and to use it for intelligent ends;
2. An ability to communicate at a level acceptable for college graduates;
3. An ability to clarify one's personal values and to be sensitive to those held by others;
4. An ability to recognize and seek solutions for the common problems of living by drawing on a knowledge of historical and contemporary events and the elements of the cultural heritage related to those events;
5. An ability to work with others to solve life's common problems;
6. An ability to assess one's unique interests, talents, and goals and to choose specialized learning experiences that will foster personal fulfillment.

The Office of UCC provides support to the UCC Subcommittee of the Undergraduate Education Committee.  The UCC Subcommittee is responsible for evaluation and recommending changes in the Program. It has concluded the second assessment cycle for the current program. In the fall of 2002 a Task Force was created that is currently in the process of revising the goals of the program for the first time since 1985. It has a Core with a limited number of courses within distribution areas:

The Core

• ENG 103 English Composition 1
• ENG 104 English Composition 2
• MATHS 125 Mathematics and Its Applications
• HIST 150 Western Civilization
• COMM 210 Fundamentals of Public Communication

Physical, Earth, and Life Sciences (2 courses)

• PHYCS 100 Conceptual Physics or PHYCS 110 or 120 General Physics 1
• ASTRO 100 Introductory Astronomy:  Study of the Solar System and Beyond or ASTRO 120 General Astronomy
• CHEM 100 People and Chemistry or CHEM 101 General, Organic, and Biochemistry for the Health Sciences or CHEM 111 General Chemistry 1
• GEOL 101 Earth's Geologic Environment
• GEOG 101 Earth, Sea, and Sky:  A Geographic View
• NREM 101 Environment and Society
• BIO 100 People and the Life Sciences or BIO 111 Principles of biology 1
• HSC 160 Fundamentals of Human Health

Social and Behavioral Sciences (2 courses)

• ANTH 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology or ANTH 103 Introduction to Archaeology or ANTH 105 Introduction to Physical Anthropology
• ECON 116 Survey of Economic Ideas or ECON 201 Elementary Microeconomics
• GEOG 121 Geography of the Cultural Environment
• HIST 201 American History 1492-1876 or HIST 202 American History 1877 to Present
• POLS 130 American National Government
• PSYSC 100 General Psychology
• SOC 100 Principles of Sociology

Fine Arts (1 course)

• AHS 100 Art:  An Introduction
• DANCE 100 Introduction to Dance History
• MUHIS 100 Introduction to Music
• THEAT 100 Introduction to the Theatre

Humanities (1 course)

• CC 101 Word Origins and Vocabulary Development or CC 105 Introduction to the Classical World
• ENG 205 World Literature
• PHIL 100 Introduction to Philosophy
• RELST 101 Religions In American Culture
• Foreign Language Courses

**One additional course from science, social science, fine arts, or humanities

International/Global Studies (1 course)

• ANTH 201 Anthropology of a Changing World
• CC 205 Mythologies of the World
• ECON 279 Economic and Political Problems of Emerging Nations
• GEOG 150 Global Geography
• GEOL 206 Oceans and Nations
• HIST 198 Studies in Non-Western Civilizations
• NREM 205 International Natural Resources:  Development and Conservation
• RELST 151 Religions of the World
• SOC 328 The Sociology of Modernization

Physical Education and Fitness (1 course)

• PEFWL 100 Physical Conditioning
• PEFWL 103 Fitness Walking
• PEFWL 104 Jogging
• PEFWL 117 Swimnastics
• PEFWL 130 Bicycling
• PEFWL 148 Rhythmic Aerobics
• PEFWL 217 Fitness Swimming

Each spring a faculty member who has demonstrated significant contributions to the UCC Program is selected to receive the Lawhead Teaching Award in The Core Curriculum.  This award provides $1,000 to the faculty member selected.