Liberal Education Core Courses

Liberal Education Foundations (40 credits total)

Thinking & Writing 101 and 102 (2 courses, 8 credits)

Data & Mathematics (1 course, 4 credits)

Ways of Knowing (6 courses total, 24 credits total)

Creative & Interpretive Inquiry (3 courses, 12 credits) 

Social & Behavioral Analysis (1 course, 4 credits) 

Investigating the Natural World (1 course, 4 credits) 

Liberal Education Elective (1 course, 4 credits) [CB1] [PW2] 

Integration (1 course, 4 credits)

Foundations: Explore Thinking & Writing 

TW 101: Thinking & Writing I 

Thinking & Writing I introduces students to the intellectual community of Colby-Sawyer College through close reading of transformative texts and collaborative dialogue. Students will participate in discussions and activities that foster a sense of belonging while applying practical strategies for a successful transition to college. Students learn to evaluate sources and read as college writers, mining texts for ideas and techniques to incorporate into their own writing. Through the pursuit of enduring questions about the human condition, they will practice effective oral communication. Students will learn to apply writing conventions appropriate for an academic audience, producing papers and presentations that reflect clarity, integrity, and thoughtful engagement. 

Course Outcomes: 

• Participate in collaborative discussions and activities that foster a sense of belonging within the community of thinkers at Colby-Sawyer College. 

• Apply practical success skills to the transition to college. 

• Analyze and respond to texts addressing enduring questions about humanness through critical reading, writing, and oral communication.

• Practice writing as a process that includes prewriting, writing, and rewriting. 

• Evaluate sources for legitimacy, relevance, and authority.

• Apply writing conventions appropriate for an academic audience. 

TW 102: Thinking & Writing II 

Building on the foundations of TW 101, TW 102 challenges students to deepen their intellectual engagement and rhetorical sophistication. Students will initiate and moderate collaborative discussions that demonstrate advanced listening, questioning, and synthesis skills. The course emphasizes the role of liberal education in achieving personal, civic, and professional goals. As they delve deeper into enduring questions about human nature, students will develop and defend positions on social responsibility using evidence and logic. Writing projects will involve extended essays and presentations crafted through an iterative process of drafting, peer review, and revision. Students will identify research and rhetorical strategies suited to specific audiences and produce polished work that adheres to academic integrity and citation standards.

Course Outcomes: 

• Initiate and moderate collaborative discussions that demonstrate advanced listening, questioning, and synthesis skills. 

• Connect classroom learning to personal, civic, and professional goals. 

• Develop and defend positions on questions of humanity and social responsibility using evidence, logic, and rhetorical sophistication. 

• Compose extended essays and presentations through an iterative writing process involving drafting, peer review, and revision. 

• Identify research and rhetorical strategies for writing across disciplines and audiences. 

• Produce polished writing that adheres to academic integrity and citation standards.

TW 121: Advanced Thinking & Writing

Designed for students who come to CSC with AP credit in writing or composition, the Advanced Thinking & Writing introduces students to the intellectual community of Colby-Sawyer College through close reading of transformative texts and collaborative dialogue. Students will participate in discussions and activities that foster a sense of belonging while   applying practical strategies for a successful transition to college. Students will develop advanced skills in critical reading, research, rhetorical analysis, and oral and written communication. Emphasis is placed on connecting classroom learning to personal, civic, and professional goals while fostering a sense of belonging within the college community. Writing will be treated as a recursive process of drafting, revising, and refining for multiple audiences, with attention to academic conventions and integrity.

Course Outcomes:

• Participate in collaborative discussions and activities that foster a sense of belonging within the community of thinkers at Colby-Sawyer College.

• Apply practical success skills to the transition to college.

• Analyze and respond to texts addressing enduring questions about the human condition through critical reading, writing, and oral communication.

• Develop and defend positions on questions of human nature and social responsibility using evidence, logic, and rhetorical sophistication.

• Compose extended essays and presentations through an iterative writing process involving drafting, peer review, and revision.

• Identify research and rhetorical strategies for writing across disciplines and audiences.

• Produce polished writing that adheres to academic integrity and citation standards

Data & Mathematics 

In the first year, students will take one of the following, per major program requirements: MAT 122, MAT 220, or MAT 230. 

Course Outcomes: 

• Evaluate the quality of a sample of data and articulate its limitations in representing a population. 

• Calculate descriptive statistics for numerical or categorical data (mean, median, mode, standard deviation, proportion, percentage, percentile) and use the appropriate values to summarize the data.

• Create common graphical displays of data (pie charts, bar plots, line graphs, histograms, scatterplots, box plots) using spreadsheet software and describe what they show.

• Infer and clearly state reasonable data-driven conclusions.

Ways of Knowing (6 courses, 24 credits)

Students take a total of five courses from the areas below and a liberal education elective (LEE). 

Creative and Interpretive Inquiry (CII) (3 courses, 12 credits) 

Area outcomes: 

• Produce, analyze, or interpret creative and philosophical works. 

• Engage questions of meaning, value, and aesthetic judgment. 

• Communicate insights effectively through written, oral, or visual forms. 

Courses: ART100, ART110, ART120, ART230, ART234, ART247, ART260, ART270, DAN150, ENG 213, ENG 215, ENG 234, ENG 242, ENG 244, ENG 244, ENG 250, GD125, GD213, HIS 103, HIS 209, HIS 212, HIS 218, MUS103, MUS108, POL 202, POL 203, POL 204, THE120, THE140, THE230, WRT201

Social and Behavioral Analysis (SBA) (1 course, 4 credits) 

Area outcomes: 

• Analyze how social, political, and economic forces shape individuals and communities. 

• Interpret qualitative and quantitative evidence and apply disciplinary perspectives to evaluate real-world issues. 

• Reflect on individual roles and responsibilities within diverse communities and a democratic society.

 Area courses: BUS115, CHI101, ECO 201, EDU201, POL 100, POL 101, PSY 101, SHS101, SM210, SM213, WGS 111

Investigating the Natural World (INW) (1 course, 4 credits) 

Area outcomes: 

• Use scientific and logical methods to generate and investigate questions about the natural world and human systems. 

• Collect and evaluate evidence, data, and models to draw reasoned conclusions and test competing explanations. 

• Apply quantitative reasoning and analytical tools to solve problems and assess hypotheses and claims. 

Area courses: BIO106, BIO107, BIO121, BIO205, BIO206, CHE101, ENV101, ENV201, PHY101, SCI112 

Integration (1 course, 4 credits) Integration (IGR)

Integrative courses serve as the culmination of the liberal education program. Students investigate a contemporary global issue through multiple disciplinary perspectives, examining how ideas from different historical periods, cultural traditions, and intellectual frameworks illuminate enduring questions. Community-based research, fieldwork, simulations, or applied problem-solving, students integrate knowledge and skills developed across their liberal education courses, major field of study, and cocurricular experiences. They apply disciplinary methods to propose informed responses to real-world dimensions of the issue. The IGR challenges students to move beyond isolated coursework and develop a coherent, well-reasoned perspective that connects ideas across disciplines. It invites reflection on how one’s own values, well-being, and sense of responsibility shape your engagement with complex global challenges.

Area outcomes: 

• Analyze a contemporary global issue from multiple disciplinary perspectives. 

• Draw meaningful connections among texts from different time periods, cultural traditions, geographies, disciplines, or genres that explore enduring questions about the human condition. 

• Integrate knowledge and skills from their liberal education, major field, and cocurricular experiences to develop a coherent perspective on the issue. 

• Connect concepts and approaches to problem solving across disciplines and apply methodologies to real-world problems. 

• Reflect on how facets of their own personal well-being are related to the course topic.