Specific courses required to fulfill CORE  requirements can vary by college and sometimes by degree program.  CORE requirements, including general education and any related major requirements, are detailed on the Requirements tab for each major's listing in this catalog.  

Roosevelt's general education requirements are aligned with and approved by Illinois Articulation Initiative recommendations. To fulfill their CORE requirements most students are required to take courses in the following areas: English Composition, Mathematics, Communication, Natural Science, Humanities and Fine and Performing Arts, and Social Science.  

In addition, the CORE includes signature Roosevelt requirements as governed by Roosevelt University councils. 

All students must fulfill the University Writing Requirement.  Most students also complete General Education Mathematics Requirements as determined by their major.  Roosevelt University is Test Optional but test scores are requested for optimal placement into English and Mathematics courses. Placement is determined either by ACT or SAT scores, if those scores have been received within the past two years, or by the or by the Roosevelt University Assessment. Transfer students should consult the Roosevelt University Assessment page for more detail.

FIRST YEAR SUCCESS -OR- TRANSFER SUCCESS

 FYS 101 FIRST YEAR SUCCESS COURSE and TRS 101 TRANSFER SUCCESS 101 are designed to facilitate students' integration into the Roosevelt University community.  These courses connect students with Roosevelt's mission and resources and help them explore their academic and career goals.  Students in the Chicago College of Performing Arts take other courses to meet these requirements.

IDEAS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Ideas of Social Justice is a 3-semester-hour CORE requirement designed to help students reflect on themes and questions surrounding social groups and issues. These courses foster intellectual curiosity and community by encouraging faculty and students to explore an enduring idea, theme, or question that illuminates the diversity of human experience.  

Students should consult with their academic advisor to select an appropriate Ideas course for which they meet the prerequisites.  Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Ideas Course" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule for each semester. 

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The CORE Experiential Learning requirements represent a strong implementation of the RU mission.  Experiential Learning courses connect to issues and constituencies beyond the classroom by offering opportunities for direct application of course material to concrete topics and communities. These courses engage students in “learning by doing and reflecting,” bringing clarity to the many uses of academic study, expanding students’ capacities to cultivate skills and values important to their personal and professional development, and creating conditions for students to make meaningful contributions to communities. 

Students should consult their specific program requirements and their academic advisor to select Experiential Learning courses for which they meet the prerequisite. Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Experiential Learning" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule for each semester.

COMMUNICATION

CORE courses in Communication prioritize analysis, interrogation, and practice in multiple modes, media, genres, and platforms. Though traditionally divided into oral and written, communication has grown increasingly complex, inter-related, and multi-modal in the 21st century. CORE courses do not presume literacy, but explore the multiple literacies (including information, technology, and media) necessary to navigate our many and varied discourse communities. These courses are often writing- or speech-intensive and allow students to practice and revise with attention to genre, purpose, and audience. Students practice close reading and effective listening and learn to develop voices and perspectives that make possible meaningful and confident contributions to the significant conversations they will encounter in college and elsewhere. 

Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Communication (COMM)" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule.

NATURAL SCIENCE

The natural sciences use the scientific method to observe, predict, and explain nature’s phenomena based on empirical evidence. Like life itself, the natural sciences are diverse and complex, but are typically broken down into two major divisions: the life sciences (the study of living organisms) and physical sciences (the study of non-living systems). Life science fields such as biology and ecology explore the structure, function, distribution, environmental context, and evolution of organisms; while the physical sciences such as astronomy, chemistry, geology, and physics explore the fundamental constituents and forces of nature, the relationship between matter and energy, and changes in the physical world over time. Within the CORE, students take both a life and physical science course, with one of these courses including a laboratory component. The laboratory setting -- which usually involves bench work but may also take place outside, in the field -- provides hands-on learning experiences that complement the facts and theoretical concepts learned in the classroom. Many natural science courses at Roosevelt explore, whether directly or indirectly, the human relationship to the natural world -- how long-term environmental changes have impacted the development of human societies, for example, or the ways in which human activity contributes to climate change.

Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Natural Science" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule for each semester.

SOCIAL SCIENCE

The fields that comprise the Social Sciences are diverse, and yet all grapple with similar questions and often even analyze similar sources. Disciplines in the Social Sciences study human behavior, focusing on institutional-level forces as well as on individual-level factors that contribute to the development of societies. The Social Sciences, therefore, are uniquely positioned to promote civic and social engagement. In these courses, students learn about diverse cultures, examine the relationships between individuals, communities, and the physical environment, and attempt to solve issues of social justice. While the Social Sciences all approach research using scientific, evidence-based methods of inquiry, a great diversity of qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to examine complex social problems. Research questions and, thus, courses, focus on individual attitudes, beliefs, and constructs, the relationship between individuals and society, and the institutions, policies, and structures that shape those societies. In their pursuit of compelling research questions and through their diverse forms of analysis, students engage in problem-based research both within the classroom and in the broader community. Courses require students to become more aware of their assumptions, to formulate compelling questions, and to generate strategies of analysis and interpretation that are both critical and creative. And, finally, this process of discovery promotes self-reflection, as students develop insights into their assumptions and behaviors, while also promoting their skills in communication. Students who engage in the Social Sciences will find that the insights they glean from their study of individuals and society will have implications in all fields and situations.

Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Social Science" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule for each semester.

HUMANITIES/FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS

In courses in the Humanities/Fine and Performing Arts, students engage with the products of human thought, experience, culture, and imagination through the practices, concerns, and methodologies in disciplines such as art, philosophy, language, music, history, dance, literature, and women’s and gender studies. Studies in the Humanities/Fine and Performing Arts deepen awareness of the complexities of the human condition and its diverse challenges, histories, and cultures. These disciplines promote connection and identification with diverse audiences and encourage reflection on values and value systems. Studies in Humanities/Fine and Performing Arts develop skills in description (how is X), suggestion (how is X done or understood), and evaluation (how effective is X). By emphasizing meta-cognitive skills (monitoring, evaluating, and optimizing acquisition and use of knowledge), these courses facilitate partnerships, relationships, and transference across disciplinary and other boundaries. Because they require reflection and creation, the arts and humanities are heavily invested in aspirations towards cultural and social change.

Courses meeting this requirement carry the "Humanities" attribute in the Course Finder class schedule for each semester.

Shared Coursework

General rules governing shared coursework are as follows:

• Credits cannot be shared between major requirements and the CORE communication, mathematics, natural science, humanities and fine and performing arts, and social science requirements. Your degree program, however, may designate or suggest specific courses for you to take to fulfill these CORE requirements.
• Credits can be shared between CORE (General Education) requirements and a minor.
• ​Credits cannot be shared between a major and a minor, between minor and concentration, between multiple majors, between multiple minors, or between multiple concentrations. 
• Credits cannot be shared between CORE communication, mathematics, natural science, humanities and fine and performing arts, and social science requirements. 
• For students completing an Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's degree program, up to 9 credit hours of identified courses taken in the senior year of the student’s undergraduate degree program can be applied to the graduate degree program.

Rules for Ideas of Social Justice courses:

• Can count toward the major or minor requirement.
• Cannot count towards the CORE communication, mathematics, natural science, humanities and fine and performing arts, and social science requirements

Rules for Experiential Learning courses:

• Can count toward major requirements, minor requirements, and/or any other CORE requirement (with the exception of First-Year Success, Transfer Success, and Ideas courses).
• Some programs may designate specific major/minor course requirements to fulfill one or both of the Experiential Learning requirements. 

Policies for Transfer Students

• First- Year Success/Transfer Success - Undergraduate students entering with fewer than 12 hours are required to take the First-Year Success course in their first semester at RU. Transfer students entering with fewer than 90 hours are required to take the Transfer Success course in their first semester at RU.
• Ideas of Social Justice - All undergraduate students who enter with fewer than 30 hours of transfer credit are required to take an Ideas of Social Justice course.
• Experiential Learning - Students who enter Roosevelt as freshmen, or transfer students with less than 60 hours, are required to take two Experiential Learning courses at the 200- or 300-level (for a total of 6 credit hours). Transfer students who enter with 60 or more hours are required to take one Experiential Learning course at the 200- or 300-level (3 credits).

Policies for Readmitted Students

Students who are readmitted to the university must adhere to the current catalog requirements, and thus follow the same requirements as transfer students. Readmitted students can be waived of CORE courses based on the number of credit hours accumulated during their first time at RU.