Undergraduate Academic Information

At Lasell University, students earn 42 credits for courses taken within the Core Curriculum.  The Core Curriculum guides learning across all majors within Lasell's unique connected learning environment. With its emphasis the overarching goal of Synthesis & Application, the Core provides students with intellectual experiences and skills necessary for success in the working world.  Designed around multidisciplinary thinking, active learning, and problem-solving, the Core prepares students for meeting challenges in not only their chosen fields but also in our wider world.   

CORE CURRICULUM REQUIRED COURSES   

Foundational Requirements: 

• FYS 103     First Year Seminar              (3)
• ENG 101    Writing I                               (3)                                               
• ENG 102    Writing II                             (3)                                              
• MATH 106 Algebraic Operations            (3)                            

Knowledge Perspectives                                                                

• Aesthetics & Creativity                            (3)                                             
• Global & Historical                                   (3)                                                    
• Individuals & Society                               (3)                                              
• Scientific Reasoning & Problem-Solving (3)                  

Quantitative Reasoning Requirement            (3)                                 

Multidisciplinary Experience  (MDSC203)   (3)                     

Ethical Reasoning  (PHIL302)                            (3)                                              

Writing-Intensive courses                                    (6)                                                    

Speaking-Intensive course                                   (3)                                                 

Total minimum Core Curriculum Credits     (42)                      

The Core Curriculum is made up of inquiry-based courses and internship and capstone experiences, creating a common core learning experience for students each year. As the courses increase in depth and complexity, students develop knowledge, skills, and ownership of their education, and create the habits of lifelong intellectual exploration and social responsibility. 

The theme-based First Year Seminar emphasizes the core intellectual skills, while providing an introduction to the knowledge perspectives; connected learning projects and challenging class assignments incorporate synthesis and application.

In the first year, students also complete a self-paced, technology-enhanced mathematics course and take two courses focused on writing skills. Students build on the skills in writing and quantitative literacy established in these foundational courses in two writing-intensive courses within the major and an additional mathematics course, often also within the major. In addition, one speaking-intensive course within the major focuses on oral presentation and speaking skills.

Four courses taken during the first two years engage students in understanding and solving problems they will encounter in their professional and personal lives from four different Knowledge Perspectives: Aesthetics and Creativity, Scientific Inquiry and Problem Solving, Global and Historical Perspectives, and Individuals and Society. 

A Multidisciplinary Experience course, usually taken in the sophomore year, introduces a social or intellectual problem (such as sustainable cities) that cannot be addressed from a single knowledge perspective. Faculty guide students through a critical thinking process that crosses traditional disciplinary lines. 

The Ethical Reasoning course, usually taken in the junior year, challenges students to analyze and grapple with real, current moral dilemmas, and their complex ethical solutions, by connecting cultural and historical ways of understanding ethical thinking with professional standards.   In their last two years, students practice high-level Synthesis and Application by further integrating the skills, perspectives, and multidisciplinary approaches in many of their major-specific courses. In particular, the Internship and Capstone Experiences serve as the culmination of the Core Curriculum where students experience the highest level of connection between Core and Department outcomes, skills, and knowledge.  

The First Year Seminar (FYS) is part of the Core Curriculum and a requirement for all incoming first year students and transfer students with fewer than 15 credits. The First Year Seminar is a theme-based inquiry course that engages students in a specific area of interest while providing support for a smooth transition into the Lasell University community and the Connected Learning philosophy. Through studying an academic topic, students develop and apply core intellectual skills and receive an introduction to the core knowledge perspectives. At the same time, students connect to the experiences and people that make up the Lasell University Community. Course outcomes are accomplished through engaging activities including reading, writing, class discussions, presentations, team projects, field trips, and exploration of campus resources. Civic engagement and service-learning activities are often part of this course as is participation in the Connected Learning Symposium. Through the seminar, students develop close ties with faculty and peer mentors who serve as advocates for first year students' academic success. Past course titles have included: Challenging Hollywood: Thinking Critically about Movies, Exploring Activism-Changing Our World, Let Us Rock, Pets: Our Perfect Companion, The Meaning of Dress, The “Reality” of Relationships, The Spark of Creativity, The Witch in History and Pop Culture, Women and Sports, and Zombies, Vampires and Revolutionaries. This requirement may be fulfilled by taking either FYS103 or HON101 (for students enrolled in the Honors Program).

Lasell Works

Lasell Works is an immersive four-year experience that provides students with a heightened level of career preparation, while also reducing the cost of tuition by $22,000 over four years. When combined with other potential cost reductions, a student's total savings over four years can be as much as $38,000.  In addition to standard coursework, Lasell Works students take a series of five credit-bearing seminars.  These seminars emphasize leadership, financial literacy, and other aspects of professional development. In their sophomore year, Lasell Works students live off campus and complete their coursework online, while maintaining part-time employment. With the exception of the aforementioned seminars, the freshman, junior and senior years for Lasell Works students do not diverge from those of students not in the program. 

Learn more about Lasell Works here. 

Linked-Credits are one credit experiences linked to a host course, involving work in an area that is tied to the classroom experience. Linked-Credits provide connected learning opportunities in areas that support the mission of the University and that often tie into the work of various Centers at the University.

There are four possible Linked Credit options:

Service-Learning (SVL)
For this credit, students do 15 to 20 hours of service learning with an agency off campus, coupled with reflection on the social justice issues related to the service agency. Students wishing to enroll in the SVL linked credit meet with the Director of the Center for Community Based Learning, and the professor of their host course before enrolling.  

Social Justice Activism (SJA)
For this credit, students participate in activities aimed at promoting opportunities for all people and addressing inequities by raising awareness or advocating for change. Working towards social justice requires that the root causes of injustice be investigated - the structural/social conditions that bring about group disparities and exclusion. Students wishing to enroll in the SJA linked credit meet with the Director of the Donahue Institute for Ethics, Diversity, & Inclusion and the professor of their host course before enrolling.   

Research Across the Curriculum (RAC)
For this credit, students conduct a research project that extends an area of study in the host course. Students wishing to enroll in the RAC linked credit meet with the Director of the Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies and the professor of their host course before enrolling.   

Intergenerational Studies (IGS)
For this credit, students design and complete a project that compares some aspect of thought or behavior across individuals of different ages. Students wishing to enroll in the IGS linked credit meet with the Director of the Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies and the professor of their host course before enrolling.   

Lasell Works

Lasell Works is an immersive four-year experience that provides students with a heightened level of career preparation, while also reducing the cost of tuition by $22,000 over four years. When combined with other potential cost reductions, a student's total savings over four years can be as much as $38,000.  In addition to standard coursework, Lasell Works students take a series of five credit-bearing seminars.  These seminars emphasize leadership, financial literacy, and other aspects of professional development. In their sophomore year, Lasell Works students live off campus and complete their coursework online, while maintaining part-time employment. With the exception of the aforementioned seminars, the freshman, junior and senior years for Lasell Works students do not diverge from those of students not in the program. 

Learn more about Lasell Works here.