Core Curriculum (Columbia College)

The Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College in 1919. Today, customized versions of the Core Curriculum are also completed by students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of General Studies (the other two undergraduate colleges of Columbia University).

The curriculum began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States. Later in its history, especially in the 1990s, it became a heavily contested form of learning, seen by some as an appropriate foundation of a liberal arts education, and by others as a tool of promoting a Eurocentric or Anglocentric society by solely focusing on the works of "dead white men". In response, the College added requirements for courses in "major cultures" during the 1980s. Recent controversy over the "Core" has been related to whether visiting artists to Columbia should have their works added to the syllabus, as was the case with a play by Václav Havel in Fall 2006. A major addition to the core was made in the 2000s, when a science literacy course was added.

US universities, including Harvard, had seen a trend towards more elective programs during the late 19th century. Columbia's president Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard supported this trend, but his stance lost ground at the College over the following decades. Previously, a liberal arts education rarely focused directly on a major, but would focus on both Greek and Latin classics. The changes were first initiated in the 1880s with the inclusion of courses in study of a modern language. This change, along with a latter change in campus location preceding World War I set the stage for a major change in curricula focus after the war. The "Contemporary Civilization" course of the time has also been described as a direct response to the US entry into the war, seeking to encourage US involvement by stressing the importance of Western civilization. Its persistence has been attributed to the College's wish to retain authority and autonomy with regard to the university's more specialized graduate programs.

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