As a Jesuit University, Boston College has as its heritage a 400-year tradition of concern for the integration of the intellectual, moral, and religious development of its students. The centerpiece of Jesuit education has always been a common curriculum that emphasizes the study of the defining works of the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.

University Core Curriculum

• One course in Arts (Fine Arts, Music, Theatre)
• One course in Cultural Diversity
• This requirement may be fulfilled by an appropriate course taken to fulfill another core requirement, a major requirement, or an elective.
• Two courses in History (Modern History)
• One course in Literature (Classics, English, German Studies, Romance Language and Literatures, Slavic & Eastern Languages and Literatures)
• One course in Mathematics
• Two courses in Natural Science (Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Geophysics, Physics)
• Two courses in Philosophy
• Two courses in Social Science (Psychology in Education, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology)
• Two courses in Theology
• One course in Writing

View a listing of courses that satisfy the University Core Curriculum requirements.

University Language Requirement

All students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Carroll School of Management must demonstrate proficiency in a modern foreign language or in a classical language at the intermediate level.

In the College of Arts and Sciences and the Carroll School of Management, proficiency in French, German, or Spanish may be demonstrated by a score of three or better on the A.P. exam, or a score of 550 or better on the SAT II reading exam in French, German, Spanish, or Italian. A proficiency examination in German is also available through the department. Proficiency in Latin or Greek may be demonstrated by a score of four or five on the AP exam, or of 600 or better on the SAT II reading exam. Students wishing to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than those listed above, and those for whom English is not their first language, should consult their class dean. Satisfaction of the requirement through course work requires successful completion of the second semester at the intermediate level or one semester above the intermediate level.

In the Carroll School of Management, language proficiency may also be demonstrated by passing four years of high school language study (which need not be the same language, e.g., two years of Latin and two years of French would fulfill the language requirement). Alternately, if a student enters Boston College with three years of a foreign language, they may fulfill the requirement by taking one year of a new language or by completing two semesters of an intermediate level language.

The Lynch School of Education and the Connell School of Nursing do not have language requirements.

Language courses will count as Arts and Sciences' electives. Students with documented learning disabilities may be exempt from the foreign language requirement and should consult with the associate dean. Fulfillment of the proficiency requirement by the examinations listed above does not confer course credit.