The Breakthrough Curriculum
Edwina Sandys’ sculpture, Breakthrough, stands prominently at the center of Westminster’s campus. The piece consists of two figures, one male and one female, cut out of the largest segment of the Berlin Wall in North America. As a piece of art, Breakthrough, celebrates the liberation of Eastern Europe in 1989, reminding the viewer of the dramatic end of the Cold War, which has been so eloquently introduced by Sandys’ grandfather, Winston Churchill, in 1946. “Breakthrough” symbolizes societal and cultural liberation, but focusing on the anonymous figures, also suggests the eminence of individual transformation.
Westminster College’s general education, Breakthrough, curriculum aspires to provide an education that is equally transformative for each student and that will also prepare our students to take up the cause of individual freedom. Breakthrough maintains the breadth of study that is at the heart of liberal arts education but contextualizes it in an innovative way. Instead of viewing core courses as simply fulfilling academic categories such as Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences, students will internalize the role of the core courses in addressing the key issues that they will face for the rest of their professional lives.
Foundational Courses
| Course Code |
Title |
Credits |
General Education |
| ENG 103 |
Academic Writing |
3 |
Foundational |
| WSM 104 |
Transformations |
3 |
Foundational |
| MAT 110 |
Quantitative Reasoning and Problem Solving |
3 |
Foundational |
| MAT 114 |
Elementary Statistics |
3 |
Foundational |
Themes
| Course Code |
Title |
Credits |
Theme |
| CLA 215 |
Mythology |
3 |
Aesthetics |
| PSY 112 |
Psychology as a Natural Science |
3 |
Human Development |
| PSY 113 |
Psychology as a Social Science |
3 |
Human Development |
| PHL 212 |
Introduction to Ethics |
3 |
Values and Diversity |
| HUM 277 |
Spanish Civilization |
3 |
Global Perspective |
| REL 102 |
World Religions |
3 |
Global Perspective |
| BIO 108 |
Introduction to Biological Principles |
3 |
Natural Science Inquiry |
| BUS 220 |
Fundamentals of Management |
3 |
Institutions and Society |
| LST 201 |
Introduction to Leadership Theories and Practice |
3 |
Institutions and Society |
Explorations
| Course Code |
Title |
Credits |
Exploration |
| REL 346 |
Religion and Violence |
3 |
Transnational Issues |
| GTS 300/PSY 405 |
International and Cross-Cultural Psychology |
3 |
Transnational Issues |
| LST 340 |
Great Leaders |
3 |
Human Experience |
| PHL 302 |
Meaning of Life |
3 |
Human Experience |
Lifetime Leadership Skills
| Course Code |
Title |
Credits |
Skill |
| BUS 327 |
Operations Management |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| BUS 334 |
Consumer Behavior |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| BUS 450 |
Business Strategy |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| ECN 355 |
Research for Business and Social Science Applications |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| LST 420 |
Leadership Capstone |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| PHL 302 |
Meaning of Life |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| PSY 422 |
Seminar |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| PSY 431 |
Senior Thesis |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| PSY 274 |
Methods in Experimental Psychology |
3 |
Writing Intensive |
| SPE 101 |
Introduction to Public Speaking |
3 |
Oral Communication and Presentation |
| PSY 320 |
Memory and Cognition Lab |
1 |
Oral Communication and Presentation |
| PSY 310 |
Social Psychology Lab |
1 |
Oral Communication and Presentation |
| BUS 210 |
Spreadsheet Applications for Business |
3 |
Information and Digital Literacy |
| PSY 270 |
Research Tools |
3 |
Information and Digital Literacy |
| BUS 353 |
Non-Profit Management |
3 |
Research: Inquiry and Analysis |
| PSY 274 |
Methods in Experimental Psychology |
3 |
Research: Inquiry and Analysis |
The course of study for each program is set with no elective choices.
