Academic Affairs

General Education

A Clarke education is like the Atrium. Learning begins in the Cornerstone with a strong foundation that provides the granite or the solid base that undergirds the divisional courses or pillars. While the liberal arts divisions provide four distinct views and discipline-related content, like the Atrium pillars they are bound together by common general education outcomes and by specially designed components offering breadth of knowledge and experience. The Capstone completes the general education component of a Clarke education by enabling the student to see more clearly and with greater breadth the windows of opportunity that the community of learners gains from the liberal arts curriculum. Departmental majors provide students with the means to select a window of opportunity that will enable students to focus their academic goals and catch a glimpse of their selected professions.

A Clarke University education is an education that will last – one that will stand the test of time

Student Outcomes for General Education

Demonstrate an ability to engage in a process of spiritual growth in a dialogue which includes the Catholic tradition.

Derived from “spiritus,” to breathe, spirituality permeates the entire body of liberal studies and campus life at Clarke University. Through a shared recognition that it is this breath, this spiritual center, which gives full life to us all, students, faculty, and staff support one another in seeking further understanding of ourselves as beings whose existence moves through the temporal and physical into the presence of God. Life in the spirit respects the dignity of others regardless of class, race, ethnicity, or gender. Life in the spirit involves working individually as well as collaboratively to achieve ways of living according to our values, ethics, and religious traditions. Life in the spirit prevails in the face of change and obstacles because our core is moveable while at once remaining at center. Spirituality at Clarke, informed by the Catholic tradition and the charism of the Christian Catholic Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, results in action—action toward recognition of self, action toward social justice, and action dedicated to charity, freedom, and education.

Demonstrate competent use of language in a variety of settings.

Some cultures have attempted to limit human thought by denying some of their members the right to read, write, speak or hear. The Clarke liberal studies program, in dissolving the tyranny of ignorance, encourages students to expand the self to fuller potential through language acquisition and use. Whether written, spoken, or nonverbal, language has at its heart the ability to convey and receive that which can be conceived of intellectually, personally, and spiritually. Students find opportunities to express themselves confidently and effectively, individually and collaboratively through writing, giving oral presentations, acquiring additional languages, gathering information, participating in panels and debates, using technologies judiciously and creatively, reading astutely, and listening critically. Language frees the liberally educated person to co-create the human story.

Demonstrate thinking skills informed by experience, knowledge, insight, and reflection.

“The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates tells us. Clarke’s liberal studies program dares students to think for themselves. This program challenges students to develop critical and creative thinking as they integrate knowledge from varied perspectives. It challenges students to read, discuss, and listen with a healthy skepticism and ear for new learning. It challenges students to understand their own cognitive processes. Such skills prepare students as life-long learners meeting change with adaptability and intelligence.

Demonstrate a breadth and integration of knowledge in arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.

Truly educated persons know more than that by which they earn their daily bread: they feast on the knowledge of the ages. Clarke’s liberal arts program invites students to become scholars engaged in an interdisciplinary study of numerous fields drawn from the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. This knowledge not only prepares students personally and professionally for an ever-changing world but also nurtures the flourishing of the human spirit.