Belong. Explore. Evolve.
A Core Curriculum Designed for Purpose.
Almost every college and university has a general education curriculum. These courses are designed to take you beyond your major and provide a well-rounded education. At Hollins University, our Core Curriculum goes further.
An education that builds confidence, curiosity, creativity, and career-ready skills
Hollins’ Core Curriculum is intentionally designed to help you explore ideas, challenge assumptions, and grow into a confident thinker and leader. Through shared learning experiences and flexible course choices, you’ll develop the skills employers value most—critical thinking, communication, adaptability, and ethical leadership.
Our program blends common courses taken alongside your peers with opportunities to choose classes that reflect your interests and goals. The result is a meaningful academic foundation that prepares you not only for your career, but for a life of purpose—in work, in community, and beyond.
The First-Year Experience
Our first-year core academic courses focus on helping you develop the most important academic skills for college success. Skills like conducting research, persuasive writing courses and speaking, conflict resolution courses, and navigating difficult conversations. Along the way, you’ll build community with other students, explore new ideas, and challenge yourself.
Hollins’ Core Curriculum ensures every student graduates with strong communication skills, ethical reasoning, and real-world problem-solving experience.
First-Year Foundations: What’s Your Story?
Four years may seem like a long time, but it goes by in a flash. What do you want to see, do, and learn during your time at Hollins? Together, we’ll read texts that explore some of life’s big questions: Who am I? Where do I want to go? How will I get there?
You’ll learn about and connect to resources and opportunities at Hollins and design a plan for your four-year undergraduate journey.
Conflict & Collaboration
In our personal and professional lives, having deep conversations about things that matter can be hard. That’s because a villain called Conflict stands in the way of meaningful discussions. We need brave and vulnerable communicators. But taking that first step can feel risky and uncomfortable.
This course during January Term (J-Term) will help you develop a modern super power to improve your relationships, strengthen your decision making, pursue positive social change, and boost your professional success. Constructive dialogue is a form of conversation where people with different perspectives try to understand each other – without giving up their own beliefs – in order to learn, live, and work together.
- LEARN why our brains are hard-wired for conflict!
- DEVELOP constructive dialogue skills!
- PRACTICE your new superpower in a collaborative project with your classmates!
Inquiry & Communication
In these courses you’ll strengthen your ability to write clearly, speak persuasively, and ask critical questions. Topics range from:
- A History of Poverty
- Social Media and Social Activism
- Hidden Messages
- Contemporary Moral Issues
- Intro to Video Game Music
- Conceptions of the Hero
- Books on the Beach
- Theories of Color
- … and many more!
Other Essential Elements of the Hollins Core
Essential Literacies
Quantitative Literacy: In these courses, you’ll work on strengthening your ability to understand the world quantitatively and to approach problems with a quantitative lens. You’ll have an opportunity to connect what you are learning to your own life and areas of interest.
World Languages: By learning another language, students come to appreciate the breadth of the human experience and their responsibilities to a global community; practice self-awareness, adaptability, and cultural humility; and come to a deeper understanding of their own culture and language.
Critical Thinking & Communication Across the Liberal Arts
These courses – found across every area of the curriculum – explore different ways of thinking about and seeing the world:
- Storytelling, Myths, and Narrative
- Diversity, Justice, and Power
- Thinking Like a Scientist
- Creativity & Innovation
Climate, Communities, and Care
How can we be responsible stewards of our planet? In this course, you’ll explore environmental sustainability, climate crisis, and the impacts of environmental change on humans on a global scale and from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
Purpose
In this capstone course available for seniors, you’ll have an opportunity to reflect on your college journey and integrate what you have learned. How has your path evolved? What do you want to do in the world? How do you want to tell your story? This course will also help connect students with programming and resources from the Center for Career and Life Design.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is the process of learning by doing. Hollins offers multiple ways for you to complete this requirement, including internships, study away, and research opportunities.
Life Skills Toolkit
In these modules, you’ll have the opportunity to hone essential skills for success at Hollins and beyond. We have toolkits focused on wellness, technology, financial literacy, and career development.