First-Year Overview

At UW Tacoma, we have designed our core curriculum to be an intellectually stimulating experience that will help you make connections within your learning community and between academic disciplines.

Freshmen take courses as part of a close-knit community of students—a cohort—who take their first-year core courses together. In the core curriculum's small learning community, you really get to know your professors and classmates. Our team-taught and linked core courses promote an interdisciplinary approach to learning that deepens your understanding of the world and how it works.

You may earn credit in art and economics one quarter, history and sociology the next. Discussion, lectures, reading, writing, and projects focus on one unifying theme designed to broaden your perspective. You will explore additional fields of study in stand-alone electives you choose.

In addition to registering for your core classes, full-time students also sign up for electives. If you have decided on a major, such as business, urban studies, psychology, or social welfare your elective should probably be a class that fulfulls the academic major prerequisite requirement. These are classes that typically need to be taken before you can apply to your major. Some majors require additional math and science courses.

Plus, our academic advisers can also help you find any academic support you may need as you adjust to college life.

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