The Integrative Core Curriculum (ICC) is a set of shared academic experiences for all Ithaca College students. The program is designed to help students develop integrative thinking, critical and analytical problem solving, and reflective learning. These three skills have been identified by both employers and professional societies as essential for success in 21st century personal and professional life.
Below you will find an overview of each requirement. The total number of unique credits required to complete the ICC will vary depending on catalog year, the specific requirements of the major program, and the courses each student elects to complete. Click here for a one page summary of ICC requirements.
ICC Perspectives
Perspectives in the ICC describe approaches to real-world challenges through scholarly disciplines and professional frameworks.
The creative arts perspective focuses on how people use their skills and imagination to express themselves creatively. In CA courses, you examine the methods and materials used in various kinds of art—performances, written works, visual pieces, and structures. Students gain an understanding of theoretical, social, political, economic, and historical contexts surrounding works of art. CA courses offer you an understanding of how creativity comes to life through art, and how creative works evoke emotions, provoke thoughts, or guide actions and beliefs.
The humanities perspective considers what it means to be human. Courses in this perspective help you understand the human experience by analyzing expressions of language, image, text, and culture. Through the humanities, you learn to describe and interpret the values, beliefs, and behaviors of yourself and others in an historical and contemporary context.
The natural sciences perspective focuses on scientific theories that explain how the world around us works—physical and biological phenomena, and the scientific methods used to observe them. Courses in this perspective enable you to understand foundational scientific principles and explain how humans interact with and understand the natural and physical world. You will learn to recognize the impact of the natural sciences on yourself and society.
The social sciences perspective fosters understanding of how social forces shape, predict, and determine human action. You will learn to recognize relevant social patterns and use those patterns to interpret individual and group behavior. You’ll also explore how diverse cultures and institutions help shape, and in turn are shaped by, the decisions of their members. And you will find out how your own values, beliefs, and behaviors may have been shaped by the people and behavioral patterns around you.
ICC Core Competencies
These requirements are also referred to as attributes.
An interdisciplinary liberal arts course that supports the academic and social transition to Ithaca College. All students will complete one of the seminars during their first semester. Ithaca Seminars numbered 10800 satisfy both the Ithaca Seminar and Academic Writing (WRTG 10600) requirements.
Writing provides a critical foundation for success in college and beyond. Academic Writing at IC emphasizes awareness of audience and purpose, as well as aiding in reflective thinking and active problem-solving. This first-year composition requirement can be satisfied (preferably by the end of the first year) in one of the following ways:
Take WRTG 10600 Academic Writing during your first or second semester at IC.
Complete a specialized Ithaca Seminar in Writing (ICSM 10800), which counts as both ICSM and WRTG 10600.
Earn a 4 or 5 on either the AP English Language & Composition or the AP English Language & Literature exam. (See catalog for more on Advanced Placement.)
Earn a 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the IB English A (HL) exam (effective Fall 2022; see catalog for more on International Baccalaureate).
Transfer equivalent credit from another college. (Visit the Writing Department website for additional guidance on equivalent courses.)
Everyone knows that people have their differences. Groups are marginalized, silenced, and oppressed based on who they are, what they believe, and how they express themselves. Diversity encompasses multiple dimensions, including but not limited to the social and political constructions of race, culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, ideas, beliefs, geographic origin, class, sexual orientation and identities, gender, gender identities and expressions, disability, and age.
Courses with a diversity designation (DV) will give you another view of the world—through the eyes of those different than yourself. You’ll explore current and past injustices and see how those in power can shape public perception of peoples’ differences and how societies can adapt to or resist these definitions. You’ll learn how diversity enriches society, come to understand why groups may hold different views on issues, and open your mind to views beyond your own.
You may fulfill this through any designated course within the major, minor, perspectives, or electives.
In a data- and information-saturated world, people need quantitative skills to understand both common and complex issues, and to formulate intelligent questions. Concepts related to quantitative literacy include but are not limited to measurement, logic, number sense, percentages, sampling and error, and graphical representation of data and information.
Courses with a quantitative literacy designation (QL) focus on the measurement of personal, social, and scientific issues. You will develop the ability to investigate and interpret quantitative information, critique it, reflect upon it, and apply it to a given issue. You will learn how to accurately explain information generated or presented mathematically and construct reasoned arguments. You’ll also learn to present quantitative information in an effective format to support your argument.
You may fulfill this through any designated course within the major, minor, perspectives, or electives.
Courses that carry a writing intensive designation (WI) emphasize the ability to develop and articulate content knowledge and critical thinking through frequent practice of informal and formal writing. You will learn to demonstrate understanding of audience expectations, genres, and conventions appropriate to a specific academic discipline or related profession. The WI course requires you to compose one or more papers totaling at least 3,000 words through the stages of recursive writing—brainstorming, drafting, integrating sources, and revising comprehensively after receiving substantial, formative feedback on drafts.
You must fulfill the Academic Writing requirement before enrolling in a writing intensive course.
You may fulfill this through any designated course within the major, minor, perspectives, or electives.
One of your final ICC experiences as you near graduation is your ICC capstone, designed as an opportunity for you to synthesize your college experience. An ICC capstone experience is required for all students and is either a stand-alone course or a component of a capstone for your major program. As part of your ICC capstone, you’ll be required to complete a reflective artifact that addresses the question, “What has my learning in the Integrative Core Curriculum contributed to my education and how is that learning related to what I’ve learned in my major and through other learning experiences?” Upon completion of the ICC capstone requirement, you’ll be able to:
Engage in and communicate self-reflection about your learning in the Integrative Core Curriculum, your chosen discipline, and your overall college experience;
Connect relevant experience and academic knowledge to deepen understanding of fields of study and broaden your own points of view; and
Summarize your prior learning inside and outside of the classroom to reveal significantly changed perspectives about educational and life experiences.
ICC Capstone (CP) may be taken as a stand-alone course or as a component of a capstone course for your major.
