The Academic Curriculum

Today’s job market requires graduates to be more than just experts in their area of academic focus; they need to be able to apply and adapt a wide array of skills and experiences to fit the changing needs of the job market. Post University’s undergraduate curriculum is specifically designed to ensure that graduates gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities they will need to succeed in a competitive job market. Each program has 5-10 program-level Student Learning Outcomes that are assessed.

Courses in the Program

Program Core Courses
The Core courses in the major impart students with the essential knowledge in the program. The courses are designed to progress in complexity, building from foundation courses (100-level) to courses with advanced and applied content (300-400-level). Upper level courses may include a Senior Capstone experience or Internship/Practicum component.

Program Concentration Courses
Concentrations are comprised of courses that focus on specific areas of study within the broader major. Almost all undergraduate programs at Post contain concentrations. In some programs, choosing a concentration is optional, while in other programs, students must choose a concentration in order to complete the degree. Concentrations range from nine to 22 credits, depending on the degree program, and may include electives from within the major’s discipline or across disciplines.

Program Directed Electives
Directed Electives within the program are designed to allow the student to choose electives that best fit their career goals. These electives can include electives from within the major or can be interdisciplinary. Directed electives should be chosen with the support of the Academic Advisor or the Academic Success Counselor.

General Education Core
As a career-oriented university, Post recognizes that it is vital that each student receives a strong liberal arts education as an integral part of his or her degree program. In alignment with this goal, Post University provides students with a strong general education curriculum in the sciences, social studies, arts, and humanities. The general education core at Post University provides students with the ability to make connections across the disciplines so they are better prepared to respond to a diverse and constantly changing global marketplace. The ability to choose those courses that pique a student’s interest is an important feature of the General Education Core.

The General Education Core consists of the following general education competencies:

1. Human Skills – Students will be able to apply personal, interpersonal, and self-development skills to professional, personal, and community relationships.
2. Career Skills – Students will be able to apply career-ready skills that are transferable to their careers, lives, communities, and the global marketplace. 
3. Cultural Skills – Students will be able to apply cultural skills by being self-aware, respecting other’s cultures, raising other’s awareness about the impacts and influences of culture, and incorporating this awareness into career-based, academic, and personal practices. 
4. Communication Skills – Students will be able to apply communication skills by exchanging information, thoughts, ideas, and opinions through multiple methods of formal and informal academic, professional, and personal communications while being respectful, professional, accurate, and organized.
5. Literacy Skills – Students will be able to apply literacy skills by seeking, researching, and creating meaning from digital and written information to achieve goals, construct and communicate meaning, and expand knowledge in their academic, career-based, and personal environments. 
6. Learning and Innovation Skills – Students will be able to apply learning and innovation skills by reasoning and problem-solving effectively using various types of techniques and ideas, being open to new and diverse perspectives, and generating ideas that create value and improve processes in their academic, career-based, and personal experiences.

College to Career Core
The College to Career courses are designed to prepare students for personal and academic success at Post University, and lay the foundation for lifelong learning and career success. Main Campus and Online students taking these courses are exposed to the same learning outcomes, but each modality is geared towards the needs of the student population it serves.

Writing Across the Curriculum
The ability to communicate ideas is a key for success in today’s marketplace. In response, Post University has instituted a writing-across-the-curriculum initiative that requires a writing assignment in almost all courses. The undergraduate curriculum also includes a Designated Writing Course that is specific to each major to ensure students learn how to write in the style of their chosen field. The Post University Learning Center is open to all students who want to improve their skills and/or get feedback on their writing.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Across the Curriculum
Post University understands the importance of providing students with a wide range of in-demand skills needed for success in today’s changing workplace. That is why, in addition to offering four undergraduate degree programs in STEM disciplines (Accounting, Applied Mathematics and Data Science, Biology, and Computer Information Systems), we offer an additional seven minors (Accounting, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Finance, Mathematics, and Ocean Conservation).  Post has established a STEM Across the Curriculum initiative to ensure all graduates of Post University have the foundational competencies of a STEM.

In each bachelor’s degree program, 10% of the total coursework is comprised of required general education courses in STEM disciplines, and four of the 11 general education outcomes are reinforced in STEM: Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking, Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning, and Technological Fluency. These outcomes are not only addressed in general education courses, but reinforced and assessed throughout the upper level coursework in each undergraduate program. By assessing these STEM-based general education outcomes in the upper level courses (300- and 400-level) of each program, faculty confirm that students in all programs are learning, retaining, and applying critical STEM principles throughout their education.

Internship and Practicum Opportunities

At Post, students can take advantage of a robust internship program where they have opportunities to participate in real-life work situations related to their field of study before they graduate. Some internships are offered on campus while most internships/practica involve organizations off campus. The value of “real world” work experience cannot be underestimated. Students at Post University are strongly encouraged to perform internships/practica in their major during their tenure at Post. While some degree programs require internships/practica, all degree programs promote internships. Students can apply for up to six credits of internship/practica in their major towards earning a Bachelor’s degree. Students may only perform internships/practica within their declared major(s) unless waived in writing by the Dean of their school.

Procedure for Enrolling in Internships and Practica
An internship/practicum is a three or six credit course which include a classroom component with an instructor and 100-300 hours of work at an appropriate organization doing work related to the student’s major. Once a student has located an internship, they will complete an Internship Eligibility Form and acquire all of the administrative signatures on the form that are required to approve the three or six credit internship/practicum course.