One of the best aspects of our education at Fairfield is that we have our core curriculum that we need to complete in order to graduate. It is easy to get aggravated by the amount of core courses, especially if they have little to no relation to our majors. However, if we did not have a core requirement, then I would have missed out on taking a lot of great courses here at Fairfield. Here are five courses that you should take before you graduate.

1. Literature of the Holocaust – Professor Gail Ostrow

I took Literature of the Holocaust during the fall semester of my sophomore year and it is easily one of my favorite courses here at Fairfield. Professor Ostrow created an environment where students are comfortable sharing their views on the complex subject matter, while also asking questions for clarification. We read a variety of books and also watched several movies throughout the course, and I highly recommend the course in order to fulfill a 100-level literature requirement.

2. Women & Men: Anthropology of Gender – Professor Sarah Wessler

I had never taken an anthropology course before coming to Fairfield, so when I entered Professor Wessler’s classroom on the first day of classes fall of my sophomore year, I had no idea what to expect. It certainly did not help my nerves when I found out that a lot of people who were in the course had taken anthropology previously. However, I found that anthropology is not too far off from sociology, which I had taken my freshman year, and that I had a real interest in the subject matter. Along with fulfilling my World Diversity requirement, a definite plus of the course was Professor Wessler’s relaxed manner and intriguing assignments. By December, I was incredibly sad to leave her class.

3. World of Publishing – Professor Carol Ann Davis

Professor Davis is one of the greatest professors here at Fairfield and is certainly a great professor within the English Department. I took her course, World of Publishing during spring semester of my sophomore year and I am taking her Publishing Practicum as a junior this semester. World of Publishing was a great course to take as a journalism major because it gave me deeper insight into the different publication fields that I would not necessarily learn about in a news writing course that focuses primarily on how to write a news story rather than the actual field itself.

4. Race, Gender & Ethnic Relations – Professor Rachelle Brunn-Bevel

One of my first courses at Fairfield was Race, Gender & Ethnic Relations with Professor Brunn-Bevel during fall semester of my freshman year. The class was at 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I definitely had some regret once I realized that I would have ended at 2 p.m., but it was well worth it. Like I mentioned before, it prepared me for my anthropology course the following year and it also facilitated great group discussions. If you are looking to fulfill your U.S. Diversity requirement, then you should definitely take Professor Brunn-Bevel’s sociology course.

5. Big Data Storytelling – Professor Tommy Xie

People may think that Big Data Storytelling is only relevant to journalism or communication majors, but it is also useful for people in other majors. Everyone will use data in some way, shape or form in their careers and certainly in their lives. The course taught us how to use programs like Excel and Tableau in the most efficient way. Even though there were times when the course was difficult, I highly recommend taking it and Professor Xie constantly made himself available for office hours when we had questions.

All of these courses are worth taking before you graduate from Fairfield, even if they are taken as an elective. What are your favorite courses that you’ve taken at the University?