Did you know that in order to graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree, you must fulfill the following five requirements.   

1.Complete the plan of study underlying a degree. 

2. Live as a resident for at least two semesters, and complete at least 32 semester hours of coursework. Courses must be at least junior level. 

3. Register as a candidate for the desired degree during the semester immediately preceding its conferment.

4. Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.

5. Demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of the English language.      

Although each degree has differing requirements, graduating from Purdue, ultimately, looks the same for each student. Go to class, get decent grades, do your best, and you’ll be there. Looking at graduation from this perspective is a relief. As students, we are constantly thinking about what it will take for us to graduate. We are always worried about taking the right path in order to walk across that stage in four years. If only this perspective was that easy to see.

The above five requirements don’t even begin to describe the hard work and effort, stress and emotions, and unnecessary difficulty that we are put through in order to walk across that stage. College is supposed to be hard, but are certain aspects of graduating unnecessary? Are certain aspects of this process even beneficial to our future after college? Through personal experience, one of the main unnecessary aspects is the core curriculum of course work for specific colleges at the university.    

No matter the degree or major we are studying, we are very fortunate to be attending Purdue University. This institution is effective in putting students on their path to a successful career someday. As a first semester junior in the College of Liberal Arts, I’m two years away from completing all of my requirements for gradation. I need at least 120 credits completed, all coming from my major, core and elective courses. By being half way through, I’ve almost finished all of my core classes, and am now working on my major classes.

Generally, each college at Purdue has a type of core curriculum, each benefiting the students in a specific way. According to Purdue’s website for it’s initiatives and purpose, “The core curriculum is a set of common learning outcomes required of all undergraduate students. It acts as a mechanism by which all Purdue University students share a similar educational experience and, in doing so, achieve a set of common goals.” (http://www.purdue.edu/provost/initiatives/curricul...) 

For the College of Liberal Arts, the core classes act as the core curriculum and intend to provide a broad way of thinking for all students. Math and statistics, U.S. tradition and racial/ethnic diversity, aesthetic awareness and natural sciences, are just a few of the categories of coursework we experience. These classes can be taken at any time prior to graduation, but I decided to get them over with early in my college career.

The variety of classes show the importance of having an open-minded perspective on the world which, ultimately, should better prepare us for experiences after college. Although these classes have intentions of broadening our horizons with new knowledge, this is the main aspect I have found unnecessary to our process of graduation. Not only do these classes drop one's GPA drastically, but professors misunderstand the reasoning for students being enrolled, therefore, provoking the question, “are we really broadening our horizons by taking these classes?”     

Now that I’m here for my fifth semester, I’ve almost finished taking my core classes. And with that, I can easily say those core classes have been my worst grades. I’ve taken anthropology, oceanography, history, entomology, women’s studies, African American studies, math and statistics, and more. All of these satisfy one of the categories on this core curriculum, and all of which I chose from the list, thinking they would be the most interesting. For whatever reason -- the professor, the class structure, the exams -- something about these classes lowered my GPA. I had a hard time finding success in these classes, like I do in my classes that are actually related to my major or minors. I’m majoring in public relations and advertising, with minors in Spanish and art and design. It’s definitely evident that I am able to get better grades in the classes where my interests are located, but, more importantly, I’m able to get better grades in those classes because they are actually crucial for graduation. I need good grades in those classes because of the experience I will have after college.     

One of the biggest issues I’ve had in these classes, despite the lower grades, is that there is a misunderstanding between the students and the professor. The professor is simply doing their job, unaware that we are simply trying to earn some core credits. We are taking the specific class just to get through to graduation. We aren’t taking the specific class because we want to be an anthropologist or earn a degree in gender or racial studies. It doesn’t even mean that I’m not interested in those topics, I’m just explaining how the topics aren’t necessary to my major, and are not related to what I’m studying. The problem comes when the professor doesn’t know that. When the professor thinks I’m taking the course because I want to study insects in my future career, there are issues. The professor doesn’t think I have other classes that are more important to worry about and, instead, will assign me a 10-page, single-spaced research paper on dolphin communication. Overall, point proven. The professors believe we are in their class to major in what they love. As much as I love how passionate they are about the specific topic, I’m just a college kid trying to get through to graduation, with my own personal passions, not theirs.      

All of the above demonstrates why these core classes, in most cases, are not necessary for graduation. If I’m getting Ds on my transcript, and can’t graduate because I couldn’t do well in math -- as a communication major -- that’s a problem. Am I supposed to explain on my resume to my future employer that I couldn’t pass jewelry making? Am I supposed to tell my future boss that my GPA was low because the professor didn’t like me? All of which just creates conflict, not only for graduation, but for our future careers after college.

These classes are meant to be challenging. We’re in college, and we can’t expect anything to be easy. I have my points for why the core curriculum is detrimental and, potentially unnecessary. But the intentions weigh out more in the end, despite my personal opinion. Purdue University does a lot for us in the big picture, and if we’re asked to take classes that are meant to broaden our knowledge, in exchange for a career, I guess I’ll take it. My advice it to just push through. Yes, taking those classes is challenging and, at times, impossible, but what’s important is that when we’re finished, we’re one step closer to graduation.                  

When that time comes to graduate, we will walk across that stage with ultimate pride. I can only imagine what the feeling will be like two years from now. One thing I do know, that when I walk across that stage I will be thinking about all I have achieved in the past four years, all of the unforgettable memories and, most importantly, the new person I have become. I will be thinking about all of the classes I have taken the past eight semesters and all the hours of work put in for each. What I won’t be thinking about is those core classes. I won’t be thinking about what brought me down, or what was the most unnecessarily challenging. At that point, I’m a graduate, and it doesn’t matter anymore.

When I graduate, I will have a new outlook on the world around us. I will have a new found knowledge and perspective on topics, and I will have the ability to think broadly, and with an open mind, thanks to Purdue's graduation requirements and the College of Liberal Arts core curriculum.