An ACU education is about your growth as a whole person – because you are more than your degree.
Understanding ourselves and seeing the world through the eyes of others
Our Core Curriculum lies at the heart of this transformation. It’s a vital part of every ACU student’s education, offering space to reflect on what it is to be human, the nature of our shared social life and the ways we can make a meaningful impact on the world.
About the Core Curriculum
While studying the core units, you’ll be in classes with students from other disciplines, ensuring different viewpoints and lively debate.
These units are typically delivered through a blend of online activities and on-campus classes. There’s even the opportunity to complete a unit overseas.
The core is unique to ACU. It challenges you to consider new perspectives and engage with the world in informed and transformative ways.
Core Curriculum structure
The Core Curriculum is comprised of three units:
- two coursework units selected from a range of options (see below)
- one community engagement unit that is specific to each program, offering students an opportunity to live the Core Curriculum in action.
These units are fully integrated within your course of study.
Community engagement unit: Each faculty at ACU has its own community engagement programs. For details, see your Course Enrolment Guide, and check with your course coordinator if you have any questions.
Coursework units: You can choose which coursework units you wish to study from a range of options. See the course map in your Course Enrolment Guide for details on when you enrol in your Core Curriculum units.
Choose one unit from:
- PHCC102: Being Human
- PHCC104: Ethics and the Good Life
- PHCC106: Making Sense: Practical Reasoning for Life and Career
- TPCC100: Life and Meaning: Imagining Ourselves through Art and Cinema
- THCC100: Revolutionary Values: Christianity in History
- THCC101: People Matter: Catholic Social Thought
and one unit from:
- PHCC201: The Origins of Sciences and Contemporary Challenges
- TPCC201: Ecology and Justice
- TPCC202: Conflict, Violence and Peace-Making
- THCC200: Justice in the World: Catholic Social Ethics in Global Perspective
- THCC202: Sacred Land: Indigenous Spiritualities and Catholic Thought
Key themes
You will be challenged to broaden your thinking by investigating fields beyond the immediate focus of your chosen degree.
All units will specifically address five key themes:
- humanity and personhood
- society and community
- historical perspective
- ethics
- faith and reason.
All units will specifically develop:
- critical thinking
- creative application and problem solving
- teamwork
- communication and information literacy
- cultural competency.
Further detail
Course enrolment guides
International Core Curriculum study options
You can take Core Curriculum units as part of a study abroad experience – either at our magnificent campus in Rome, Italy, or in a range of other exciting locations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Details on the 2026 locations will be provided shortly.