University Core Curriculum

The University Core Curriculum or the UCC is at the heart of a student’s curriculum at William Paterson University of New Jersey. It is a set of 11-14 courses that all students – regardless of major - will take to complete their undergraduate degree. Also known as the general education program, the UCC a provides a transformative educational experience and a public good.  

Starting Fall 2025, the UCC has been revised as UCC 2.0 to align it with the University Mission, Vision and Core Values. UCC 2.0 is distinctive by intentionally and visibly integrating two issues that are held dear at William Paterson University: 

• Social mobility - Courses that embed professional employer-demanded skills for the 21st century such as creativity, writing, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, digital literacies, quantitative and data analysis, and holistic wellbeing. Read more here about how our institution ranks very high on the national social mobility index and why it matters for students. 

• Social justice - Courses that develop a deep perspective on a recognition of human interdependence, presence of inequalities, and the need for equity, justice, sustainability, and civic engagement. Successful professionals will be those who lead not merely manage, those who are civically engaged as a political responsibility, those that are passionate while being compassionate, and those whose humanity does not disappear within the calculation of self-interests. Read more here on how our institutional values and mission are aligned with social justice and here for an inspiration for the UCC 2.0.