The University Core seeks to increase students' awareness of alternative world views and life ways that form the basis of social life for an identifiable population. The Core thus requires that students take at least one course reflecting diversity within a society so as to increase tolerance and discourage stereotyping. Such courses include, but are not limited to, those dealing to a large extent with minority or marginalized populations. Such courses will seek to encourage academic understanding of these alternative views and life ways through a variety of approaches. These include description, analysis of the issues and processes of marginalization, analysis of status in the larger society, and/or comparison with other populations. They will seek to examine not only differences between these populations and others, but also diversity within these populations.

Examples of topics:

• indigenous populations
  
• racism
• social class differences in values and life styles
• sexism
• stereotypes and discrimination that impact the lives of the elderly and the physically or mentally challenged
• life styles based on broadly shared alternative value systems, whether viewed positively or negatively by society

Criteria for Diversity "D" courses:

1. Courses fulfilling the diversity requirement study alternative world views and life ways of populations within a society. Diversity courses may also focus on the issues and processes that result in stereotyping and discrimination.
2. "D" courses devote the majority of class time and assignments to study of these populations, rather than adding a single segment or unit to a course.
3. Students may not take the same course for both "D" and "R" (or for both "D" and "S") credit.