Finding Your Place

Student learning opportunities at the University of Pikeville will be transformed in fall 2019 by a new general education (GE) curriculum created and approved by university faculty. The innovative curriculum is centered on helping students find their place in an ever-changing world.

James Browning, Ph.D., professor of religion at UPIKE, was the leader of the faculty committee responsible for crafting the curriculum.

“Students today want more independence when making decisions,” he said, “so we came up with a plan that is less prescriptive and gives students more choices. We also wanted the new general education curriculum to be more personal and engaging, and help students prepare for a more rewarding life.”

Browning noted that faculty were careful to make certain the new curriculum will be meaningful to students while allowing them to customize their education. The curriculum is designed as a three-part journey into the understanding of “place” that begins by ensuring all students acquire the skills employers want – communication, writing, calculating, problem-solving and ethical reasoning. Students will then choose from a variety of courses designed to help them understand their place in the world from physical, social, cultural and historical perspectives. Finally, students will use the knowledge and skills they have acquired to engage real-world problems in an interdisciplinary capstone course.

Another important component of the new curriculum is its size. At 36 credit hours, the new core curriculum will provide students the ability to take elective courses, pursue an additional major or add multiple minor areas of study. Additionally, students transferring to UPIKE will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree on a quicker timeline.

UPIKE leadership looks forward to the positive difference the new curriculum will make in students’ lives.

“We are grateful to the faculty for creating an incredibly versatile general education curriculum,” said UPIKE Provost Lori Werth, Ph.D. “Ultimately, the skills students develop during their coursework provide a solid foundation for paths their lives may take. The new curriculum not only prepares students for jobs, it develops leaders for the 21st century and serves as a foundation for transferable and marketable skills. By opening the door to a second major, students will be able to study things they love in deep and meaningful ways while still building the marketable skills they will need for a lifetime of work.”

UPIKE President Burton J. Webb, Ph.D., said, “In understanding their place, who they are, what they are called to do and where they are from, our students will be launched into a wider set of opportunities for learning than they have ever had at the University of Pikeville. We believe that Pikeville is the place from which a generation of learning leaders can shape the region and change the world.”