Core Requirements
Basic Requirements
All students must complete four required basic courses (unless exempted through procedures established by the departments concerned):
- FYS 100
- WRI 111 or WRI 109 & WRI 110
- One 200-level foreign language course:
ARB 201, 230, 231
CHI 201, 220, 230, 255
FRH 212, 213, 214, 216
GER 210, 212, 214
GRK 211
ITA 212, 213
HNU 201
JPN 201, 220, 230, 231, 250
LAT 211, 212
NLL 211, 212
PTG 212
RUS 210, 212
SPA 212, 213, 280, 290 - HES 100
Divisional Requirements
All students must complete courses in each of the five divisions of the undergraduate curriculum (unless exempted through procedures established by the departments concerned or by participation in the Open Curriculum). Together with the basic requirements these courses form the core of Wake Forest’s undergraduate liberal arts education.
Students are not allowed to exempt divisional core requirements through the Advanced Placement Examination, the College Level Examination Program or the International Baccalaureate Program. In divisions requiring more than one course, students may not choose two courses from within the same department.
| Division | Departments | Number of Courses Required |
| I: Humanities | History; Philosophy; Study of Religions; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | 2 |
| II: Literatures | Literatures Written in English (English Department) In English Translation (Classical Languages, East Asian Languages and Cultures, French Studies, German and Russian, Spanish and Italian, and the Program in Humanities) | 1 |
| III: Fine Arts | Art, Music, Theatre and Dance | 1 |
| IV: Social Science | Anthropology, Communication, Economics, Education, Politics and International Affairs, Psychology, Sociology | 2 |
| V: Math and Natural Sciences | Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Statistical Sciences | 2 |
21st Century Stewardship (21CS)
The four 21CS requirements are two Power, Inequity, and Global Contexts (PIGC) requirements, an Ethical Inquiry (EI) requirement, and a Quantitative Data Analysis (QDA) requirement. The two PIGC requirements are Power, Oppression, and Resistance (POR) and Studies in World Cultures (SWC). No 21CS course may be fulfilled by AP, IB, or transfer credits. A single course may qualify for more than one 21CS requirement; in those cases, students must elect which one of the requirements the course will fulfill.
Finding Courses in Workday
Workday allows students to search for courses or course sections by using course tags. The task Find Courses will display all courses in the bulletin. By using the Course Tags filter on the left, a list of all courses meeting a requirement can be found.
The task Find Course Sections will display all sections being offered in a specific term. Students can use the same Course Tags filter to view all sections that will fulfill a specific core requirement. Additionally, other filters can be applied to help in choosing a section when preparing for registration. Below is a guide to the Course Tags that can be used when searching for classes.
Course Tags:
Core :: Division I: Humanities
Core :: Division II: Literatures
Core :: Division III: Fine Arts
Core :: Division IV: Social Sciences
Core :: Division V: Math and Natural Sciences
Core :: 21CS: Power, Oppression and Resistance (POR)
Core :: 21CS: Studies in World Culture (SWC)
Core :: 21CS: Ethical Inquiry (EI)
Core :: 21CS: Quantitative Data Analysis (QDA)