See how Belmont’s general education curriculum is structured — and how each category helps shape your path.
Your general education experience at Belmont complements your major by adding depth, perspective, and a strong foundation in the liberal arts. Together, these components prepare you to think critically, communicate clearly, and contribute meaningfully in your field and beyond.
The BELL Core is made up of three main categories:
- Signature Courses, which guide your learning across your time at Belmont
- Foundations Courses, which cover essential areas of liberal learning
- Degree Cognates, which vary by degree and extend general education into your specific field of study
Explore the categories below to see how the BELL Core is structured and how it supports your academic journey.
Signature Courses
Begin your Belmont journey by exploring one big question: How do we know what we know? Through a course theme chosen by your professor — from dreams to culture to the search for truth — you’ll sharpen your reading, thinking, and questioning skills while making a smooth transition into college-level learning.
In this two-course experience, you’ll explore a big idea from two different perspectives — like science and politics, or literature and technology. These paired classes show how disciplines connect and help you think across boundaries, all while earning credit toward your degree.
Building on the questions you asked in First-Year Seminar, this course invites you to explore a new way of knowing — often outside your major — and apply it to a real-world issue. You'll collaborate with classmates to tackle complex problems, with a strong focus on teamwork, process, and shared solutions.
In your final year, this course brings everything together. You’ll reflect on how your BELL Core and major coursework connect, explore what a meaningful life looks like to you, and consider how your experiences at Belmont will shape what comes next.
Religion plays a powerful role in shaping meaning, purpose, and human experience. Belmont’s two-course sequence invites you to engage deeply with the Bible and explore broader religious questions from an academic perspective rooted in the university’s Christian tradition. You’ll take one course in your first year and one in your third year. Depending on your path, this might include focused study of the Old and New Testaments or a broader exploration of topics like global spirituality, justice, or personal belief. Either way, you’ll gain a more thoughtful and informed understanding of faith, scripture, and the diversity of religious life.
Writing is central to every discipline — and at Belmont, it’s something you’ll develop throughout your college experience. In your first year, you’ll strengthen your skills through personal, expository, and argumentative writing. In your third year, you’ll take it further by crafting research-based essays, often tied to your major or area of interest.
Foundations Courses
Develop the confidence and clarity to speak effectively in front of others. Learn how to craft persuasive, well-organized messages and deliver them with purpose — skills that are essential in both academic and professional life.
Explore how individuals, communities, and institutions interact and shape society. These courses help you think critically about human behavior, public issues, and cultural systems — with options in history, economics, political science, sociology, and more.
Examine what it means to be human through literature, philosophy, language, and culture. These courses cultivate empathy, sharpen your writing and reading skills, and offer insights into how people across time and place have made meaning in the world.
Learn to interpret and appreciate creative expression through art, music, theatre, or dance. This course helps you see how beauty and artistic tradition shape culture, inspire reflection, and connect us to something greater than ourselves.
Strengthen your ability to think critically using numbers, data, and logic. You’ll choose from courses like statistics, data science, calculus, or computer science — each designed to help you make informed decisions and interpret information in everyday life.
Discover how the natural world works through scientific reasoning and hands-on experimentation. In courses like biology, chemistry, physics, and neuroscience, you’ll gain an understanding of scientific processes and how evidence drives discovery.
Build knowledge and habits that support a healthy, flourishing life. This course combines wellness education with a physical activity component, helping you apply what you learn to long-term fitness, nutrition, and well-being.
Degree Cognates
- 6 additional hours in Social Science
- 3 additional hours in Humanities
- 3 additional hours in Math
- 3 additional hours in Science
- 6 additional hours in Social Science
- 3 additional hours in Humanities
- 3 additional hours in Math
- 3 additional hours in Science
- ECO 2210: Principles of Macroeconomics (3 hours)
- ECO 2220: Principles of Microeconomics (3 hours)
- ECO 1150: Elementary Statistics (3 hours)
- 3 additional hours in Humanities
- MTH 1151: Elementary Statistics for the Sciences
- PSY 1100: General Psychology (3 hours) or PSY 1200: Introduction to Psychological Science (4 hours)
- CEM 1020: General, Organic, and Biochemistry (4 hours)
- BIO 1120: Principles of Biology II (4 hours)
- MTH 1151: Elementary Statistics for the Sciences (3 hours)
- PSC 1300: U.S. and World Affairs(3 hours)
- ECO 2220: Principles of Microeconomics
- 6 additional hours in Social Science
- MTH 1550: Elementary Statistics
- PSY 1100: General Psychology (3 hours) or PSY 1200: Introduction to Psychology Science (4 hours)
- No Degree Cognates required
- No Degree Cognates required
BELL Core Handbook
The Belmont Experience: Learning for Life