Pathways for Discovery

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Muhlenberg’s academic curriculum guides you from exploration and discovery to depth, integration and application. It challenges you to take risks and cultivate curiosity. Along the way, faculty and staff support you through personalized coaching and mentorship. Exploration of the liberal arts begins as soon as you arrive on campus to spark curiosity, help you discover your passion, and guide you toward a field (or fields!) of study.

This breadth is complemented by depth and integration as you continue at Muhlenberg, when you dig into your major and real-world, hands-on experiences: internships, community-engaged opportunities, research, study abroad and more.

You can build multiple areas of expertise by pursuing additional majors and minors, as well as optional micro-credentials that develop key skills for professional life, leadership and democratic citizenship. The fourth year provides a final integrative experience within the major and an opportunity to create a digital presence, such as an e-portfolio, to launch a life and a career of consequence.

A Curriculum For Our Time

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Muhlenberg’s new curriculum reflects the vital components needed for post-college success in our increasingly complex world. The varied perspectives and cross-disciplinary hallmarks of a liberal arts education are more valuable than ever before and are most impactful when paired with consequential experiential learning, written reflection and creative problem solving.

Muhlenberg graduates have always been driven to make a difference. You’ll be better equipped than ever to harness your potential on a pathway that’s right for you.

Exploration and Discovery 

Explore the liberal arts by asking difficult questions about the world, cultivating your creativity and developing the types of durable 21st-century skills that leadership in today’s world requires — the foundation for professional achievement and active citizenship.

Skills

Critical thinking, writing and analysis are skills that are highly valued in any career field or graduate school program. You will be practicing and building on these essentials from the moment you step in a classroom and throughout your time at Muhlenberg.

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First Year Seminar (FYS)

First-Year Seminars (FYS) offer a reading-, writing-, and discussion-intensive environment specifically designed to hone students’ critical and analytical thinking skills and engage in intellectual discourse outside of disciplinary boundaries.

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Writing Intensive Course (W)

Each major offers writing-intensive courses that aim to equip students with the skills to write analytically within their field of study.

Julia Rocereta '19 performed research within the Neuroscience Department and went on to attend a doctorate program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning (RG)

Understand and utilize quantitative and logical skills to analyze data; build mathematical and/ or symbolic relationships; construct and assess arguments; and make sound judgments.

Exploring the Liberal Arts (Explore Core)

Throughout your years at Muhlenberg, you’ll explore these broad content areas that are key to a liberal arts education. They are designed to help you discover ways to think across disciplines and cultivate a lasting love of learning.

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Representations and Creative Expression (CE)

Explore and experience representations and modes of creative expression.

An instructor looks over a rows of Japanese art displayed on a student's desk in a classroom.

Humans, Histories, and Social Structures (HS)

The study of actions and/or interactions of humans through examination of their histories, social organizations, societies, institutions, nations, environments, and/or cultures.

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Meaning and Value (MV)

Study fundamental issues of meaning, existence, and/or value (including ethics) that underpin human thinking, practices, and ways of living.

Students sit around small tables while an adult with shoulder-length blonde hair and a a cream-colored blouse addresses them,

Intercultural Communication (IC)

Develop skills of communication between people from different cultures, by learning to interpret, create, and exchange shared meanings. This will normally be a second language course.

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Natural & Physical World (NP)

Explore the fascinating complexities of the natural and physical world and experience the interconnectedness between systems and phenomena.

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Race and Power in the American Experience (RP)

White supremacy persists in shaping American society, fueling disparities in power, wealth, health, and justice. Anti-Black and anti-indigenous racism serve as foundations for various forms of discrimination. Recognizing the contributions of marginalized groups is essential to understanding American history and culture.

A group of students walk down the streets of a South African neighborhood, dotted with brightly colored blue, yellow, pink and green buildings.

Global Perspectives (GP)

Learning from and engaging with human cultural, linguistic, political, religious, and social diversity globally, across broad historical periods, is an important part of preparing students to participate in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.

Electives

The new curriculum opens space for students to continue exploration throughout their time at Muhlenberg, with courses that expand horizons, promote curiosity and expose the underlying connections that make up our world.

Depth and Integration

Once students have established a foundation of exploration in their first two years, they then integrate that knowledge into their major or minor, both on and off campus, in integrative and experiential, hands-on experiences. 

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Major(s) & Minor(s)

Students can either take one major, two majors, one major and one minor, or one major and two minors. We have 52 programs, including 40 majors, 37 minors and 12 interdisciplinary programs.

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Integrative & Experiential Learning

High-impact learning experiences, including integrative and experiential learning, offer different ways for students to develop and put into practice key skills that will enable them to succeed in their professional careers, to hone the skills and foster values essential to civic engagement; and to contribute to thinking about and seeking solutions for some of the world’s complex problems. High impact learning experiences allow students to engage in learning that extends beyond the classroom.

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Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE)

Capstone experience in a major provides the opportunity for students to clarify their relationship to a discipline, demonstrate their mastery of content, reflect on accumulated content and experiences, and open new paths for the future.

Optional Opportunities - Coming Soon

Micros

The optional micro element of the Pathways curriculum is under construction but will emphasize groupings of courses that allow students both to build skills and content knowledge in ways that help students advance their professional goals.

The Muhlenberg Red Doors

Step Through Our Red Doors

NEWS AT MUHLENBERG

  • 'WorldViews' Fall 2024

    Imagine the world through the lens of someone else's experiences, values, culture and religion. Join us at the Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding as we welcome our guests to share their "WorldViews."

  • Building for the Future

    Muhlenberg is breaking ground this fall on three transformative projects that will enhance campus and community life: A refurbished Bicentennial Park baseball field, a new north-campus softball field, and an expanded and upgraded Seegers Union.

  • Election Series 2024

    Hosted by the Department of Political Science, this series offers a nonpartisan exploration of the critical issues leading up to Election Day. It brings influential speakers and thought leaders to campus, and provides our scholarly community with a platform to discuss some of the most pressing political challenges facing the United States today.

Contact Information

The Provost's Office

Address Muhlenberg College Office of the Provost 2400 Chew Street Allentown, PA 18104