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QUEST General Education Curriculum (Starting AY 2026–2027)

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QUEST: Mercy’s General Education Program (42-43 Credits)

QUEST is Mercy University’s general education program. The program introduces students to the intellectual practices of university learning while encouraging curiosity, exploration, and purposeful engagement with ideas and communities. Through seminars, foundational coursework, interdisciplinary inquiry, and skill development, QUEST helps students learn to ask meaningful questions, interpret evidence, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively. At the same time, the program provides students with meaningful choices across the curriculum, enabling them to explore multiple areas of knowledge and design academic pathways that reflect their interests and goals. As students progress through QUEST, they build the knowledge and abilities needed to succeed in their majors, develop complementary skills and credentials, pursue rewarding careers, and contribute to the creation of a more just society.

The QUEST curriculum is organized around five pathways: Question, Understand, Explore, Strengthen, and Thrive. Students complete 42–43 credits of general education coursework, in addition to designated skill enhancement requirements.

Question – Seminar Courses
Students begin their QUEST journey with Mercy Seminars, a sequence of inquiry-based courses that introduce students to university learning and engage them in collaborative exploration of important ideas and contemporary challenges.

Understand – Core Courses
Core courses develop foundational academic skills that support learning across disciplines, including writing, quantitative reasoning, and global communication.

Explore – Breadth of Knowledge Courses
Breadth courses introduce students to major areas of inquiry in the liberal arts and sciences, broadening their understanding of the world and exposing them to different approaches to knowledge.

Strengthen – Skill Enhancement Course Tags
Skill enhancement designations ensure that students continue to develop essential academic and professional abilities—such as advanced writing, communication, and engagement with diverse perspectives—through courses across the curriculum.

Thrive – Elective Courses
Elective coursework allows students to pursue additional areas of interest beyond required coursework, explore new disciplines, and build academic credentials such as minors.

QUEST Program Requirements 

Students must complete 42–43 credits of general education coursework in addition to the Skill Enhancement requirements. 

The program requirements are organized into the following sections: 

Question – Mercy Seminars (9 credits) 

Mercy Seminars form the intellectual foundation of the QUEST program. Through three linked courses, students engage in collaborative learning that introduces them to the central practice of higher education: asking meaningful questions about ideas, societies, and the challenges facing our world. Together, the seminars invite students into a shared intellectual journey that encourages curiosity, thoughtful discussion, and the exploration of complex problems from multiple perspectives. 

  • course – Launch: First-Year Seminar (3 credits) 

Launch: First-Year Seminar is taken in the first semester. This seminar introduces students to academic expectations, campus resources, and co-curricular opportunities at Mercy University. Through reflection, collaborative projects, and guided skill building, students explore personal identity, develop effective learning strategies, and connect academic choices to professional goals. The seminar emphasizes teamwork, communication, and engagement with the Mercy community as students build a foundation for college success. 

  • SEMR 110–199 – Explore: Transformative Ideas (3 credits) 

The Transformative Ideas Seminar, typically taken in the second or third semester, invites students to examine a powerful idea that has shaped our shared world. Students select from a range of seminar topics, allowing them to pursue questions aligned with their interests, curiosity, and emerging academic goals. Through focused inquiry, students explore how influential ideas emerge, evolve, and affect societies while strengthening their communication, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. 

  • SEMR 200–299 – Connect: Big Problems (3 credits) 

The Big Problems Seminar, generally taken by the fourth or fifth semester, asks students to investigate a significant contemporary challenge facing societies around the world. Students choose from a set of seminar topics addressing pressing global and local issues, allowing them to engage problems shaped by their intellectual curiosity and emerging professional goals. Working collaboratively, students analyze complex issues from multiple perspectives and consider how interdisciplinary knowledge can help address the questions these problems raise. 

Understand – Core Courses (9–18 credits) 

The Understand pathway develops foundational academic skills that support learning across disciplines. These courses strengthen students’ abilities in written communication, quantitative reasoning, and global communication. 

Students complete the following requirements: 

  • course – Composition II (3 credits) 

  • Quantitative Reasoning (3 credits) 

  • Second Language Proficiency (0–6 credits) 

The total number of credits in this section may vary depending on students’ placement in composition and second language courses. 

Students who enroll in ENGL110/ENGL111 complete a six-credit co-requisite sequence. Students who place directly into course complete Composition I as a three-credit course. 

Students who place below the 116 level in a language other than English must complete the 115-level prerequisite course before enrolling in a 116-level course. Students who place at or above the 116 level may complete the language requirement in three credits. 

Students who do not need to complete course and/or the 115-level language prerequisite may substitute an additional course designated with the Liberal Arts and Sciences attribute in place of those prerequisite credits 

Explore – Breadth of Knowledge Courses (15–16 credits) 

The Explore pathway broadens students’ understanding of the world by introducing major areas of inquiry within the liberal arts and sciences. These courses expose students to different ways of interpreting human experience, evaluating evidence, and understanding social and natural systems. 

Students complete one course in each of the following categories: 

  • Creative Expression encompasses various mediums—such as writing, painting, music, acting, dance, and film—that allow individuals to communicate their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. It enables the creation of unique, personal work that reflects the human condition and the world we inhabit. (3 credits) 

See “Creative Expression” Tab for List of Courses

  • Ethical Reasoning is the process of rational consideration of the differences between morally right and wrong actions from a theoretical perspective, as well as in application to both hypothetical and real-world situations. Various academic disciplines, as well as cultural and religious traditions, have developed major ethical theories and moral systems which serve as a starting point for thinking about ethical dilemmas and crises. Ethical Reasoning is essential for thoughtful decision-making, personal responsibility, and global citizenship, contributing to a just society. (3 credits) 

See “Ethical Reasoning” Tab for List of Courses

  • Humanities courses encourage students to reflect upon what it means to be human through critical engagement with textual, aural, and material forms of expression in the past and present. They aim to broaden students’ perspectives on the diverse ways in which people have interpreted and constructed their social worlds, deepen their appreciation of how cultural and historical contexts shape human thought and behavior, and challenge them to wrestle with the enduring questions, mysteries, and contradictions at the heart of the human condition. (3 credits) 

    See “Humanities” Tab for List of Courses

  • Scientific Reasoning involves the iterative process of inquiry and the investigation, analysis, and evaluation of evidence developed through scientific methods. It involves the ability to appreciate the strengths and limitations of different methods of inquiry and evidence. The aim of scientific reasoning is to make an inference or judgement based on such evidence, subject to change as new evidence is discovered. (3–4 credits)* 

*Scientific Reasoning courses may include a laboratory component, which results in a four-credit course. 

See “Scientific  Reasoning” Tab for List of Courses

  • Self & Society courses encourage students to examine the relationship between individuals and the social worlds they inhabit. Through engagement with diverse perspectives and contexts, these courses help students explore how personal identities are shaped by interactions among biological, psychological, and social influences, as well as by cultural values, institutions, and historical experiences. They aim to deepen students’ understanding of how people navigate relationships, communities, and social systems, and to develop their ability to analyze the dynamics of human interaction and the ways they are shaped by cultural diversity and power structures.   (3 credits) 

 See “Self & Society” Tab for List of Courses

 

Strengthen – Skill Enhancement Course Designations 

The Strengthen pathway ensures that students continue to develop essential academic and professional skills throughout their academic career. Rather than existing as separate courses, these requirements are fulfilled through Skill Enhancement designations attached to courses across the curriculum, including general education courses and courses within students’ majors. 

Courses carrying these designations provide focused instruction and practice in key competencies such as advanced writing, effective communication, and engagement with diverse perspectives. 

Skill Enhancement requirements are completed through designated courses and do not add additional credits to the general education total, but they must be satisfied for graduation. 

Students must complete courses designated in the following areas: 

  • Writing Intensive (WI) – 6 credits 

See “Writing Intensive” Tab for List of Courses

  • Communication Enhanced (CE) – 6 credits 

See “Communication Enhanced” Tab for List of Courses

  • Diverse Perspectives (DP) – 3 credits 

See “Diverse Perspectives” Tab for List of Courses

Thrive – Elective Courses 

The Thrive pathway allows students to pursue additional academic interests beyond the required elements of the QUEST curriculum. Elective coursework provides opportunities to explore new disciplines, deepen areas of interest, and build academic pathways that reflect individual goals. 

Through elective courses, students may broaden their intellectual experience, develop complementary skills, and pursue credentials such as minors, certificates, or double majors. Electives provide flexibility within the QUEST curriculum and allow students to tailor their educational experience to their academic and professional aspirations.