To fulfill the promise of a liberal arts education, Underwood International College was built around a carefully designed sequence of required courses. This program, known as the Common Curriculum (CC), is the most fundamental part of the UIC undergraduate experience, because it guarantees that, regardless of major, all UIC students graduate with the ability to think creatively and critically, appreciate the complexities of human history and culture, and communicate in a clear and compelling manner. In this way, our students are not only equipped with strong specialized competencies, but are able to adapt flexibly to the intellectual, professional, and ethical challenges of an increasingly global world.

Almost all CC courses are taught “seminar-style”-small class sizes with a strong emphasis on written work and discussion-by a core group of full-time international foreign faculty recruited from some of the world's top universities. These academics, who are equally committed to research in their field and to undergraduate education, provide UIC students with an intimate but rigorous academic environment that rivals that of the best colleges in the United States.