Our innovative curriculum
When you enroll at Newstate U, you aren't just signing up for a random assortment of classes to "get out of the way" before your major. You are entering a meticulously designed educational ecosystem known as the Newstate U Core.
We believe that a degree is a promise—a promise that you will graduate with a powerful, specific set of skills that will serve you for a lifetime. To keep that promise, we don't just guess at what you need to learn. We build our foundation on a nationally recognized framework: the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP).
The Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) is a learning-centered framework that defines exactly what a student should know and be able to do to earn a degree, regardless of their major.
Created by the Lumina Foundation—a national leader in expanding student access and success—the DQP serves as the architectural blueprint for higher education quality. Unlike older models that measured a degree by how much time you spent in a seat, the DQP measures a degree by demonstrated competency.
It answers the question: Does this degree prove you have the skills to succeed in the modern world?
At most universities, the classes everyone takes are called "General Education." At Newstate U, we intentionally use a different term: the Newstate U Core.
Why the distinction?
"General Education" often implies a checklist of unconnected subjects that are separate from your real interests. By adopting the term Newstate U Core, we are signaling that these outcomes are central—not peripheral—to your success.
Aligned directly with the DQP, the Newstate U Core is the intellectual backbone that supports your major. The Core ensures you possess the universal skills—critical thinking, communication, and ethical reasoning—that employers demand and that active citizenship requires.
In a competitive job market, the legitimacy of your degree matters. By aligning the Newstate U Core with the DQP, we provide three layers of quality assurance for our students:
We do not grade our own homework. By using the Lumina Foundation’s framework, we measure our curriculum against rigorous national standards.
Because the DQP provides a common language for learning, employers can more readily understand the specific competencies you have mastered.
This alignment proves that Newstate U is committed to transparency. We are constantly evaluating our programs to ensure they deliver high-value learning.
The DQP outlines five specific areas of learning that define a high-quality degree. We have adopted these pillars to craft the learning outcomes of the Newstate U Core.
Here is how these national standards translate into your experience at Newstate U.
The DQP Standard: Students must connect ideas across different disciplines—linking science, culture, history, and society.
The Newstate U Core: Real-world problems are complex. Our Core teaches you to take a concept from a psychology class and apply it to a business problem, or use historical context to understand modern technology.
The DQP Standard: This covers the "toolkit" of analytic inquiry, information literacy, and communication.
The Newstate U Core: You will graduate with the ability to find reliable information, analyze it critically, and communicate your findings clearly. These are the "soft skills" (or “durable skills” or “power skills”), that are actually the "hard currency" of the modern workplace.
The DQP Standard: Students must demonstrate what they can do with what they know, particularly in team settings.
The Newstate U Core: We move learning out of the lecture hall. Through the Core, you will prove that you can apply academic theory to real-world challenges. In many cases, projects provide choice so that you can apply the competencies that you are learning to your specific job context.
The DQP Standard: Students must engage with the ethical and civic challenges of their community and the world.
The Newstate U Core: A Newstate graduate is a citizen of the world. Our Core prepares you to engage with diverse perspectives and contribute meaningfully to your community.
You might wonder, "Does this framework only apply to undergraduates?"
Absolutely not. The DQP is designed as a progressive ladder of learning, and at Newstate U, we utilize the DQP’s Master’s Level Benchmarks to validate our graduate programs.
While the five pillars of learning remain the same, the expectations shift dramatically when you enter a Master's program. At this level, the focus moves from breadth to depth.
By aligning our graduate degrees with the DQP, we ensure that a Master's from Newstate U is not just "more school"—it is a distinct, verifiable step up in professional authority and intellectual capability.
Yes and no. Like traditional General Education, the Core ensures you have a well-rounded education. However, unlike traditional programs that focus on checking off subject boxes (e.g., "take one history class"), the Newstate U Core focuses on skills. We use the DQP to ensure you gain specific competencies—like critical thinking and quantitative fluency—that apply to any career.
Unlike many universities, the Newstate U Core does not have “electives”. We have a specifically curated set of courses for every undergraduate that is lock-step.
Employers care about what you can do. Because the DQP focuses on applied learning and skills (rather than just memorizing facts), it directly translates to the workplace. When you list skills on your resume, the DQP framework ensures you can back them up with demonstrated ability.
It makes your degree more meaningful. The DQP ensures that you aren't wasting time on busy work. Every assignment is designed to demonstrate a specific skill. While the standards are high (benchmarked nationally), the path is clearer because you always know exactly what you need to demonstrate to pass.
No. The Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We utilize their DQP framework voluntarily because we believe in holding ourselves to the highest national standards of quality and transparency.
The DQP works like a ladder. For graduate students, we use the DQP’s "Master’s Level Benchmarks." This means we assess you on a higher tier of performance—focusing on specialized mastery, leadership, and the ability to integrate complex research into professional practice.
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