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All degree programs include a core of academic subjects in the areas of English Communication, mathematics, laboratory science, behavioral science and social studies, and defined PMU competencies. Core courses are available to meet the specific needs of individual degree programs.

The Undergraduate Core Curriculum consists of three components:

• The Assessment Capstone Series- three courses required of all PMU students. The first two courses are developmental building blocks designed to increase the success of the third and final capstone course taken during the student’s senior year. The Assessment Capstone Series will measure the student’s success in achieving the six learning outcomes.
• The University Core Curriculum – additional courses required of all PMU students. Four courses in written, oral and professional communication, as well as three other courses in designed competencies that develop six learning outcomes that distinguish PMU graduates. The University Core Curriculum also includes required courses in Arabic Language, Islamic Studies and Physical Education.
• The College Core Curriculum – academic subjects which PMU students are required to master. Each college of the university determines the specific College Core courses that are required of its students, however, are required to successfully complete courses in each of three College Core fields: natural and physical sciences, mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences.

Throughout the Core Curriculum, all assignments involve a set of learning outcomes, and expectations are articulated by examples and models. Faculty lead students to think critically with a purpose beyond the classroom, and assignments include reasoning and writing for oral presentations. Critical thinking experiences in the Core Curriculum stress reasoning as a means of discovery and a tool for increasing understanding in both university courses and the student's personal life. Reasoning is recognized as a broad, extra-academic and life-enhancing ability superior to narrow, insulated mechanical skills.

The purpose of the Core Curriculum is to furnish PMU students with a seamless education, from the Preparatory Program, to graduation in an academic program major, and then to employment. Faculty members teaching in the Preparatory Program are fully aware not only of the content of their individual programs, but also of the objectives and expectations of the Core Curriculum, especially the University Core Curriculum and the Assessment Capstone Series. Similarly, faculty members teaching in PMU colleges incorporate into the university's academic majors the content and processes taught in the University Core Curriculum. This attention to PMU competencies is vital for students to be evaluated successfully in the final Assessment Capstone course given during the senior year.
PMU employs teaching faculty committed to using the concepts, processes, and technologies taught in the University Core Curriculum. The PMU Teaching Development Center plays an important role in enhancing these abilities among faculty.