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The Liberal Studies Program (LSP) is divided into two primary components. The first is termed the Common Core, and consists of a series of classes taken sequentially by students as they progress towards their degree. Core requirements begin for incoming students in their first autumn quarter when all take a Chicago Quarter (CQ) course. From over a hundred different topic offerings, each student selects a single class that is either Discover Chicago, which includes an intensive immersion week experience prior to the start of fall classes, or Explore Chicago, which meets during the regular fall term. Regardless of type, all CQ instructors use both traditional and experiential pedagogies to teach students not only relevant course content, but also information about the City’s people, communities, institutions, and system of public transportation. All CQ classes also include a co-curricular component called the Common Hour, which is designed to facilitate students’ transition to the college experience, and give them initial exposure to DePaul's distinctive mission.

Students take additional Common Core courses in their first year. The ENG 102-ENG 104 sequence introduces them to different conventions of writing, and instructs them how to analyze readings, to write for different audiences, and to take a rhetorical stance in their scholarly papers. (Students taking ENG 103 and/or ENG 104 at DePaul must receive grades of C- or better.) Upon successful completion of the writing course sequence, students have the ability to express themselves creatively and can defend and document a clearly articulated thesis in a scholarly paper. The Focal Point Seminar further emphasizes different forms of writing, and helps students develop strong oral communication skills such that they are able to intellectually discuss and debate beyond their own opinions various issues from critical and multiple perspectives. Lastly, first-year students begin a two-course sequence in Mathematical and Technology Literacy (MTL I- MTL II) designed to teach them how to apply quantitative reasoning and quantitative information, and to critically evaluate real-world issues and problems using modern information technologies (e.g., spreadsheets, databases, statistical analysis software, search engines, programming algorithms). The skills gained in the MTL courses provide students with the necessary tools to think critically and reflectively in an increasingly quantitatively and technologically sophisticated global economy. Some students may be required to take preparatory math classes before being eligible to enroll in MTL courses, while other students may have one or both MTL courses waived on the basis of AP classes, assessment tests, or major area of study (i.e., Mathematics, Sciences, Commerce, or CTI. Most students take MTL II during their sophomore year.

For subsequent years, students take courses based on their class standing. In the second year, the Common Core course is the Sophomore Seminar on Multiculturalism in the U.S. These seminars range widely in subject matter but each is meant to inform students about key debates in the history of multiculturalism, and give them the ability to incorporate and apply the values of multiculturalism into a diverse workplace and society. The Common Core requirement for the junior year is an Experiential Learning course, which can take the form of laboratory or field research, studying abroad, engaging in community service, or doing an internship in a field of study. Connecting in-class readings and writing assignments with real world applications and experiences are key features of experiential learning. The final Common Core course is the Senior Capstone. These classes enable students to synthesize into a final project the methods and knowledge learned in their major field of study courses with the values and content of their liberal studies classes.

The second component of the LSP is made up of six distinct Learning Domains: 1) Arts and Literature 2) Philosophical Inquiry; 3) Religious Dimensions; 4) Scientific Inquiry; 5) Self, Society, and the Modern World; and 6) Understanding the Past. These areas reflect a conventional liberal arts and sciences curriculum yet are not discipline based. Courses within any one domain share basic criteria, learning outcomes, and modes of inquiry, but can be quite dissimilar in content. Courses in the domains span different departments, programs, and even Colleges in the University. By having such broadly defined domain areas, as opposed to a set number of courses from specific departments, students receiving a liberal education at DePaul are assured breadth of learning by taking two to three from each area, but also enjoy great latitude in selecting, experiencing, and applying the many types of intellectual inquiry taking place in a modern university.