The purpose of the general education requirement called the Linfield Curriculum is to foster the development of wholly-educated persons by providing a coherent experience spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, and social-behavioral sciences. The Linfield Curriculum seeks to enable students to communicate effectively; appreciate literary, artistic, and historical works; be conversant with various philosophical and religious conceptions of humanity; understand the role of diversity both globally and nationally; analyze how human beings behave individually and socially; understand, formulate, and critique quantitative arguments; and comprehend the methods and accomplishments of modern science.

Grounded in the multidisciplinary spirit of the liberal arts, the Linfield Curriculum stresses wide exposure to the ways that educated individuals, be they scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, teachers, or ethicists, engage ideas, articulate choices, and assert opinions. It encourages students to cultivate intellectual and personal flexibility, pursue independent action, and engage in responsible decision-making. The Linfield Curriculum emphasizes communication and facilitates self-discovery in personal, cultural, and academic contexts. It affirms the need to understand people and societies both nationally and internationally. In short, the Linfield Curriculum encourages inquiry, analysis, and imagination, habits of mind that provide the foundation for reasoned action, wonder, and continued learning in all aspects of life.

The Linfield Curriculum consists of four major components:

Courses contributing to the Linfield Curriculum are normally a minimum of 3 semester credits. Any single class transferred from outside institutions must be at least 3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits to fulfill the requirement. To encourage intellectual breadth, no student may count more than two courses from a single department toward completion of the Modes of Inquiry and Diversity Studies components of the Linfield Curriculum. For the purpose of the LC requirements only, theatre (THTR) and communication arts (COMM) are viewed as separate departments. For the purpose of LC requirements only, computer science (COMP), data science (DATA) and mathematics (MATH) are viewed as separate departments. A student may use at most four courses from the areas of computer science (COMP), data science (DATA) and mathematics (MATH), and at most two courses from any single area.