Ways of Knowing Courses

Ways of Knowing (6 courses, 24 credits)

Students take a total of five courses from the areas below and a liberal education elective (LEE). 

Creative and Interpretive Inquiry (CII) (3 courses, 12 credits) 

Each CII course must have a different course prefix

Area outcomes: 

• Produce, analyze, or interpret creative and philosophical works. 

• Engage questions of meaning, value, and aesthetic judgment. 

• Communicate insights effectively through written, oral, or visual forms. 

Courses: ART100, ART110, ART120, ART230, ART234, ART247, ART260, ART270, DAN150, ENG 213, ENG 215, ENG 234, ENG 242, ENG 244, ENG 250, GD125, GD213, HIS 103, HIS 209, HIS 212, HIS 218, MUS103, MUS108, POL 202, POL 203, POL 204, THE120, THE140, THE230, WRT201

Social and Behavioral Analysis (SBA) (1 course, 4 credits) 

Area outcomes: 

• Analyze how social, political, and economic forces shape individuals and communities. 

• Interpret qualitative and quantitative evidence and apply disciplinary perspectives to evaluate real-world issues. 

• Reflect on individual roles and responsibilities within diverse communities and a democratic society.

 Area courses: BUS115, CHI101, ECO 201, EDU201, POL 100, POL 101, PSY 101, SHS101, SM210, SM213, WGS 111

Investigating the Natural World (INW) (1 course, 4 credits) 

Area outcomes: 

• Use scientific and logical methods to generate and investigate questions about the natural world and human systems. 

• Collect and evaluate evidence, data, and models to draw reasoned conclusions and test competing explanations. 

• Apply quantitative reasoning and analytical tools to solve problems and assess hypotheses and claims. 

Area courses: BIO106, BIO107, BIO121, BIO205, BIO206, CHE101, ENV101, ENV201, PHY101, SCI112 

Integration (1 course, 4 credits) Integration (IGR)

Integrative courses serve as the culmination of the liberal education program. Students investigate a contemporary global issue through multiple disciplinary perspectives, examining how ideas from different historical periods, cultural traditions, and intellectual frameworks illuminate enduring questions. Community-based research, fieldwork, simulations, or applied problem-solving, students integrate knowledge and skills developed across their liberal education courses, major field of study, and cocurricular experiences. They apply disciplinary methods to propose informed responses to real-world dimensions of the issue. The IGR challenges students to move beyond isolated coursework and develop a coherent, well-reasoned perspective that connects ideas across disciplines. It invites reflection on how one’s own values, well-being, and sense of responsibility shape your engagement with complex global challenges.

Area outcomes: 

• Analyze a contemporary global issue from multiple disciplinary perspectives. 

• Draw meaningful connections among texts from different time periods, cultural traditions, geographies, disciplines, or genres that explore enduring questions about the human condition. 

• Integrate knowledge and skills from their liberal education, major field, and cocurricular experiences to develop a coherent perspective on the issue. 

• Connect concepts and approaches to problem solving across disciplines and apply methodologies to real-world problems. 

• Reflect on how facets of their own personal well-being are related to the course topic. 

Area courses: TBD