Areas of Inquiry requirements
As the main organizational structure behind ConnectED, the Areas of Inquiry introduce our students to a wide range of disciplines and perspectives, building essential core skills in the process.
To ensure that your general education experience includes a diversity of courses, you need to select at least one course from each of the four Areas of Inquiry below. Keep in mind that no more than six credits with the same four-letter prefix (ex. RELS, MGMT) can count toward the requirement.
Learn more about the Areas of Inquiry and their associated courses by selecting a header below:
How do I fulfill this requirement?
To fulfill the Areas of Inquiry requirement, you'll need to complete 17-18 total credits from the areas below, and at least one course in each specific area. Of these, no more than six credits with the same four-letter prefix (ex. RELS, MGMT) can count toward the requirement.
Please remember that some of these courses also have to meet the Breadth of Knowledge requirement; so, be strategic in your selection, and ask your advisor for help if you aren’t sure how to proceed.
Courses in this area encourage students to examine the circumstances that produce creative work; investigate the criteria used to judge creative work; and consider the role of imagination in expressing the human condition.
These courses encourage students to:
- Examine the circumstances and choices that influence the production of creative work
- Investigate, establish, and/or apply criteria used to evaluate creative work
- Attend and/or participate in creative activities and explore their relevance
- Analyze how creative work reflects, responds to, and shapes various contemporary and historical contexts
- Consider the role of imagination in confronting and expressing the human condition
- Encounter ambiguity and diverse interpretations as aspects of aesthetic inquiry
- Consider the civic and ethical implications in production, consumption, and access to creative works
Eligible courses
- ALHP 202 - Creative Expressions of Healing and Resilience
- ARTE 222 - Rethinking Popular, Visual and Media Culture
- ARTH 201 - Banned! Art and Controversy
- CREA 201 - The Creative Economy
- DANC 230 - Dance in Hollywood
- EDUS 203 - Pop-cultural Foundations of Education: Film/TV, Music, Literature and Schooling in the U.S.
- EGMN 111 - Great Inventions: How They Work and Their Impact on Society
- ENGL 215 - Reading Literature
- ENGL 217 - Reading New Literature
- ENGL 250 - Reading Film
- IDES 261 - What is Good Design? A Survey of 20th- and 21st-century Design
- INNO 210 - The Innovation Intersection: Industry and Entrepreneurship
- MHIS 251 - American Popular Music
- MHIS 252 - Soundscapes
- MKTG 222 - Marketing and Society
- NEXT 240 - Reading Technology, Media and Culture
- SPCH 221 - Oral Communication and Presentation
- THEA 215 - Live Theatre Now
- WRLD 203 - Cultural Texts and Contexts
- WRLD 230 - Introduction to World Cinema
These courses introduce students to modes of inquiry used in the study of social institutions and human behavior.
Courses in this area encourage students to:
- Examine modes of inquiry used in the study of social institutions, patterns of culture, historical narratives, and human behavior
- Understand and evaluate patterns and processes affecting social organization and distributions of power and resources
- Investigate the relationship between the individual and society through a diverse range of voices
- Explore varieties of human psychology or development
- Compare theories about human society, culture, history, and behavior
- Examine patterns of inclusion and exclusion, and other forms of social grouping
- Consider the civic and ethical implications inherent in the study of the human experience
Eligible courses
- CLED 200 - The Science of Resilience and Holistic Health
- CSIJ 200 - Race and Racism in the United States
- ECON 202 - Inequality in America
- GRTY 200 - Disrupting Ageism: An Exploration of Diversity and Aging
- GSWS 201 - Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies
- HADM 215 - Introduction to Health Care Through a Policy Lens
- HIST 201 - The Art of Historical Detection
- HSEP 101 - Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
- MASC 101 - Mass Communications
- MASC 274 - Diversity in the Media
- NURS 103 - Culture, Diversity and Communication in Health Care Settings
- NURS 104 - Conceptualizing Mental Illness in Western Culture
- PHIL 201 - Introduction to Ethics
- POLI 103 - U.S. Government
- PSYC 101 - Introduction to Psychology
- RELS 108 - Human Spirituality
- SLWK 200 - Building a Just Society
- SOCS 340 - Human Sexuality
- SOCY 101 - Introduction to Sociology
- TEDU 207 - Urban Awareness and Urban Education
- UNIV 299 - What's the Big Idea?
Through these courses, students will encounter and comprehend cultures and contexts outside the U.S.; develop an understanding of how the world is interconnected; and consider alternative viewpoints among disciplines, histories, and cultures.
Courses in this area encourage students to:
- Encounter, comprehend, and appreciate cultures and contexts outside the U.S.
- Develop an understanding of how the world is organized and interconnected
- Interpret regionally specific social, political, historical, and/or economic issues within the larger global context
- Recognize how knowledge is constructed differently in various communities
- Consider alternate viewpoints among disciplines, histories, cultures and groups
- Explore the complexities of cross-cultural communication and problem-solving
- Consider their civic and ethical responsibilities as local and global actors
Eligible courses
- AFAM 111 - Introduction to Africana Studies
- ANTH 103 - Introduction to Anthropology
- BUSN 205 - Introduction to the World of Business
- ECON 203 - Introduction to Economics
- ECON 205 - The Economics of Product Development and Markets
- ECON 210 - Principles of Microeconomics
- HIST 202 - History Without Borders
- INTL 101 - Human Societies and Globalization
- INTL 295 - Media Diplomacy and Globalization
- MASC 151 - Global Communications
- POLI 105 - International Relations
- SEDP 202 - Preparing Diverse Learners From Multicultural and Global Perspectives
- SOCY 250 - Confronting Climate Crisis
- URSP 350/INTL 345/FRLG 345 - Great Cities of the World
These courses examine how logical and empirical methods can be used to form and revise beliefs; use scientific concepts to describe the world and formulate questions; and model phenomena through the use of mathematics, computer programs, and physical representations.
Courses in this area encourage students to:
- Explore how logical and empirical methods can be used to form and revise beliefs
- Apply methods of logical and empirical reasoning to their own beliefs
- See relations between ideas, both contemporaneous and historical
- Use and connect scientific concepts to describe the world, formulate questions, and solve problems
- Consider and compare different applications of evidence-based reasoning
- Model phenomena in a variety of ways such as through mathematics or the use of computer programs or physical representations
- Consider the civic and ethical implications of scientific inquiry
Eligible courses
- BIOL 101 - Biological Concepts
- BIOL 103 - Global Environmental Biology
- BIOL 151 - Introduction to Biological Sciences I
- BNFO 125 - Disease and Human Ancestry
- CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I
- CHEM 110 - Chemistry and Society
- CHEZ 101 - General Chemistry Laboratory I
- CLLS 202 - Introduction to Infectious Disease and Societal Impacts
- CMSC 210 - Computers and Programming
- EGRB 102 - Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
- EGRB 105 - Successes and Failures in Biomedical Technologies
- ENVS 201 - Earth System Science
- FIRE 301 - Personal Financial Planning
- FRSC 202 - Crime and Science
- HPEX 310 - Fitness and Health
- INSC 201 - Energy!
- MATH 120 - Seeing, Playing, Deciding – This is Math?
- PHIL 221 - Critical Thinking
- PHYS 101 - Foundations of Physics
- PHYS 103 - Elementary Astronomy
- PHYS 201 - General Physics I
- PHYS 207 - University Physics I
- SCTS 200 - Science in Society: Values, Ethics and Politics
- TEDU 210 - Debunking Classroom Myths: How and Why Do We Learn Ideas Incorrectly?
Additional information
For more details about these courses and fulfilling ConnectED's Breadth of Knowledge requirement, see the VCU Bulletin. And, as always, talk to your advisor!