All students who earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon must take Area of Inquiry and Cultural Literacy courses. These courses fulfill degree requirements and are listed in the Class Schedule and Course Catalog.
Areas of Inquiry
- Arts & Letters (A&L)
- Arts & Letters (A&L) courses will create meaningful opportunities for students to engage actively in the modes of inquiry that define a discipline and will cover a variety of perspectives.
- Examples: Examples: Art History, English, Folklore
- Social Science (SSC)
- Social Science (SSC) courses will cover the foundation of issues, perspectives, and modes of analysis for social sciences.
- Examples: Economics, Ethnic Studies, History
- Science (SC)
- Science (SC) courses will introduce students to the foundations of one or more scientific disciplines, or should provide an introduction to fundamental methods (such as mathematics) that are widely used in scientific disciplines. Courses will introduce students to the process of scientific reasoning.
- Examples: Astronomy, Biology
The following codes are listed with courses on the the Class Schedule, in the student schedule builder and on transcripts in order to assist students and their advisors in identifying approved area-satisfying courses.
Code | Requirement |
|---|---|
>1 | Arts & Letters Area |
>2 | Social Science Area |
>3 | Science Area (only) |
>4 | Either Science Area or BS Math Requirement (not both) |
>5 | BS Math Requirement (only) |
Cultural Literacy
- Global Perspectives (GP)
- Global Perspectives (GP) courses will foster student encounters with and critical reflection on cultures, identities, and ways of being in global contexts. Each course will include substantial scholarship, cultural production, a variety of perspectives, and proximity to voices from members of communities under study, as sources permit.
- Examples: Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Geography
- US: Difference, Inequality, Agency (US)
- US: Difference, Inequality, Agency (US) courses will develop students’ analytical and reflective skills to help them understand and ethically respond to the ongoing cultural, economic, political, and social power imbalances that have shaped and continue to shape the United States. In addition, this study may also include the relationship of the United States to other regions of the world. Each course will include scholarship, cultural production, perspectives, and voices from members of communities historically marginalized by these legacies of inequality.
- Examples: English, Ethnic Studies, Sociology
Multicultural
Students enrolled prior to Fall 2019 take courses from Group-Satisfying (now called Area of Inquiry, above) and Multicultural courses.
- American Cultures (AC)
- American Cultures (AC) courses cover historical and comparative perspectives of race and ethnicity in the United States. Each course deals with at least two of the following groups in a comparative manner: African Americans, Chicanos or Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans.
- Examples: Music, Philosophy, Theater Arts
- Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance (IP)
- Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance (IP) courses explore how we form group identities based on ethnicity, class, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. The courses may also address how tolerance is learned.
- Examples: Anthropology, Economics, History
- International Cultures (IC)
- International Cultures (IC) courses examine world cultures by focusing on how they create group identities and approach tolerance or by analyzing a particular culture that differs significantly from more familiar cultures in contemporary America. Students can meet their International Cultures requirement by participating in certain UO-sponsored study abroad programs.
- Examples: Comparative Literature, Geography, Spanish