Core - University Undergraduate (CORE)

CORE 1000 - Ignite First Year Seminar

Credit(s): 2 or 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Ignite Seminar requirement engage each instructor’s distinct area of expertise as the lens through which students practice the Ignatian learning process—an integrative and personal approach to inquiry rooted in context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation. By focusing on how scholarly commitments are forged in dialogue with the personal and social worlds we inhabit, Ignite seminars showcase the rich interplay of intellect and identity, wonder and certainly, rigor and play that characterizes academic inquiry rooted in the Ignatian ideal of care for the whole person (cura personalis). Ignite Seminar leaders also guide students as they identify and explore the questions that ignite their own sense of wonder and urgency. Must be completed in a student's first 36 credit hours at SLU.

Attributes: UUC:Ignite Seminar

CORE 1005 - Ignite First Year Seminar

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Ignite Seminar requirement engage each instructor’s distinct area of expertise as the lens through which students practice the Ignatian learning process—an integrative and personal approach to inquiry rooted in context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation. By focusing on how scholarly commitments are forged in dialogue with the personal and social worlds we inhabit, Ignite seminars showcase the rich interplay of intellect and identity, wonder and certainly, rigor and play that characterizes academic inquiry rooted in the Ignatian ideal of care for the whole person (cura personalis). Ignite Seminar leaders also guide students as they identify and.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Ignite Seminar

CORE 1200 - Eloquentia Perfecta 2: Oral and Visual Communication

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Eloquentia Perfecta 2: Oral and Visual Communication trains students n the five duties of the rhetorician: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Courses that satisfy the Oral and Visual Communication requirement develop students’ ability to prepare and deliver effective oral and visual messages and arguments within academic and professional contexts and advocate for the common good. Students advance their oral and visual communication skills through assignments that require them to consider their own positions, present audience-appropriate messages and arguments, and acknowledge multiple and contradictory perspectives. In this process, students learn to evaluate oral and visual arguments and reflect on the ways in which identity, values and diverse cultural contexts shape their own and others’ oral and visual communication. They also reflect on the ways in which rhetorically fluent communication is vital to ethical public discourse, understood as effective communication in service of the common good. Should be completed in a student's first 60 credit hours at SLU. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Attributes: UUC:Oral & Visual Comm

CORE 1205 - Public Speaking in Org. Life

Credit(s): 3 Credits

This course promotes principles of effective public speaking and provides opportunities for the development of speaking skills. The course will examine: standards for evaluating personal performance and the performances of others; speeches and presentations required in modern organizations; speaking clearly and persuasively; and effective audience interaction. Students will become familiar with presentation technologies. The knowledge and skills learned will be applied across the entire curriculum.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Oral & Visual Comm

CORE 1230 - The Art of Creative Design

Credit(s): 3 Credits

The Art of Design course brings out the creative side in you to propose simple common-sense solutions for human problems. Irrespective of the discipline, the course will help you empathize and see the world from a user-centric perspective and understand their values and needs. Students work in teams to identify needs and create innovative solutions to address user needs.

Attributes: UUC:Oral & Visual Comm

CORE 1500 - Cura Personalis 1: Self in Community

Credit(s): 1 Credit

Courses that satisfy the Cura Personalis 1: Self in Community requirement launch students on a path of self-discovery and deeper meaning-making by exploring fundamental questions of identity, history, and place. Completed in the first year at SLU, this course offers grounding and support as students join the SLU academic community and begin to navigate its distinctive intellectual and interpersonal challenges. This course situates students within the histories, places, and resources of SLU and St. Louis/Madrid, and assists in their transition to college-level learning in the Jesuit tradition by inviting them to consider the diverse perspectives and backgrounds that make up SLU, including their own. The course also orients students to a variety of academic, health, wellness, civic, and cultural resources that are available to enrich their journey. Must be completed in a student's first 36 credit hours at SLU. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Attributes: UUC:Self in Community

CORE 1505 - Cura Personalis 1: Self in Community

Credit(s): 1 Credit

Courses that satisfy the Cura Personalis 1: Self in Community requirement launch students on a path of self-discovery and deeper meaning-making by exploring fundamental questions of identity, history, and place. Completed in the first year at SLU, this course offers grounding and support as students join the SLU academic community and begin to navigate its distinctive intellectual and interpersonal challenges. This course situates students within the histories, places, and resources of SLU and St. Louis/Madrid, and assists in their transition to college-level learning in the Jesuit tradition by inviting them to consider the diverse perspectives and backgrounds that make up.

Attributes: UUC:Self in Community

CORE 1600 - Ultimate Questions: Theology

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Ultimate Questions: Theology requirement ask students to reflect critically on their own and others’ worldviews by wrestling with “ultimate questions” in dialogue with the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. Ultimate Questions: Theology focuses on the nature of faith; the nature, existence, and personhood of God; the nature and ends of creation and human life; evil and salvation. Ultimate Questions: Theology introduces students to the fundamental texts, teachings, practices and modes of inquiry of one or more major religious traditions, always including the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Attributes: UUC:Theology

CORE 1605 - The Big Questions in Theology

Credit(s): 3 Credits

This course introduces students to the 'big questions' from the perspective of religious faith, including the theological perspectives that ground the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. Theistic religions – as traditionally understood – are not merely forms of personal piety but communal efforts that aim at understanding a people’s place in the larger cosmos, a cosmos created by a personal God. Theology is that discipline that addresses these questions from the perspective of religious faith. As a result, the religious quest – as a theological practice – engages significant questions of meaning, truth, suffering, and goodness.

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Theology

CORE 1700 - Ultimate Questions: Philosophy

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Ultimate Questions: Philosophy requirement ask students to reflect critically on their own and others’ worldviews by wrestling with “ultimate questions” in dialogue with the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. Ultimate Questions: Philosophy focuses on the nature of reality and our ability to know it, the nature of wisdom and the good life, and the nature and meaning of human existence. Ultimate Questions: Philosophy introduces students to distinctively philosophical ways of reasoning about such questions, always including philosophical approaches found in the Catholic tradition. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Attributes: UUC:Philosophy

CORE 1705 - The Big Questions in Philosophy

Credit(s): 3 Credits

This course focuses primarily on the more interesting and profound ways in which people have considered the key philosophical questions all people encounter in their lives. Contemporary writings as well as the writings of Plato and Aristotle will figure prominently in the course as they show how to use reason systematically as an instrument for understanding the world. Students will be introduced to epistemology, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of God, and ethics all from the perspective of cura personalis.

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Philosophy

CORE 1900 - Eloquentia Perfecta 1: Written and Visual Communication

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Eloquentia Perfecta 1: Written and Visual Communication trains students in the five duties of the rhetorician: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Courses that satisfy the Written and Visual Requirement develop students’ ability to write effective messages and arguments in expository prose, design effective visual messages and arguments, participate in academic discourse, and advocate for the common good. Students advance their writing and visual design skills through a variety of formal and informal assignments that require several stages of invention and revision and the acknowledgement of multiple and contradictory perspectives. Through these assignments, students gain rhetorical awareness of purposes, audiences, and contexts. They also reflect on the ways in which rhetorically fluent communication is vital to ethical public discourse, understood as effective communication in service of the common good. Should be completed in a student's first 36 credit hours at SLU. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Prerequisite(s): (ENGL 1500, ENGL 1505, EAP 1500, ACT English with a minimum score of 25, or SAT Verbal with a minimum score of 600)

Attributes: UUC:Written & Visual Comm

CORE 1905 - Eloquentia Perfecta 1: Written & Visual Communication

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Over the course of the term, students research and compose a persuasive essay related to the role of rhetoric in ethical public discourse. This essay, which students develop in stages over the term, will grow out of the reading, research, and revision they pursue in the course. By the end of the term, students will be able to craft a persuasive messages across textual and visual modes. The essay is the key to the course, but students also learn about the value and ethics of rhetoric through their discovery of and participation in the research and writing process.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Written & Visual Comm

CORE 1930 - Special Topics

Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)

Special Topics.

CORE 2500 - Cura Personalis 2: Self in Contemplation

Credit(s): 0 Credits

Cura Personalis 2: Self in Contemplation guides students in a structured process of reflection and discernment informed by or in dialogue with the Ignatian tradition. These non-credit bearing experiences invite students to envision a clearer sense of who they are and how they might contribute to their communities by considering how their values and calling shape their vocational aspirations. Students are asked to consider how they might foster justice and the flourishing of human dignity within themselves and others. Tools and methodologies are provided to assist the student in the development of lifetime practices of professional and personal reflection.

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Attributes: UUC:Self in Contemplation

CORE 2510 - VITAS - Vocational Inquiry Through Advocacy and Service

Credit(s): 1 Credit

This course provides students a chance to reflect on their experiences thus far as a SLU student, and how these are shaping personal development, potential life paths, and ability to respond to challenging situations. While students’ off-campus community service/justice experiences will provide a primary lens to engage in discernment, other experiences such as family/peer relationships, spiritual encounters, employment, leadership opportunities, etc. will also be referenced. Students will critically evaluate the impact that these experiences have had on their growth as an individual, and will be equipped with skills necessary to handles challenges, respond to stress and cultivate well-being.

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1500*; CORE 1000

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Attributes: UUC:Reflection-in-Action, UUC:Self in Contemplation

CORE 2800 - Eloquentia Perfecta 3: Creative Expression

Credit(s): 2-3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Eloquentia Perfecta: Creative Expression requirement cultivate students’ abilities to articulate persuasive positions through engagement with a creative or design process. These courses foster technical skills that allow students to communicate messages and arguments creatively in a specific linguistic, performance, design and/or artistic medium. As students practice modes of creative expression in these courses, they also advance their capacities to produce informed evaluations of arts, media, performance, or design. These courses develop students’ awareness of how creative expression is influenced by personal and cultural contexts. Students also reflect on the ways in which rhetorically fluent and technically.

CORE 2930 - Special Topics

Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)

Special Topics.

CORE 3200 - Ways of Thinking: Quantitative Reasoning

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning requirement introduce students to the ubiquity of quantitative data, theories, and applications. In these courses, students attain a breadth and depth of mathematical and/or statistical skill sets that allows them to assess quantitative information in order to develop rigorous arguments and communicate reasoned conclusions. Should be completed during a student’s first 45 credit hours at SLU.

CORE 3400 - Ways of Thinking: Aesthetics, History, and Culture

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Aesthetics, History and Culture requirement advance students’ ability to understand the meaning and diversity of human experiences both within and beyond their own social and cultural contexts. These courses develop students’ abilities to draw reasoned conclusions about primary sources (including visual art, literature, cinema, historical documents, and other cultural products) using qualitative interpretive techniques and scholarly sources.

CORE 3405 - Reading in a Distracted Age

Credit(s): 3 Credits

It is hard to read well in an age of speed and distraction. We want instant access, moment-to-moment news, updated scores, the latest tweet or email, and movies and shows to binge watch. Our ways of reading in a digital age train us to skim, to get the gist of an argument and move on to the next stimulus. We end up with bits of information that produce a shallow, fragmented, and one-sided understanding. The goal of this course is to cultivate reading habits that deepen our appreciation for literature and that equip us to read confidently and skillfully.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Aesthetics, Hist & Culture

CORE 3415 - The Presence of the Past

Credit(s): 3 Credits

We cannot escape the omnipresence of the past and the way history and memory shape our contemporary lives. In this course, we will examine the past and consider how looking at the past equips us to comprehend the present. Our focus will be on American history and how certain events, people, and stories conspire to produce a mythology that shapes our collective self-identity and national ethos. An awareness of our historical situatedness gives us the knowledge to accurately assess our current age.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Aesthetics, Hist & Culture

CORE 3500 - Cura Personalis 3: Self in the World

Credit(s): 1 Credit

Courses that satisfy the Cura Personalis 3: Self in the World requirement ask students to look outward by articulating how their skills, competencies, and knowledge transfer to professional, personal, and/or civic vocation. Students are guided in an examination of both academic and non-academic options and logistics; preparing career-enhancing tools, and developing appropriate career-enhancing practices that will help them move forward with a sense of confidence and purpose that enables them to find richer meaning in their lives and careers. Most importantly, Cura Personalis 3 gives students the opportunity to reflect on intersections between their Core and major and assists them in crafting written and oral messages about how that intersection informs who they are as they leave SLU and embark on their work in the world in solidarity with others. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Prerequisite(s): (CORE 1500, CORE 1500, CORE 1500, CORE 1500, CORE 1500, CORE 1500, and CORE 1500)

Attributes: UUC:Self in the World

CORE 3600 - Ways of Thinking: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement develop students’ ability to systematically study society, culture, individuals, institutions, and/or communication. In these courses, students are asked to consider the diversity of social, political, and civic life. Students will be given the tools to draw reasoned conclusions about the complexity of real-world challenges experienced by individuals or groups, locally, nationally, and / or globally.

CORE 3605 - Social Sciences in Context

Credit(s): 3 Credits

This course focuses on a deeper exploration of the historical perspective of how intellectual contexts, conceptual economic frameworks, and political analysis impact social behavior. In this course students will encounter a variety of perspectives on the relationships between social behavior, social problems, political theories and the economy. Students will develop the ability to critically analyze and compare perspectives and to draw informed conclusions about the real-world challenges experienced by individuals or groups, locally, nationally, and globally.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Social & Behavioral Sci

CORE 3800 - Ways of Thinking: Natural and Applied Sciences

Credit(s): 3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Natural & Applied Sciences requirement foster students’ understanding of modes of inquiry used to study structures and mechanisms of the universe. In these courses, students develop an understanding of scientific laws, principles, and theories as well as methods to test empirical claims. These courses give students the tools to evaluate claims about the natural and physical world and/or to apply scientific reasoning to real-world problems.

CORE 3930 - Special Topics

Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)

Special Topics.

CORE 4000 - Collaborative Inquiry

Credit(s): 0-3 Credits

Courses that satisfy the Collaborative Inquiry requirement ask students to work with their peers to apply concepts, methodologies, and ways of thinking from earlier Core and other coursework in order to explore complex questions without straightforward answers. These courses might focus on contemporary societal problems like climate change or racial inequality, or they might engage enduring questions about the nature of beauty, effective leadership, or the transcendent. Before enrolling in CORE 4000, students must have completed 60 credits overall, including 21 credits from the University Core. (Offered in Fall, Spring and Summer)

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1000; CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Attributes: UUC:Collaborative Inquiry

CORE 4005 - Persons & Problems in the Contemporary World

Credit(s): 3 Credits

This course is part of the Saint Louis University Core, an integrated intellectual experience completed by all baccalaureate students, regardless of major, program, college, school or campus. The Core offers all SLU students the same unified approach to Jesuit education guided by SLU’s institutional mission and identity and our nine undergraduate.

Prerequisite(s): CORE 1000; CORE 1500*

* Concurrent enrollment allowed.

Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students in the Schl for Professional Studies college.

Attributes: Prof. Studies Students Only, UUC:Collaborative Inquiry

CORE 4500 - Reflection-in-Action

Credit(s): 0 Credits

Reflection-in-Action* is a signature experience in Jesuit education. The curricular and co/extra-curricular experiences that satisfy the Reflection-in-Action requirement encourage students to experience meaningful learning opportunities beyond the university and to reflect upon ways that community engagement enhances their understanding of acting with and for others. Besides for-credit courses, there are approved co-curricular experiences that satisfy the Reflection in Action requirement for the Saint Louis University Undergraduate Core. Please note that each experience has a separate sign-up process conducted by the sponsoring department — students do not register in this course. For a list of co-curricular experiences see website: https://www.slu.edu/core/core-classes/reflection-in-action.php.

Attributes: UUC:Reflection-in-Action

CORE 4930 - Special Topics

Credit(s): 1-3 Credits (Repeatable up to 6 credits)

Special Topics.