Ways of Thinking

A hallmark of a liberal arts, Jesuit education is exposure to a breadth of disciplines and intellectual traditions. Each category exposes students to a distinct, disciplinary lens through which to encounter and engage with the world around them.

Ways of Thinking Overview

A hallmark of a liberal arts education in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition is exposure to a breadth of disciplines and intellectual traditions. The Ways of Thinking distribution in the SLU University Core introduces students to distinct, disciplinary lenses through which to encounter and engage with the world around them. In the Collaborative Inquiry seminar, the culminating experience of the Core, students integrate and apply these analytical skills, working together to explore complex, enduring, and real-world questions.

The four broad disciplinary areas that make up Ways of Thinking distribution in the SLU Core introduce students to four distinct modes of inquiry, while allowing for choice and flexibility in each area.

Students are required to take one 3 credit-hour course in each of the areas below. Although each Ways of Thinking course only satisfies one of the fours areas below, many of these courses count for one or more additional Core requirements, including Equity and Global Identities, Writing Intensive, Cura Personalis 2: Self in Community, and Reflection-in-Action.

Click on the icons below for information on each Core component, including a description, teaching resources, proposal submission information, and artifact design/assessment when applicable.