Core Competency Catalog Courses

The purpose of an Ohio Wesleyan education is to equip students with “knowledge, competence, and character for leadership, service, and continued learning in a complex and increasingly global society” (OWU Statement of Aims). The Core Competencies are the ways of knowing, doing, and being in the world that OWU has judged most essential to achieving this purpose.

To fulfill the Core Competencies requirement, students must take one unit of credit from each Core Competency category. No more than two units with the same disciplinary prefix (e.g., ART, BIOL, ENG, etc.) may be taken across ALL Core Competency categories.

This is a list of all courses in OWU's catalog that fulfill Core Competency requirements. Click here to see a list of sections by term that fulfill the requirements. Courses numbered 250 or higher are upper level courses.

Note: Any eligible AP or transfer course that receives at least .70 unit of credit may be counted toward a Core Competency requirement. Transfer credit eligibility for Core Competencies will be determined when a preliminary or official Transfer Credit Evaluation is completed, either at the time of admission or after a student has submitted their enrollment fee.

Think Aesthetically

Courses in this category focus on creating new works of art (e.g., visual arts, music, dance, theatrical performances, creative writing) and/or analyzing existing works of art and artistic movements. Students may take one full unit course or the equivalent fractional unit courses to add up to one full unit (such as four 0.25 unit courses) to fulfill this competency.

Course Title
AMRS 110Thrice-Told Tales
ART 110Survey Art History I
ART 111Survey Art History II
ART 114Materials Foundation
ART 115Digital Foundations
ART 298Photography History
COMM 251Digital Media
DANC 100 2Studio Topics
DANC 105Introduction to Dance Studies
DANC 150Studio Topics
DANC 305Dance History
ENG 100 7Exploring Creative Writing
ENG 145Reading:
ENG 147Reading the Global Kitchen
ENG 200 3Fiction I
ENG 215Creative Nonfiction I
ENG 216Poetry I
ENG 254Introduction to Film
ENG 256Tragic Vision
ENG 258Studies in Shakespeare
ENG 496Literary Editing
FLMS 254Introduction to Film
MUS 105Appreciation of Music Literature
MUS 229Introduction to Electronic Music
MUS 300 9Analysis of Music in Film
MUS 351Analysis of Music in Film
MUSP 001Choral Art Society
MUSP 002Symphonic Wind Ensemble
MUSP 011Music Theater Workshop
MUSP 017Marching Bishops
PHIL 113Rock Music and Philosophy
PHIL 362Aesthetics
SPAN 300 13When a Woman Runs the Show: Early Modern Hispanic Theatre on the Contemporary Stage
THEA 101Introduction to Theatre
THEA 115Script Analysis for Performance
THEA 126Intro to Technical Theatre
THEA 160Beginning Acting
THEA 180Documentary Film Production
THEA 200 1Script Analysis for Performance
THEA 275Voice and Movement for the Stage
UC CCTACore Competency: Think Aesthetically
WLC 301Cinemas in French

Reason Formally and Quantitatively

Courses that fulfill this competency have a substantial focus on quantitative methods and formal reasoning based on the use of arithmetical, algebraic, geometric, statistical, logical, and/or algorithmic approaches to solving problems.

Course Title
ART 200 4Generative Art
CHEM 111General Chemistry II
CS 103Exploring Computer Science
CS 110Intro Computer Science & Programming
CS 210Intermediate Computer Science and Data Structures
CS 220Foundations of Computer Science
DATA 300 2Data Visualization and Presentation
DATA 300 3Methods in Data Analytics
ECON 110Principles of Economics
FIN 361Financial Management
GEOG 245Weather & Climate
MATH 104Great Ideas in Mathematics
MATH 104CGreat Ideas in Mathematics
MATH 105Basic Probability & Statistics
MATH 110Calculus I
MATH 111Calculus II
MATH 200 3Biostatistics
MATH 200 4Generative Art
MATH 230Applied Statistics
MATH 235Biostatistics
PHIL 341Logic
PSYC 210Quantitative Methods
PUBH 250Epidemiology
UC CCRFQCore Competency: Reason Formally and Quantitatively

Question Scientifically

Courses in this category introduce students to the scientific method and how it can be deployed to investigate questions about the natural world.

Course Title
ASTR 110The Sky and the Solar System
ASTR 111Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
BIOL 100 8Biodiversity and Society
BIOL 101Human Biology
BIOL 102Biodiversity, Extinction and Society
BIOL 106Enology
BIOL 107Food
BIOL 120Introduction to Cell Biology
BIOL 122Organisms & Their Environment
BIOL 125Introduction to Microbiology
CHEM 100 1Principles of General, Organic, and Biochemistry
CHEM 110General Chemistry I
COMM 300 1Research Methods in Communication
COMM 310Research Methods in Communication
ECON 251Research Methods in Economics
ENVS 111Introduction to Earth Science
ENVS 112Ecology and the Human Future
NEUR 110Introduction to Neuroscience
PG 279Conduct of Political Inquiry
PG 344Democratization in the Developing World
PHIL 343Philosophy of Science
PHYS 110 CGeneral Physics for Physical Science Majors I
PSYC 110Introduction to Psychology
PSYC 310Research Methods
UC CCQSCore Competency: Question Scientifically

Listen, Imagine, and Understand

Courses in this category examine the meaning-making practices that help people interpret the world, developing critical reading and listening skills for cultivating empathy for lives and cultures unlike our own.

Course Title
CLAS 122Classical Mythology
CLAS 319Alexander the Great
COMM 100 1Communication Theory
COMM 101Communication Theory
COMM 111Mass Media History
COMM 200 4Media Literacy & Analysis
COMM 220Media Literacy and Analysis
EDUC 300 16Children's & Young Adult Literature
EDUC 316Children's & Young Adult Literature
ENG 110Myth, Legend, and Folklore for Storytellers and Gamers
ENG 176Alternative Worlds
ENG 177Hero(ine) Sets Forth Medieval Quest Narratives
ENG 252Vengeance
ENG 300 16Literary Encounters in the Medieval Mediterranean
ENG 332Legends of King Arthur
ENG 334Chaucer and His Contemporaries
ENG 340The Renaissance Author
FREN 230Global Jeunesse: Language, Topics, and Debates in French
GEOG 360Environmental Geography
HIST 115Intro to Latin American History
HIST 332Argentina, Brazil and Chile Since Independence
MUS 349History of Rock in Song, Style & Story
PG 281Food Politics & Policy in America
PG 300 38Food Politics & Policy in America
PHIL 250Environmental Ethics
PHIL 345Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 349From Hegel to Nietzsche: The Struggle for Self-Determination
REL 111Hebrew Bible
REL 121New Testament History and Literature
REL 141Islam: An Introduction
REL 280Islam in America
REL 300 6Medieval Islamic Society
REL 372Philosophy of Religion
SOAN 260Changing Cultures, Changing Societies
SOAN 349Gender and the Body
SPAN 300 10Spanish Crime Fiction: Fatal Women, Murderers and Other Outcasts in Contemporary Spanish Literature
SPAN 300 7Sorceresses and Witches in Spanish Literature
SPAN 361Spanish Drama and Poetry
SPAN 365Cervantes and the Quijote
SPAN 366Spanish Crime Fiction: Fatal Women, Murderers and Other Outcasts in Contemporary Spanish Literature
SPAN 369Early Modern Spanish Literature & Culture
SPAN 370The Child in Contemporary Latin American Literature and Film
UC CCLIUCore Competency: Listen, Imagine, and Understand

Write and Speak Effectively

Courses in this category focus on written and oral communication skills, devoting substantial class time to all stages of the compositional process, from invention through revision.

Please note: First-year students should take ENG 105: College Writing Seminar before completing the Write & Speak Effectively core competency. If a student has exempted from ENG 105 through test scores, they may register for a Write & Speak Effectively course.

Course Title
BIOL 318Electron Microscopy: Theory and Practice
COMM 110Fundamentals of Journalism
COMM 300 15Strategic Communication & Message Design
COMM 315Strategic Communication & Message Design
EDUC 377Content Area Literacy
ENG 217Magazine Writing
ENG 250Introduction to Literary Study
ENG 255The Devil, the Hero, & God
ENG 265Literary and Cultural Criticism
ENG 300 9Magazine Writing
ENG 310Writing for the Workplace
ENG 312Writing for the Sciences
ENG 348The British Romantics
ENG 901Lower Level English Composition Elective
ENG 952Upper Level English Composition Elective
FREN 250Le mot juste: Composition and Cultural Analysis in French
GEOG 347Human Impacts on the Environment
HIST 250Historical Inquiry
NEUR 350Neuroanatomy
NEUR 374Topics in Neuroscience
NUTR 300 11Human Nutrition and Metabolism
NUTR 380Advanced Human Nutrition and Metabolism
PG 353Congress & Legislative Process
PG 371Power and Authority: Political Theory from the Canon to Fanon
PHIL 391Seminar in Plato
REL 344Gandhi: Religion & Social Change in Modern Asia
REL 358American Religion: Divinity in Diversity
SOAN 315Society and the Economy
SPAN 310¡Luces, Cámara, Acción! The Hispanic World Through Film
UC CCWSECore Competency: Write and Speak Effectively

Learn a Second Language

Courses in this category focus on written and/or spoken languages other than English. Students must complete a language through the 111 level or show competency at that level through a placement exam, standardized test performance, or exemption for non-native speakers of English.

Course Title
BWS 110Beginning Swahili I
BWS 111Beginning Swahili II
BWS 225Continuing Swahili
CHIN 225Second Year Chinese I
FREN 110Beginning French I
FREN 111Beginning French II
FREN 225Intensive Grammar Review
GERM 110Beginning German I
GERM 111Beginning German II
GERM 225Continuing German
GREE 110Intro to Classical Greek I
GREE 111Intro to Classical Greek II
GREE 330Readings in Greek Prose and Poetry
ITAL 110Beginning Italian I
ITAL 111Beginning Italian II
ITAL 225Continuing Italian
JAPN 110Beginning Japanese I
JAPN 111Beginning Japanese II
JAPN 225Continuing Japanese
LATI 110Beginning Latin I
LATI 111Beginning Latin II
LATI 225Continuing Latin
MFL 110Foreign Language I
MFL 111Foreign Language II
RUSS 225Continuing Russian
SPAN 110Beginning Spanish I
SPAN 111Beginning Spanish II
SPAN 225Continuing Spanish
SWAH 110Beginning Swahili I
SWAH 111Beginning Swahili II
SWAH 225Continuting Swahili
UC CCLSLCore Competency: Learn a Second Language

Examine Power and Inequities

Courses in this category explore the ways in which power is constructed, embedded, and employed in cultural, political, and social structures. Courses will consider the effect of such systems on cultures and individuals, as well as efforts to confront inequality.

Course Title
BWS 300 11Race, Ethnicity, and Health
BWS 300 5African Medical Systems
CLAS 251Women in Antiquity
CLAS 253Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity
CLAS 322The Roman Empire
CLAS 325Empire and Ethnicity in the Ancient World
COMM 200 1Media Effects and Society
COMM 211Media Effects and Society
COMM 300 3Conflict Management
COMM 313Conflict Management
ECON 276Health Economics
ECON 277Labor Economics and Problems
EDUC 110The Role of the School
EDUC 115Teaching for Equity and Social Justice
ENG 266Women's Literature in English
ENG 300 15Britainistan: Literacy and Religious Narratives of British Muslims
ENG 346Eighteenth-Century Literature in the Digital Age: Gender, Genre, and Engagement
ENG 350The Victorians
ENG 355Great Books of Russia: Russian Literature and Thought
FREN 300 5Fourteen Kilometers: Mediterranean (Im)Migrations in Contemporary Francophone Culture
FREN 351Culture of Empire, Culture of Resistance: Representation and Power in the French-Speaking World from
GEOG 110Human Geography
GEOG 270Cultural Geography of the Middle East
HIST 111Introduction to Medieval History
HIST 112Introduction to Modern European History
HIST 113Introduction to Early American History to 1877
HIST 114Introduction to Modern American History since 1877
HIST 116Introduction to Pacific Asia
HIST 271Mexico From Conquest to Revolution
HIST 370 ATopics: Famous American Trials
HIST 373Civil War and Reconstruction
PG 113Democracy, Dictatorship and Political Change
PG 346European Politics
PG 347Contemporary Political Topics: Protest and Violence
PG 360International Politics
PG 364International Political Economy
PG 366Great Power Politics and U.S.-China Relations
PHIL 110Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 311Special Topics in Social & Political Philosophy
PHIL 351Philosophy of Law
REL 270Religion in Modern Thought and Culture
REL 300 15Britainistan: Literacy and Religious Narratives of British Muslims
SOAN 110Introductory Sociology
SOAN 117Social Problems
SOAN 347Health, Culture, and Society
SOAN 358Society, Politics, and Social Movements
UC CCEPICore Competency: Examine Power and Inequities
WGS 250Reproductive Politics in the Era of Globalization
WGS 325Women and Media: Gender, Race, Class and Popular Culture
WGS 351Global Feminisms

Engage Diversity

Courses in this category focus on cultures, people, and places historically excluded by the Western academic tradition. Courses will engage issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, and class, and their complex, interrelated histories.

Course Title
ART 251Latin American Art
ART 305Black Atlantic Art
ART 317The Art of Protest
ART 358Ceramics I
BWS 105Intro. to Black World Studies
COMM 300 10Health Communication & The Black Body
COMM 300 2Intercultural Communication
COMM 311Special Topics in Communication
COMM 312Intercultural Communication
COMM 314Health Communication & The Black Body
EDUC 120Introduction to Exceptionalities
ENG 227Black & Asian British Literature
ENG 270Caribbean Women Writers
ENG 300 14What's Love Got to Do with It? Sexuality in Premodern English Literature
ENG 356Race, Power, and Identity in Postcolonial Literature
HIST 285Women in American History
HIST 375Women in American History
PG 112Global Issues
PG 260Equality & American Politics
PG 265The Politics of Disability
PG 319Women and Politics
PG 348Latin American Politics
PG 349East Asian Politics
PHIL 111The Examined Life in a Diverse World
PHIL 212Critical Thinking: Ideology Critique
PSYC 285LGBTQ+ Issues in Psychology
REL 104Religions of the East
SOAN 111Cultural Anthropology
SOAN 300 10Special Topics in Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Justice
SPAN 371Latin America and the Quest for Identity
THEA 312Contemporary Queer Theatre in the United States
UC CCEDCore Competency: Engage Diversity
WGS 110Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
WGS 310Special Topics in Women's and Gender Studies
WGS 310 ASpecial Topics: Feminism and Sex Work
WGS 310 BST: Feminism and Intersectionality
WGS 310 CSubversive Subjects: Sex & Gender in Literature
WGS 350Sexuality Studies
WLC 260Hispan Latinx Voic in US Cultu Lit Film

Act Responsibly

Courses in this category equip students to engage as citizens of a diverse and interconnected world, drawing upon various ideas and ideals that guide human interaction, including historical, religious, ecological, philosophical, and ethical frameworks.

Course Title
BUS 105Exploring Business
BUS 269International Business Ethics
COMM 300 6Persuasive Communication
COMM 316Persuasive Communication
DATA 300 1Social, Ethical, and Cultural Impacts of Big Data
ECON 260Current Economic Issues
ECON 282Global Poverty
ECON 353Economic Development
EDUC 105Introduction to Early Childhood Education
ENG 342Drama and Theatre to 1700
ENVS 110Intro to Environment and Sustainability
ENVS 399Sustainability Practicum
GEOG 345Economic Geography
NEUR 345Psychopharmacology
PG 111Power and American Politics
PG 280Environmental Politics and Policy
PG 363Human Rights in International Perspectives
PG 373American Political Thought and Politics
PHIL 211Ethics
PHIL 269International Business Ethics
PHIL 312Special Topics in Philosophy
PHIL 360Seminar in Bioethics
PSYC 345Psychopharmacology
REL 103Prophetic Religions of the West
SJ 110Introduction to Social Justice
THEA 351Drama and Theatre to 1700
UC CCARCore Competency: Act Responsibly