Research

Results - Themes

Examples:

California State University
Chico requires 9 credits in an upper-division thematic sequence of courses that draw equally from the natural sciences, the humanities and fine arts, and the social sciences. A few examples include:

• American Identities and Cultures
• Environmental Issues
• Minds, Brains, and Machines
• Wealth, Power, and Inequality

Portland State University
Portland State organizes its Freshman and Sophomore Inquiry courses around themes. Some of the themes include:

• The Constructed Self
• Columbia Basin
• Design and Society
• On Democracy
• System Earth
• The Work of Art
• Power and Imagination

University of Illinois - Chicago
[Click to read report] UIC proposed a new general studies program based around themes. Their list included:

• Analyzing the Natural World
• Understanding the Individual and Society
• Understanding the Past
• Appreciating the Aesthetic World
• Exploring World Cultures
• Understanding U.S. Society

San Jose State University
San Jose State requires an integrated studies program toward the end of general studies. Their themes include:

• Earth and Environment
• Self, Society and Equality in the U.S.
• Culture, Civilization and Global Understanding
• Written Communication II

(See also Seminars, Interdisciplinary Approaches, Learning Communities and First-Year Seminar)

Tell Us What You Think: How might we use themes at Metro? Which themes would you use?