Approved Courses

The CSU Inquiry Core Curriculum is designed to prepare all students to be successful at CSU and beyond. By completing a curated 37-credit hour program, students will have the foundational knowledge and durable skills to become leaders in their communities and future careers.

Your Inquiry Core Curriculum Expedition Involves:

Your entry into intellectual inquiry. In these activity-oriented, collaborative courses, you will work with others to explore an important issue while becoming familiar with CSU, Cleveland, and the keys to success in university.

All Inquiry Launch courses are graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Collaboration
Available CoursesEffective Date
INQ 100: Study Smarter, Not Harder 
INQ 110: What is a Happy Life? 
INQ 111: Love and Sex 
INQ 130: Comics and their Influence 
INQ 131: What is Computer Science? 
INQ 132: College Life 101 
INQ 133: CSU & the City 
INQ 134: Civil Discourse & CSU 
INQ 170: Engineering Launch 
HON 101: Collaboration, Humanities, Leadership 

In the CSU Inquiry Core Curriculum, you won't just be producing new knowledge; you'll be communicating it in your own unique voice. Who are you, as a communicator? How can you present your ideas to diverse audiences?

Finding Your Voice courses guide you in developing your ability to inquire into complex texts, deploy the English language to effectively communicate your ideas, and develop a voice that is authentically your own.

Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be passed with C grades or better.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Written Communication
Available CoursesEffective Date
ENG 100: Intensive College Writing 
ENG 101: College Writing I 

The production and communication of new knowledge is always part of a larger conversation. To produce new knowledge, you must place it in conversation with what has come before. To communicate new knowledge, you must contextualize it to the appropriate audience.

Research & Professional Writing courses will further refine your foundational inquiry abilities by engaging you in the practice of research and construction of written work for specific academic and professional communities.

Courses used to fulfill this requirement must be passed with C grades or better.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Written Communication
  • Information Literacy
Available CoursesEffective Date
ENG 102: College Writing II 
ENG 107: College Writing II - Environmental Sustainability 
ENG 108: College Writing II - AI and Writing 
COH 102: Writing in the Health Professions 
ESC 102: Technical Writing and Professional Communication 

Mathematics, statistics, and logic sit at the core of any effective inquiry. Each field provides the techniques necessary to critically assess claims and arguments, to determine whether to accept or reject them.

Every Quantitative & Formal Reasoning course is designed to develop your ability to engage in abstract reasoning, making the training they provide applicable to any future inquiry.

Eligibility & Equivalencies:

  • Eligibility for Quantitative & Formal Reasoning courses is determined by Undergraduate Placement Testing.
  • BUS 201, PSC 251, SOC 254, and STA 145/147 are equivalent introductory statistics courses. You may only earn credit for one of these courses.

Minimum 1 course/3 credits required. You may complete a second course to satisfy your "Data & Digital Literacy" requirement.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Quantitative Reasoning or Collaboration
Available CoursesEffective Date
MTH 114: Intensive Foundations of Quantitative Literacy 
MTH 116: Foundations of Quantitative Literacy 
MTH 135: Intensive Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers I 
MTH 137: Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers I 
MTH 138: Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers II 
MTH 148: Mathematics for Business Majors I 
MTH 149: Mathematics for Business Majors II 
MTH 165: Intensive Precalculus I 
BUS 201: Applied Business Statistics 
OSM 202: Introduction to Business Analytics 
PHL 140: Logical Reasoning 
PSC 251: Introduction to Data Analysis 
SOC 254: Introduction to Social Statistics 
STA 145: Intensive Statistical Concepts with Applications 
STA 147: Statistical Concepts with Applications 

Inquire into the unique history, culture, and experiences of African-Americans. Through these courses, you will develop an ability to see an issue from multiple perspectives and develop methods for investigating social dynamics and social diversity.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Intercultural Knowledge & Competence
  • Critical Thinking
  • Written or Oral Communication
Available CoursesEffective Date
AST 200: Introduction to Africana Studies to the 1880s 
AST 201: Introduction to Africana Studies since the 1880s 
AST 207: African-American Literature 
AST 208: Womanism/Black Feminism 
COM 232: Interracial Communication 
HIS 215: History of African-Americans to 1877 
HIS 216: History of African-Americans Since 1877 
HIS 220H: Debates in African American History 
REL 217: Religion in Black America 
UST 202: Cleveland: The African-American Experience 

Inquire into human creativity through the exploration of the art, history, culture, and ideas that have shaped our collective thinking. Through these courses you will develop methods for interpreting the products of the human imagination, understand diverse worldviews, and express your own creativity.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Critical Thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Written or Oral Communication
Available CoursesEffective Date
ART 252: Caves to Cathedrals 
ART 253: Michelangelo to Monet 
ART 253H: Honors Michelangelo to Monet 
ENG 241: Reading and Telling Stories 
HIS 111: United States History to 1877 
HIS 111H: US History to 1877 
HIS 112: United States History Since 1877 
LIN 220: Introduction to Language and LinguisticsFall 25
PHL 111: Meaning and Happiness 
PHL 122: What Do We Owe Nature? 
PHL 215: Technology Ethics 
PHL 216: AI & Data Ethics 
PHL 220: Sci-fi, Tech, and Human Nature 
PHL 240: Healthcare Ethics 
REL 237: The New Testament as Literature 
REL 274: Buddhism and Hinduism in America (HIS 275) 
REL 280: Comparative Mythology 
UST 201: Building Cleveland: Architecture, Planning, and Society 
UST 250: The City in Film 

Inquire into global perspectives by emphasizing the diverse experiences of peoples and societies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Broaden your thinking about your life and the world by examining how different cultures have approached the human condition.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Intercultural Knowledge & Competence
  • Critical Thinking
  • Written or Oral Communication
Available CoursesEffective Date
ARB 274: Introduction to the Middle East 
ART 286: African Art: Ancestral Altars to Galleries 
ENG 201: Global Ways of Being 
HIS 103: Ancient World History to 1300 C.E.Fall 25
HIS 175: Introduction to African History 
HIS 274: Introduction to the Middle East 
PHL 114: The Problem of Suffering 
PHL 255: Non-Western Philosophy 
PSC 274: Introduction to the Middle East 
REL 101: Understanding Religion 
REL 239: The Bible & History 
REL 268: Religion and Culture in Africa 
REL 275: Introduction to the Middle East 
REL 276: Eastern Religions 
UST 206: Global CitiesFall 25
WLC 204: World Literature 
WLC 284: Arab Civilization and Culture 

Inquire into our natural world, engage with the scientific method, and develop your ability to critically assess scientific arguments.

When combined with a Scientific Investigations lab, you will also gain hands-on experience in the scientific method and the tools of natural science.

Students should complete a minimum of 6 credit hours and 2 courses in "Scientific Inquiry" as well as a minimum of 1 credit hour in "Scientific Investigations".

Core Competencies Developed in Scientific Inquiry Courses:

  • Quantitative Literacy
  • Critical Thinking

Core Competencies Developed in Scientific Investigations Labs:

  • Collaboration
  • Information Literacy
Available Courses (non-STEM Majors)Effective Date

CHM 151: Chemistry Around Us

CHM 156: Chemistry Around Us Laboratory

 

EVS 206: Introduction to Environmental Science

EVS 207: Introduction to Environmental Science Lab

 
UST 259: Eco-Exploring Cleveland (includes lab) 
UST 289: Planet Earth: A User's Guide 
Available Courses (STEM Majors)Effective Date
PHY 221: College Physics I (includes lab) 
PHY 222: College Physics II (includes lab) 
PHY 241: University Physics I (includes lab) 
PHY 242: University Physics II (includes lab) 

Engage in investigations into human behavior, social structures, and the interactions between the two. Through the methods of the social sciences, you will develop your ability to understand yourself, other individuals, and social dynamics.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Collaboration
Available CoursesEffective Date
COM 101: Principles of Communication 
COM 211: Communicating in Personal Relationships 
COM 227: Principles of Social Media 
CRM 201: The Criminal (In?)Justice System 
ECN 201: Principles of Macroeconomics 
ECN 202: Principles of Microeconomics 
EDB 202: The Inquisitive Mind of the Learner 
HIS 200: Introduction to Geography 
MTX 190: Music in Health and Wellness 
PSC 111: American Government 
PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology 
SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology 
SOC 201: Race, Class and GenderFall 25
UST 200: Cleveland: The City 
UST 205: Public Service Careers 
UST 207: Ohio Government 

Investigate diverse perspectives and develop techniques for understanding and engaging with social diversity in the United States. Through these courses, you will deepen your understanding of diverse peoples and of the issues and opportunities that arise in a society built with the promise of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Intercultural Knowledge & Competence
  • Critical Thinking
  • Written or Oral Communication
Available CoursesEffective Date
COM 248: Intercultural Communication 
EDB 242: Education and Social Change 
ENG 248: Diversity in American Literature (and H) 
HSC 205: Introduction to Health Equity and Cultural Factors in Healthcare 
PHL 115: Selfhood, Freedom & DiversityFall 25
UST 215: Women Lead 
UST 232: Belonging in the City 
WGS 151: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies 

Deploy digital technologies to investigate important social questions. Courses approved directly in this category will investigate important issues in the Social & Behavioral Sciences and use digital technologies as a means of study and presentation of ideas.

Note: You may satisfy this category by either completing one of the courses listed below or by completing a second Quantitative & Formal Reasoning course.

Core Competencies Developed:

  • Critical Thinking
  • Digital Literacy
  • Collaboration
Available CoursesEffective Date
UST 290: Urban Geography