UCORE > For Faculty > The UCORE Curriculum > Inquiry in the Arts [ARTS]

Inquiry in the Arts [ARTS]

Creative expression, whether for personal expression or to communicate with others, is a fundamental human activity that results in the production of objects, environments, and experiences that engage the senses, emotions, and/or intellect. The creative and professional arts offer direct participation in such activities and provides a framework for their interpretation, evaluation, and appreciation, past and present. Arts is broadly defined to include not only the fine arts and performing arts, but also the professional arts, such as architecture, graphic design, and digital arts. Students choose one ARTS course (3 credits) to satisfy part of the UCORE Inquiry: Ways of Knowing graduation requirements. Three 1-credit courses may be added together to satisfy the 3-credit requirement.


Student Learning Outcomes


  • Interpret and/or produce creative work using relevant methods, processes, or tools (critical thinking and/or creative thinking).
  • Receive and reflect on constructive feedback to refine creative methods, processes, outcomes, and/or interpretations (critical thinking).
  • Recognize the role of scholarship in creative or professional arts (information literacy).
  • Explain in writing how creative work or interpretation of creative work is grounded in scholarship (written communication).
  • Understand fundamental knowledge and concepts in creative or professional arts as appropriate to the discipline (breadth of learning).
Revised outcomes approved Spring 2022.

⇒ View approved ARTS courses

For Faculty

Whether submitting a new course for approval for the first time or submitting an updated course as part of UCORE’s renewal process, faculty should submit a completed ARTS Learning Outcomes Grid along with the course syllabus and supporting assignment prompts/activity descriptions. This grid should clearly demonstrate the relationship among UCORE designator learning outcomes, course learning outcomes, and activities and assignments that support those outcomes.

Faculty are not required to insert this learning outcomes grid into the body of the syllabus. However, per WSU syllabus policy, all syllabi must communicate the course’s student learning outcomes to students. If the course holds a UCORE designation, then that communication should occur with in the context of the UCORE designation’s required learning outcomes (e.g. critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, understanding diversity, etc.).

All UCORE-designated courses are required to include in the syllabus a statement of how the course fulfills the specific UCORE requirement.

Please adapt this ARTS course description for use in your syllabus. If possible, integrate with course specific description.XXXX XXX satisfies the ARTS requirement for WSU’s University Common Requirements (UCORE), which is designed to help you acquire broad understanding, develop intellectual and civic competencies, and apply knowledge and skills in real world settings. Upon completion of UCORE, you will have the tools needed to seek out information, interpret it, share it, and make reasoned and ethical judgements on a wide array of issues. With these broader goals in mind, XXXX XXX, as an ARTS course, will help develop hone creative expression, whether for personal expression or to communicate with others. The course provides a framework for interpretation, evaluation, and appreciation of creative and professional arts.

Departments and schools should consider how UCORE student learning outcomes (skill development) map to course level (100, 200, 300, or 400) and design assignments and activities accordingly.

CoursesCourses often taught at 100 & 200 level; some “shared” with other departments or UCORE, or community colleges (external context)Courses generally at 300 and 400 level, often taught by the major department (or across depts, especially in interdisciplinary programs)
Introduce (I)Practice (P)Refine (R)Competent (C)
Levels of Program Learning Outcomes: Content, Skills, and ComplexityIntroduce skills and knowledge Practice basics (methods, skills, content knowledge)
Beginner, collegiate level.  		Practice components to solidify foundational skills and knowledge, build comfort and proficiency (includes practice w/ feedback)Additional development to refine skills & deepen knowledge; use in more complex, demanding contexts (includes practice w/ feedback)Apply methods, skills, and knowledge in multiple contexts at an advanced, complex level; know when and where to apply; Graduating senior major level.

⇒ Propose or renew an ARTS course

Additional Resources

Provost Office’s Teach page
Explore this content area of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President’s website, which contains resources, tips, tools, and techniques to support excellence and innovation in teaching.

Assignment Design Resources
Read guidance from the Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness on developing powerful, clear assignments to impact teaching, learning, and assessment.

Required Learning Outcomes
Depending on the designation, your UCORE course will carry additional learning outcomes requirements.

UCORE Policy
View departmental responsibilities for class size, graduate student instructors, shared syllabi, and more.

Library Instruction
Emphasize information literacy by scheduling with a librarian a session that is specifically tailored to your course.

Syllabus Website
Use this website to confirm required syllabus elements and recommended syllabus elements before teaching a course.

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