Learning Communities

The world is full of bad information. Let’s learn how to spot disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda in text, images, and data. We’ll use strategies for evaluating that info and then draw conclusions about what’s true and what’s just plain old BS. You’ll also learn strategies for presenting good information in ethical ways.

Courses

• Data 150: Data and Society
• COMM 101: Disinformation in the USA

WCore Emphases

• Quantitative
• Research

Mathematics and psychological science can help people become better thinkers. We will explore how probabilistic reasoning can help us understand why people make risky decisions, why games of chance are often counterintuitive, how decision-making is often biased by our personal intuitions, and how probability applies to cognition and behavior. You’ll learn how to apply mathematical concepts in a variety of real-world situations and debunk common myths about people and behavior.

Courses

• PSYC 105: Bust That Psych Myth 
• WCSAM 113: Probability, Risk, and Reward

WCore Emphases

• Science and Mathematics
• Research 
• Quantitative

You’re in college… now what? This Learning Community discusses personal and financial wellness, career selection, developing emotional resiliency and coping skills, and finding your path through ethics, leadership, diversity and mindfulness … all important topics of "adulting". The journey is yours — what will you do with it?

Courses

• WCSBS 132: The Art of Adulting
• WCSAM 112: Personal Wealth Foundations

WCore Emphases

• Science and Mathematics

• Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Writing

• Quantitative

In the U.S., knowledge is weaponized to shut down rebellious cultural movements that embrace multiple identities and challenge the status quo. This course focuses on how mathematical modeling and the study of literature challenges laws, and public policies aimed at curtailing woke culture. Students will develop the skills necessary to understand the importance of marginalized knowledge in creating a just society.

Courses

• LMW 114: Searching for America
• WCSBS 220: Social Justice by the Numbers

WCore Emphases

• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Fine Arts and Humanities
• Quantitative Emphasis
• Diversity Emphasis

Everything you do involves a complex interplay of chemicals in your brain and body. Students will develop a chemical foundation to explore the activity of their nervous system and its impact on behavior. "All the stuff you do is an awesome mix of chemicals vibing in your brain and body. It's like this wild chemistry set making us do our thing every day."

Courses

• CHEM 111: Principles of Chemistry I*
• NEURO 205: Intro to Brain and Behavior

(*Required course for all science majors, engineering 3-2, and pre-health programs.)

WCore Emphases

• Science and Mathematics

This Learning Community provides an engaging introduction to the dynamic facets of the business world, equipping you with essential skills crucial for pursuing a business major. Students will collaborate to establish a company, select a range of products for sale within the Westminster community, oversee various aspects of business operations, and, most importantly, direct the allocation of profits towards a meaningful service project. This hands-on approach to learning empowers students to grasp the practical and gratifying aspects of the business field.

Courses

• BUSI 101 A: Communicating
• BUSI 101 B: Calculating
• BUSI 101C: Business Fund Company Lab

(*Required course for all business majors)

WCore Emphases

• Business

What does it mean to be well in the challenging times we live? Come explore the concepts and practices of wellness through various experiences. You will learn the dimensions of wellness, practice cultivating your own personal wellness, explore wellness from an environmental justice lens, and engage with local environmental organizations to improve the environments where people live, work, and play.

Courses

• HPW 250: Wellness for Life
• ENVI 202: People and Places

WCore Emphases

• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Poverty is a pandemic of deprivation affecting more human beings than we realize. Whether we recognize it or not, poverty is on the ballot this November. Will we choose a more just society? This Learning Community investigates opposition to poverty eradication by exploring myths and misconceptions about poverty and how they affect social choice and voting in the United States

Courses

• WCSAM 103: Counting Votes
• PHIL 209: Poverty and Global Justice

WCore Emphases

• Science and Mathematics
• Qualitative
• Fine Arts and Humanities

Food is a vital part of our everyday lives. In this Learning Community, students will use scientific principles to create (yes, cook!) a variety of food and drinks while examining American traditions and beliefs regarding not only food, but also storytelling, practice, and belief.  

Courses

• WCSAM 114 Science of Food and Drink 
• WCSBS 131: Folklore of Many Americas 

WCore Emphases

• Science and Mathematics

• Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Research