DRAKE UNIVERSITY

Drake students will learn to interpret and/or create art. Art constructs an essential and ongoing dialogue among individuals, cultures, and societies. Art—whether it takes visual, musical, or theatrical form—grows out of sustained intellectual inquiry. Drake students will recognize that art provides distinctive ways to engage the world and create expressions of the human condition.

The Drake Curriculum makes an intentional effort to help students acquire the skills for rational analysis and argumentation. Critical Thinking should be purposeful, rigorous, self-reflective, and based on a careful consideration of evidence.

Democracy relies upon the participation of an engaged, knowledgeable and responsible citizenry. As preparation for active participation in public debate, Drake students learn to evaluate the mix of diverse values and interests that influence democratic decision-making. In a sophomore level course, students have the opportunity to bring diverse disciplines to bear in further developing the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that will lead them to be active stewards working for the common good of local, national and global communities. This requirement will be fulfilled through coursework that challenges students to critically reflect upon the social, economic or political institutions and issues that shape the choices they will face as citizens.

Through understanding the interaction of knowledge, awareness, and cultural responsibility, Drake students will pursue the ideal wherein all persons have value and a voice. They will learn to examine aspects of society in relation to nationality, race, ethnicity, gender or culture, including the interactive nature of relations among people who differ according to these categories.

Drake students will gain greater understanding of the historical foundations of the modern world and the interconnections of global cultures. Students will use historical analyses to study the interplay of multiple forces of change over time. Two courses are required in this area of inquiry.

Drake students will learn to acquire, analyze, interpret, and integrate information, employing appropriate technology to assist with these processes, and to understand the social and ethical implications of information use and misuse. Drake students will use appropriate sources, including library and internet resources, to process and evaluate information. Students will gain an understanding of the social and ethical issues encountered in a networked world, an ability to assess the quality of information, and learn appropriate ways to reference information sources.

Drake students will learn to reason with the symbols and components of mathematical languages as well as effectively use the principles that underlie these operations. Courses that satisfy this requirement will have mathematical reasoning as their principal focus. They may also address questions that engage learners with the world around them and help them to analyze quantitative claims that arise from the study of civic, political, scientific, or social issues. Quantitative literacy courses may be focused on the mathematical needs of a specific discipline or on a specific interdisciplinary issue or problem.

Scientific literacy is crucial for understanding the issues that affect the future for all people, locally, nationally, and globally. Drake students will gain a basic understanding of content, methods, and contributions of science through courses rooted in the content of the life/behavioral and physical sciences. Through significant exposure to experiment and theory, students will be able to meaningfully interpret and evaluate scientific information for personal and professional applications as engaged citizens. All courses that fulfill this AOI will engage students to achieve basic scientific literacy; individual courses will pursue the additional outcomes as appropriate to their disciplinary or interdisciplinary focus. Drake students will complete two courses in this area of inquiry, including one in the life/behavioral sciences and one in the physical sciences. At least one course taken for this AOI will include a laboratory or field experience.

Students must take one course in the Life/Behavioral Science category.

Students must take one course in the Physical Science category.

Drake students will learn to recognize ethical issues and to reflect critically upon the demands of conscience. They will develop as reflective practitioners with an understanding of the larger goals of stewardship inherent in their professional endeavors, and have a sense of obligation that extends to beyond the self. They will develop an understanding of the skills and knowledge necessary to anticipate the consequences of actions as well as an understanding of the dispositions necessary to develop a commitment to ethical conduct. Students will develop the basic tools required to question themselves and others in a responsible manner and to evaluate the ethical implications of both collective and personal choices.

Drake students will learn to read with discrimination and understanding and to write persuasively. Drake students will learn to shape their writing according to subject, purpose, medium, context and intended audience.

Work with a Drake University Admission Counselor to find out exactly how your credits will transfer, keeping the following in mind:

• Students can transfer a maximum of 66 credit hours from DMACC or other community colleges. A Drake bachelor's degree requires a minimum of 120 credits.

• A grade of C- or higher is required for all transfer coursework.

• A minimum of 40 upper level (100-199) credits is required for Drake bachelor's degrees.

• The last 30 credit hours must be completed at Drake University.

• Students may cross-enroll for a tuition-waived Drake course.

• Admitted students with an A.A. or A.S. degree from an Iowa community college who have at least 60 semester credits acceptable for transfer and a minimum 2.00 cumulative grade point average will enter Drake University having fulfilled the Areas of Inquiry requirements.