Program: Humanistic Inquiry in the Liberal Arts Certificate - University of Michigan - Flint

Apr 12, 2025

2025-2026 Catalog

The Certificate in Humanistic Inquiry in the Liberal Arts is intended for students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program who need to complete General Education credits, and provides themed pathways for completing 12 credits with options in multiple General Education and distribution designations.

Courses in the program utilize humanities-oriented perspectives to encourage new understandings of self and the world, and are informed by a call to empathy and an imperative to look deeply and beyond oneself in making meaning of the world. Methodologies such as analysis, interpretation, synthesis, evaluation, consideration of context, problem solving, and working from multiple perspectives will be central to courses in the certificate. These are skills desired by employers and essential to meaningful civic engagement. The inclusion of an individual reflective portfolio encourages development of critical thinking, metacognition, and the ability to communicate learning.

Students will explore big questions within a theme using transformative texts and intentional reflection to connect courses to one other, the major, and beyond. As a result of the specific pedagogical design of courses included in the certificate, all 12 credits must come from eligible courses taken at UM-Flint; equivalent transfer courses may not be applied to the certificate.

Students are required to complete four certificate courses including two within a single themed pathway and submit an individual reflective portfolio.

Themed pathways include:

Humans and Robots

Envisioning and Building Just and Sustainable Worlds

Leading by Living an Examined Life

The certificate will appear on a student’s official transcript. Courses should be elected in consultation with an advisor and as part of the completion of university General Education requirements.

The certificate may be earned in conjunction with a degree program or as a stand-alone credential. (Students pursuing a stand-alone credential are not eligible for federal financial aid and may not participate in Commencement.) After the student applies for graduation, the certificate is posted to the student’s official transcript and an official diploma stating the area of the certificate is issued.

Requirements

Completion of four certificate courses including two within a single themed pathway with a minimum GPA of 2.0, and an individual reflective portfolio submitted after completion of coursework. Equivalent transfer courses cannot be applied to the certificate.

Certificate courses should be elected in consultation with an advisor and, for degree-seeking students, can be taken as part of University General Education requirements.

A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each course.

Themed Pathways (12 credits)

Four courses from the pathways below, with at least two from a single pathway:

Humans and Robots

This theme centers on big questions about what it means to be human, intersections of humanity and technology, and considerations for design and consequences of technological innovation.

ANT 100 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
or
INT 100 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
ANT 290 - Language and Culture (3)
ANT 330 - Culture, Health and Healing (3)
ENG 156 - Reading Science Fiction and Fantasy (3)
ENG 207 - Ancient Mythology (3)
LIN 151 - #HowWeTalkNow (3)
LIN 200 - Introduction to Linguistics (3)
PHL 115 - Mortal Questions (3)
SOC 203 - Technology and Digital Society (3)
THE 221 - Voice and Movement (3)

Envisioning and Building Just and Sustainable Worlds

This theme centers on big questions about justice and/or sustainability in a variety of contexts, discovery of limits and possibilities of justice or sustainability, and opportunities, challenges, and consequences for arts, community, identity, and responsibility in envisioning just worlds and building sustainable worlds.

AFA 102 - Introduction to African American Studies (3)
ANT 241 - Peoples and Places (3)
ART 150 - Design Thinking (3)
DAN 100 - Introduction to Dance and Social Justice (3)
DAN 151 - Culture of Hip Hop Dance (3)
DAN 204 - Dance in World Cultures (3)
or
AFA 204 - Dance in World Cultures (3)
or
INT 204 - Dance in World Cultures (3)
DAN 300 - American Dance History (3)
ENG 307 - Literature, Place and Travel (3)
or
MES 307 - Literature, Place and Travel (3)
ENG 312 - British Literature through 1800 (3)
HIS 200 - The Third Reich (3)
HIS 283 - Introduction to Islam and the Modern Middle East (3)
HIS 334 - History of Ethnicity and Race in the United States (3)
HIS 373 - 19th Century Europe (3)
LIN 244 - The Structure of English (3)
PHL 167 - Race, Gender and Sexuality (3)
or
WGS 167 - Race, Gender and Sexuality (3)
PHL 170 - Disabilities Studies (3)
or
WGS 170 - Disabilities Studies (3)
POL 215 - Democracy in the Digital Age (3)
SOC 100 - Introduction to Sociology (3)
AFA 270 - Race, Ethnicity and Institutionalized Racism (3)
or
SOC 270 - Race, Ethnicity and Institutionalized Racism (3)
WGS 100 - Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)

Leading by Living an Examined Life

This theme centers on big questions about ethical leadership and knowledge of self, intersections of empathy, emotion and responsibility in all aspects of life, and opportunities and challenges for living an examined life.

DAN 102 - Yoga: History, Tradition and Movement (3)
ENG 202 - Introduction to Fiction (3)
ENG 252 - Advanced Composition (3)
ENG 315 - Shakespeare (3)
LIN 150 - Taboo Language (3)
AFA 203 - Origins of Modern Racism (3)
or
PHL 203 - Origins of Modern Racism (3)
POL 261 - Introduction to Political Theory (3)
THE 150 - From Page to Stage: Interpreting the Script (3)
THE 225 - Acting for Non-Majors (3)

Individual Reflective Portfolio (0 credits)

Students submit an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) that includes reflective assignments from elected courses within the pathway and reflections on experiences within and across completed courses More information available at go.umflint.edu/HumanisticInquiry.

Additional Requirements

A minimum of 9 credits in the program must be completed at UM-Flint.

Coursework older than 3 years must be reviewed by the College of Arts, Sciences & Education for content alignment with current certificate requirements.