Habits of Mind courses teach you to develop questions, employ methodologies, and create new knowledge or solutions. The AU Core includes five required Habits of Mind, each one focuses on specific ways of thinking or knowing: Creative-Aesthetic Inquiry, Cultural Inquiry, Ethical Reasoning, Natural-Scientific Inquiry, and Socio-Historical Inquiry. Habits of Mind are typically taken over the course of four years.

AU faculty believe inquiry goes hand-in-hand with the curiosity that characterizes life-long learners. The Habits of Mind help you broaden your knowledge base and prepare you to draw connections between your Core experience, classes in your majors/minors, and lives after AU.

Completing the Habits of Mind

Students* satisfy the Habits of Mind by completing an appropriately designated, in-residence course from each of the five Habits of Mind areas with grades of “C” or better.

• Choose courses that complement one another and the classes in your majors/minors.
• Brand new or revised courses get added each semester. Refer to the drop-down menu for the appropriate semester to learn what’s been added or confirm which courses can be used to satisfy a Habit of Mind requirement. Prior iterations of approved courses will not satisfy the requirement.
• You may count, with permission of the relevant teaching unit, one Habit of Mind course toward each major or minor you pursue.
• Consult your own degree audit or your academic advisor to verify which courses have been used to satisfy requirements.
• Up to two appropriately-designated courses taken abroad can be used to satisfy AU Core requirements. Read Core Abroad for additional details.

*Transfer Students should consult the Academic Regulations for specialized guidance.

List of courses that satisfy the Habits of Mind requirements, as well as the other requirements of the AU Core.