New Arts studentsÌýmust successfully complete the Undergraduate CommunicationÌýRequirement by taking ARTS 160 or ARTS 160E.
If you started your studies before Fall 2025 and have not completed the full communication requirement, you must now complete ARTS 160.
| Course completed | Action |
|---|---|
|
ARTS 130 only |
Take ARTS 160 as second UCR course. |
|
ARTS 140 only |
Take ARTS 160 as second UCR course. |
|
Neither |
Take ARTS 160 as only UCR course. |
| Completed both ARTS 130 and ARTS 140 | No action, UCR milestone complete |
| Faculty Transfer Students | Contact your advisor or artsfirst@uwaterloo.ca for information. |
If you started your studies in SpringÌý2018Ìýor earlier, please see theÌýEnglish Language Proficiency Requirement page.
A student tests out a VR headset in the Virtual Theatre course.
How you'll learn
Classes focus on practice-based learning. Instead of listening to a lecture and trying to capture notes, you’ll be immersed in activities and exercises that require communication, problem solving, and the kinds of skills necessary for demonstrating comprehension and contributing to the creation of knowledge. Imagine a classroom where you and your classmates work together to respond to a challenge posed by the instructor.
Arts First classes are dynamic, discussion-based experiences that give you the chance to do a lot of writing and speaking. At the end of each course, you will have written about 15 pages of text that you have revised and peer-reviewed over a series of assignments that build on one another. You can also expect to give both formal and informal presentations to build your oral communication skills.
Throughout your Arts First course, you will get regular feedback on your work from your instructor as well as from your peers through collaborative in-class exercises and assignments.
Learning outcomes for Arts 160
As an ARTS 160 student, you will:
- Access information and practice navigating library resources, including indexes and databases.
- Understand the role of collaboration in the development of diverse modes of communication.
- Relate your own experiences, strengths, and goals to effective communication practices.
- Employ an understanding of genre and convention in the development of knowledge communities.
- Examine critically the ways that data, information analysis, and communication lead to knowledge.
- Effectively produce oral, written, and visual modes of communication with attention to context and audience.
- Synthesize data and information to engage with the social and ethical challenges of our world.
Occasionally, a student may come into the Faculty of Arts and request to be exempted from ARTS 160.ÌýRequests for exemption are handled by the Director and the Associate Director of Arts First, and require the student requesting the exemption to complete the exemption request form in its entirety.
About ARTS 160: Inquiry and Knowledge Creation
ARTS 160 introduces students to the process of knowledge creation in disciplines represented in Arts. In small seminar settings, students will explore a topic determined by instructor expertise to build competencies in communication and information analysis. Students will learn how to access, examine, and communicate information, broadly conceived, in a variety of contexts. Their work will require students to meaningfully engage with the ideas of others while developing their own contributions to a community of knowledge.
Topics
Seminar topics for Fall 2025 will be posted after July 1.
About ARTS 160E: Inquiry and Knowledge Creation
Designed for students in Arts whose dominant language is not English, this course introduces students to the process of knowledge creation in the disciplines represented in Arts. In small seminar settings, students will explore a topic determined by instructor expertise to build competencies in communication and information analysis. Students will learn how to access, examine, and communicate information, broadly conceived, in a variety of contexts. Their work will require students to meaningfully engage with the ideas of others while developing their own contributions to a community of knowledge.
There is only one section of ARTS 160E offered per academic year.
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