Investigation, inquiry, creativity, discovery, analysis and interpretation — at St. Kate’s, engaged learning opportunities are available to students not just through formal programming, but in the classroom, lab, field, and studio.
Research and Creative Inquiry Intensive (RCI) courses integrate scholarly inquiry into the curriculum. In these courses, students engage in the process of research and/or creative inquiry, contribute to knowledge or apply ideas to new problems, generate original work, and acquire skills that will prepare them for future research and scholarly work.
In these courses:
- Students actively engage in the process of research and inquiry as appropriate in the field.
- Students gain knowledge of and experience in discipline-specific (or interdisciplinary) language, methods, and ethics.
- Students are exposed to and critically analyze literature or creative works in the field to provide context for the work.
- Projects (individual or team-based) are supervised by a mentor (usually the instructor) with expertise in the field and students are provided with constructive feedback and guidance throughout the process (ideally several drafts of a final product).
- Students produce a final product and reflect on their learning.
- Students disseminate their work outside the classroom (at minimum to a departmental, school or university audience, for example at the Sister Seraphim Gibbons Undergraduate Symposium or similar event).
Information for Students
Look for the RCI designation as you search for courses, or work with your advisors to identify courses that will provide this engaged learning experience.
Information for Faculty
For a course to be designated RCI intensive, the faculty member must submit a RCI Intensive Course Proposal to the Collaborative Research Advisory Committee at collresearch@stkate.edu no later than March 13 the academic year before the course will be taught the first time (courses must be approved by April 1 to be included in the catalog). We encourage faculty/departments interested in proposing a course to reach out before beginning the formal process; the committee and Director will be available to provide guidance and feedback to help develop a proposal.