University Studies

A wide variety of Sophomore Inquiry courses are offered each term, usually numbering around 30 course sections. All Sophomore Inquiry courses are offered at least once a year, and many are offered several times per year.

 No, but it is strongly recommended.

No. There are no Sophomore Inquiry courses that are required by major departments.

All Sophomore Inquiry courses, except Natural Science Inquiry, require a mentored inquiry session which meets once per week. The mentor session for Natural Science Inquiry is built in to the scheduled class time.  All other SINQs have a separate 50-minute mentor session time that meets outside of the main class.

No. All students must take Sophomore Inquiry as graded (A-F) courses

No. You must take Sophomore Inquiries that introduce three, unique themes.  If you take Global Perspectives twice, one will count towards your University Studies Requirement and the other will count as ellective credits.

Because Sophomore Inquiry courses require a considerable time commitment as they involve a large amount of reading, writing, and working on group projects, therefore taking more than one Sophomore Inquiry course per term is discouraged. Students who wish to take more than one Sophomore Inquiry course during a term need to be prepared to manage their time well.

All students who began University Studies with Freshman Inquiry are required to take three Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) courses. Transfer students should refer to the transfer credits information on the University Studies website to determine how many SINQs they are required to complete.

Freshman Inquiry courses are writing intensive, and the Portland State Writing Center provides extra support for students enrolled in these courses. The Writing Center offers special one-on-one tutoring times and other unique resources to help freshman succeed.

In order to get credit for any course, the course must be completed with a passing grade. If one term of Freshman Inquiry is not completed or passed, the student must retake the term in order to fulfill the requirements of Freshman Inquiry. For specific or unusual circumstances, students should seek advising at the Advising and Career Services (ACS), room 402, University Studies Building.