Planning your course schedule each semester can be overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to balance requirements, interests and long-term goals. One helpful tool that’s often overlooked is course tagging!
Course tags are a useful tool to assist you in making decisions about courses that align with your personal academic and professional development. Course tags highlight the skills and knowledge you can expect to gain in specific courses. Course tags connect each class to one or more of the University’s learning goals, the Shared Competencies:
- Ethics and Integrity
- Critical and Creative Thinking
- Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills
- Civic and Global Responsibility
- Communication Skills
- Information Literacy and Technological Agility
For myself, course tags are tremendously helpful. As a double major and an Honors student, I have taken loads of classes tagged with Critical and Creative Thinking, Civic and Global Responsibility, and Communication Skills. Being new on campus can be stressful, and the course tags have helped me out a lot this past semester by figuring out what classes are best for meeting multiple goals at once.
Course tags let students quickly see which courses align with academic requirements while also building important skills. This saves time, reduces stress and helps make more intentional choices about your education.
For example, if you are planning a career in international relations, you might prioritize courses tagged with Civic and Global Responsibility and Communication Skills. If you’re headed into a science field, you may want more courses that emphasize Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills and Critical and Creative Thinking. Each Shared Competency offers value across all majors. No matter your path, these Competencies ensure your education is well-rounded and future-ready.
The skills learned through the six Shared Competencies sets Syracuse University apart from other universities because course tagging illustrates the transferable skills students will gain to prepare for postgraduate opportunities.
The search tools for the Shared Competencies make this process easy. Searching for Competencies is now possible within Schedule Builder, MySlice Course Search and the Course Catalog Search. For more info on how to use these tools and search for specific tags, check out a video on selecting classes with the Shared Competencies in mind!
Written By Ryan Ludwig ’29, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs