2023-2024 Undergraduate Bulletin

Wellness Minor

Office: Dimond Family Residential Village, P185
Mail Code: 2050 East Evans Avenue Denver, CO 80208
Phone: 303-871-2309
Email: UAP.wellnessminor@du.edu
Web Site: http://www.du.edu/livinglearning/wellness/minor.html

The Wellness Minor is open to all students at DU. Students can pursue the Wellness Minor without being part of the Wellness Living and Learning Community.

Wellness is a unifying concept that weaves together many different disciplines, curricula, and facets of experience to promote conscious growth and dynamic balance in life. As one of the four key dimensions of a DU student 4D experience, the Wellness Minor is designed around a multidimensional model that includes achieving social, emotional, physical, spiritual and financial wellness. An undergraduate who completes a minor in Wellness will have an increased ability to navigate the health care, wellness, or corporate arenas which are increasingly embracing preventative, proactive approaches to health. These undergraduates will delve into various approaches that prepare them to have a foundation for healthy living, gaining a breadth of exposure to various approaches to wellness. The wellness minor is suited for individuals who want to support their major with a balanced academic and experiential emphasis on the practice of wellness. This minor supports the 4D model experience by focusing on learning about and practicing well-being through the following dimensions:

Dimensions of Wellness

  • Mental Wellness
  • Community Wellness
  • Physical Wellness
  • Emotional Wellness
  • Spiritual Wellness
  • Multicultural Wellness
  • Social/Relational Wellness
  • Intellectual/Occupational Wellness
  • Environmental Wellness

Wellness

Minor Requirements

24 credits, including the following:

Required Courses for WELLNESS LLC Students ONLY4-6
Four to six credits from the Wellness LLC series (these courses are only available to members of the Wellness Living & Learning Community):
WLLC: Introduction to Wellness
WLLC: Spiritual and Emotional Wellness
WLLC: Community and Social Wellness
Students not enrolled in the Wellness Living and Learning Community are required to take the following introductory course:
This course does not have to be taken first to begin the minor.
Introduction to Wellness Studies (Offered Spring Quarter)
Electives18-20
Choose 5 courses from at least 2 different wellness domains (totaling 24 credits for the minor). At least 8 credits need to be earned at the 2000 level or above. Please be aware some of these courses may require prerequisites. Elective courses may include the following: 1
Environmental
Culture and The City
Environmental Law
Geography of Health
Environmental Ethics
Community
Denver Urban Issues and Policy
Community Organizing
From Public Good Theory to Action
Anthropology: Humankind in Context
Social Movement Rhetoric
Gender, Communication, Culture
Concepts of the Public Good
Social Psychology (Prerequisite: PSYC 1001)
Understanding Social Life
Self and Society (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Sociology of Health (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Sociology of Sport (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Drugs and Society (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Physical
Cultural Anthropology
Molecules to Humankind I
Molecules to Humankind II
Molecules to Humankind III
Critical Sexuality Studies
Health Communication
Biology of Women
Biomedical Ethics
Child and Lifespan Development (Prerequisite: PSYC 1001)
Human Sexuality (Prerequisite: PSYC 1001)
Sociology of Health (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Emotional
Unlearning to Learn: A Journey in Self Discovery (1 credit)
Self and Society (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Mental
Counseling Psychology: The Psychology of Sex and Intimate Relationships
Philosophy of Mind
Foundations of Psychological Science
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience (Prerequisite: PSYC 1001)
Drugs and Society (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Spiritual
Native Religions
Philosophy of Religion
Religion in American Politics (Prerequisite: Must be Sophomore standing)
Roots of Yoga and Tantra: Methodologies and Modern Practice
Creation & Humanity
Religion & Moral Psychology
Culture, Psyche, and Religion
Bodies and Souls
Multicultural
Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Narratives (Prerequisite: Must be Junior standing)
Images of Culture
Diversity of Counseling Psychology and Mental Health
Feminism and Intersectionality
Globalization, Culture, and Communication
Voice and Gender
Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication
Advanced Intercultural Communication
Social Justice in a Global Context: Theory and Practice
Gender in Society (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
Social/Relational
Communication in Personal Relationships
The Dark Side of Relationships
Gender and Communication
Family Communication
Mediated Communication and Relationships
The Family (Prerequisite: SOCI 1810)
The Psychology of Couples Relationships: From Dating to Mating and Beyond (Prerequisite: PSYC 1001)
Intellectual/Career
Managing Your Financial Affairs
Career Decision Making (2 credits)
Peer Counseling (2 credits)
Speaking on Ideas that Matter
Communication in the Workplace
Conflict Management
Creativity, Innovation, and Design Thinking (Prerequisites: MGMT 2100 and admission to Daniels.)
Topics in Management (Prerequisite: Degree checkpoint 2 and MGMT 2100)
Total Credits24
1

Relevant coursework may be substituted with approval from minor coordinator. Please have the syllabus for the course you would like to substitute and find a course description from the electives list on the undergraduate course bulletin (above) that parallels the syllabus. Please email your syllabus and the parallel DU course name, number and description to UAP.wellnessminor@du.edu.

WELL 1013 Introduction to Wellness Studies (4 Credits)

This course is designed to help students critically analyze concepts and theories of wellness and to promote wellness in their everyday lives. An emphasis will be placed on the research and application of knowledge and skills to increase personal awareness of health and to promote wellness and quality of life.

WELL 2013 WLLC: Introduction to Wellness (1,2 Credit)

This course is designed to help students critically analyze the determinants of wellness and to promote wellness in the everyday lives we lead, both personally and as members of a community. An emphasis is placed on the research and application of knowledge and skills to increase personal awareness of health and to promote wellness in the quality of life in a community. Restricted to Wellness LLC students.

WELL 2014 WLLC: Community and Social Wellness (1,2 Credit)

This course helps students explore their own perspectives and identities in terms of community and social wellness. Students explore different facets of the community from a development approach to analyze critically what determines the relationship between community wellness and social wellness across time, the life cycle, socio-economic boundaries, cultures and communities. An emphasis is placed on informed discussion, working together, sensitivity to others' perspectives, and creating greater awareness of our power to effect change in our community and our world. Restricted to Wellness LLC students.

WELL 2015 WLLC: Spiritual and Emotional Wellness (1,2 Credit)

This course helps students explore their own perspectives and identities in terms of spirituality as it relates to personal wellness. The course creates opportunities for students to explore different spiritual experiences to analyze critically the relationship between spirituality and wellness across time, the life cycle, various socio-economic levels, cultures and communities. An emphasis is placed on informed discussion, sensitivity to others' perspectives, and creating great awareness in our community. Restricted to Wellness LLC students.

WELL 2100 Writing for Wellness (4 Credits)

Mental health problems among college students have increased significantly in recent years, and student depression rates have doubled since 2009. However, a growing body of research suggests that many individuals can improve feelings of wellbeing through a variety of writing practices, including journaling, critical reflection, and expressive writing. Inspired, in part, by Yale University’s most popular course, “The Science of Wellbeing,” this wellness course explores current research on wellbeing, and engages students in the role writing can play in personal, academic, and professional wellness. In this course, students explore academic research on writing for wellness, experiment with wellness writing approaches themselves, and design a wellness writing self-study.

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