Surviving the 9 Ways of Knowing

Every year, incoming first-years at Barnard wonder how to fulfill the Nine Ways of Knowing requirements, which are meant to teach students to look at issues from various perspectives, from the quantitative to the artistic. For the aspiring premed student, a literature course seems to spell a slow death, and for the philosophy major, a three-hour chemistry lab seems impossible—and some of the requirements sound exactly the same. How is the average Barnard student to find her way through the Ways?

THE SELF-EXPLANATORY
The Visual and Performing Arts requirement is as straightforward as they come­—art, dance, music, photography, film, and theater courses all fulfill it. Some classes provide an excuse to see performances off campus: Dance in New York City and New York Theater are popular choices. For the Historical Studies requirement, students can take any history course or certain classes in political science, religion, and women’s studies.

THE VAGUE
Cultures in Comparison, Social Analysis, and Reason and Value require some demystifying, as it’s not always clear how they differ from one another. Cultures in Comparison is easy for anthropology majors, but can also be fulfilled by certain history, political science, Africana studies, and religion courses—anything that compares different peoples will do. Social Analysis focuses on social institutions and lends itself well to the sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, or economics major, though urban studies students sometimes fulfill the requirement with the Theorizing Civic Engagement course. And the broad Reason and Value­, which looks at how values shape thought, can be completed with anything from Nineteenth Century Art to Theoretical Foundations of Political Economy to European History Since 1789. Pick your poison.

MATH AND SCIENCE FOR THE HUMANITIES-MINDED
The Laboratory Science and Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning requirements may seem daunting for students who were hoping to fill their schedule with English classes. For Quantitative Reasoning, try philosophy courses such as Introduction to Logic or astronomy classes such as Life in the Universe. For those who aren’t big on math and science but can still handle numbers, Math Methods for Economics and Statistics for Economics might be appealing. Science majors may easily fulfill the lab science requirement several times over, but humanities students have a harder time. Psychology is a popular choice, but getting through the psych lab lottery can be a drag. Some environmental science classes also have labs. Whatever you pick, try to get the lab science requirement out of the way early­—it’s time-consuming and not what you want to focus on while writing your senior thesis.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
P.E. isn’t technically a “Way,” but it is a requirement. Even if you weren’t the star of your high school volleyball team, Barnard offers everything from swimming to self defense to the always-popular dance. Students must take two physical education classes to graduate, and one must be done by the end of first year, so start planning now—and make sure to enter the lottery on time if you want a say in what you’ll be taking.

E-BEAR IS YOUR FRIEND
Check out your schedule on eBear—it’ll give you a list of courses that fulfill each requirement, especially if you’re confused about why that one class fulfills Cultures in Comparison but not Reason and Value.