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What academic requirements does UNIV 104 count for?
Who can take UNIV 104?
What is the enrollment cap?
Are there pre-requisites?
Which year is best for taking this course? Who takes it?
Why does this course exist?
Is this a psychology or wellness class? What subject is this?
Is this the same course as PSY232?
What’s staying/changing from PSY 232 to UNIV 104?
Is this a hard class or an easy class?
How important is regular attendance and engagement?
Is this class really tech-free?
Is it introvert friendly even tho there’s a lot of talking?
Is this class graded?
Should I sign up?
I heard this is the last time the class will be offered
What academic requirements does UNIV 104 count for?
UNIV 104 has the following course curricular codes:
Social Sciences (SS)
Arts, Literatures and Performance (ALP)
Research (R)
Creating and Engaging with Art (CE)
Social and Behavioral Analysis(SB)
UNIV 104 also counts as an elective course for the Psychology major and minor.
Who can take UNIV 104?
Any enrolled undergraduate student.
What is the enrollment cap?
250 students.
Are there pre-requisites?
No
Which year is best for taking this course? Who does or should take it?
The course was originally designed with sophomores in mind, but it’s just as effective for any class year. It is accessible and open to all class years.
In the past, the course was split about 80/20 between Trinity and Pratt students and we had students with majors in Biology, Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Economics, Environmental Science and Policy, Evolutionary Anthropology, French Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Neuroscience, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy, Statistical Science, and Visual & Media Studies. Help us expand our list. Obviously we think everyone should take it sometime! You don’t need to know anything about anything to take this class.
Why does this course exist?
Professors Shani Daily and GR Samanez-Larkin, the UNIV 104 co-conveners, noticed in their roles as Faculty Fellows and Faculty-in-Residence that there is a lot of useful “life” and “wellness” programming on campus that is under-attended because students are prioritizing their coursework, friends, and other campus commitments. That’s wise! You should prioritize classes and friends, and there’s not space in life for every single thing that you wish you could do. This course was designed as a way for students to make space in their lives for deep evaluation of and scholarly experimentation with what works across a range of topics in their lives.
Is this a psychology class? Is this a wellness class? What subject is this?
This course will focus on wellness but it’s more holistic than a wellness course. The course covers a range of topics relevant to your own well being and wellness (nutrition, physical activity, cognitive balance, emotion regulation, spirituality) and the broader people and world around us (relationships, interacting across differences, collaboration, leadership, community impact, meaning, and purpose in life). The professors who designed the course have scholarly disciplinary expertise in psychology, neuroscience, engineering, computer science, art & design, cultural anthropology, pop culture, and gender and feminist studies. Elements of almost all of these disciplines and others are integrated in this course, which is why it’s UNIV and not a cross-listed class in, for example, PSY, EGR, and CULANTH. More information about the class will continue to be added to the course summary.
Is this the same course as PSY232? Is it still cross-listed and does it count as a psychology elective?
Professors Shani Daily (ECE/CS), GR Samanez-Larkin (PSY/NEUROSCI), and Nikki Lane (GSFS) designed and piloted a version of this course as PSY 232 in Fall 2023. It was formally titled “Quad Course: The Art and Science of What Works in Life” and had the same curricular codes. We called it a Quad Course because we initially planned for it to be priority enrollment for our FiR and Faculty Fellow dorms/quads. We decided against that but left the quad course name, because a lot of the goals of this course are also goals of QuadEx “to enhance and integrate the social, residential, and intellectual lives of undergraduates” to “strengthen on-campus communities, enable deeper exploration of intellectual interests, and support student wellbeing and growth.”
UNIV courses are not cross-listed so this course will not show up as PSY232 anymore. The Psychology DUS office and Registrar keep it coded behind the scenes as a PSY 2xx course for the Psychology major or minor even when a student enrolls in it as UNIV 104.
I heard a lot about PSY 232 or UNIV 104 from friends. What is staying and changing for the Fall 2025 version?
The only big change for this Fall is that we are now tech free during most of the class meeting (more info in FAQ on this below). Students in PSY 232 and UNIV 104 really enjoyed the randomized groups and all the in-class group discussions. That will stay this Fall. Lecture periods will remain very active with a max of 30 minutes of a single person talking. PSY 232 & UNIV 104 covered a lot of life topics; we’ll cover the same range this year. PSY 232 students suggested adding discussion sections for skill building. We tried it last year in UNIV 104 and it wasn’t great; maybe we didn’t do it right. There will be no discussion sections in Fall 2025 but we did move some of the skill building activities to lecture meeting times. Students in UNIV 104 will attend two very active 75-lecture periods per week led by Profs Daily and Samanez-Larkin, often featuring a guest speaker.
I heard there’s not a lot of work in this course. True?
The majority of the “work” of this course happens during class times. Class is very active, so be prepared to show up and engage. In between class meetings, there are materials to consume and surveys/reflections to complete based on activities we try in our own lives or pre-review of some artistic or scientific material. The time commitment outside of class is arguably low compared to other courses (under 2 hours per week). However, the “work” being light is debatable. If you engage with the course, the topics can be heavy or existential. The course overall is intellectually stimulating throughout and you’ll catch yourself thinking about the weekly topics (or past week’s topics) throughout the week even when you’re not actively engaged in a graded assignment. It’s a different kind of work than most classes. It’s not problem sets or exam studying. It’s life work. That might seem easy to some and difficult to others.
How important is regular attendance and engagement?
Essential. It’s a big part of your grade. If you know you will miss several class meetings during the semester, this is not the class for you. Absences are excused according to Duke’s usual policies (documented illness or Duke-sponsored travel), but you can’t make up the work entirely on your own. The best parts of this class emerge from discussion with peers, the instructional team, and the guests. Many assignments are also completed during class based on the classroom experience.
This class cannot be used as a study hall. If you spend your class time doing work for other classes or causing disruption to others, your attendance credit for that day will be revoked. You cannot pass this class without attending it.
Is this class really tech free?
(policy borrowed from PSY101) Technology can be very useful, and we will harness technology in specific ways in this course. However, research suggests that the benefits of technology depend on where and when we use it. Lectures will be tech-free in this course unless specifically indicated. This policy is based on careful analysis of the scientific literature as well as surveys and discussions with students. Research shows that in a large class such as this one, using a laptop in class is associated with poorer grades for both laptop users and for their neighbors. Evidence also suggests that tech-free policies improve student grades and engagement. Consider lecture-time to be a place to take a break from your tech and be mindful and present. We understand that “life happens.” If you are expecting an important message during class that requires you to check your phone, talk to the professors. The class meeting will have built in brief breaks to check texts, emails, etc.
Sounds like a lot of talking to people. What if I’m an introvert?
This is the ideal brave space for you. We promise. A large percentage of the students last semester self-identified as introverts. All of the required conversation happens in small groups of people (6 or fewer) that you get to know surprisingly well. Those conversations are also highly structured ensuring that each person has an opportunity to share with each other uninterrupted. We alternate between talking (in small groups) and listening (in small groups and with the whole class) during each class period.
Is this class graded?
Mostly no, but overall yes. This class uses specifications grading (sometimes called “specs grading”), an evidence-based grading system that simplifies grades and increases both student engagement and actual learning (Nilson & Stany, 2015; Elkins, 2016; Katzman et al, 2021). The focus is on establishing clear expectations and being rewarded for your continued engagement with each component of the course in a transparent way. There are many small surveys and reflections to complete each week, but almost everything is graded S/U. However, in this course overall you will receive a letter grade (unless you opt for S/U overall which we will approve). Only whole letter grades will be assigned (A, B, C, D, F). There will be no + or – grades. One end of semester assessment will be letter-graded (whole letter grades again) with a clear rubric. Final grades are determined based on bundles of percentages of satisfactory surveys, class attendance, an individual autoethnography, and a letter-graded end-of-term group project. Thresholds for specific letter grades are detailed in the syllabus.
Should I sign up?
ofc! Do you float around and keep your head down and hope your life unfolds? Does everybody tell you that you’re doing so well, but you honestly find it hard to tell? It’s fine, you’ll figure it all out. You’re still only quite young. In a way this life of yours has only just begun. It’s fine. You’ve got time. You’ve got tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime to sign up for UNIV 104.
Is this the last chance to take UNIV 104??
Yes, Fall 2025 is the final offering of UNIV 104. The UNIV courses are being discontinued. It is possible this class may be offered in a different subject in the future (maybe a PSY and EGR cross-list) but we have no concrete plans yet. It definitely won’t be offered in 26/27 and likely not the next year either.