WELL 101

Dimensions of wellness. This graph shows the 8 dimensions of wellness. This includes Emotional, Environmental, Intellectual, Physical, Occupational, Spiritual, Social, and Financial wellness.

WELL 101 (General Wellness Course Requirement) These course topics address a variety of health and wellness topics centered around the 8 dimensions of wellness listed above.

It is strongly recommended that students complete the WELL 101 requirement before their third year. In order to successfully complete the graduation requirement, students, must complete one WELL 101 from the variety of classes listed below. Not all topics are offered every semester and are subject to change.
WELL 101 is either instructed in a synchronous or asynchronous format.
Synchronous means the class will have in person sessions once a week for 6 weeks.
Asynchronous means that all assignments will be assigned and completed through Blackboard with designated deadlines. 
If a student misses a session or assignment deadline, they will be required to notify their instructor of their absence and complete a make-up assignment. More than one absence will result in a “U” or “Unsatisfactory” grade.

Synchronous Classes

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  • Dialogue Facilitation
    This course is based on the Community Dialogue Network’s successful workshop series, which over the past three years has trained more than 100 students, staff, and faculty at the University of Richmond. Dialogue Facilitation introduces students to basic principles of dialogue facilitation, with emphasis on equity-minded approaches for navigating difficult topics. The course provides ample opportunity for students to practice the various concepts and skills presented to topics and situations relevant to their experience. The concepts and skills students learn in the course are applicable not only to the facilitation of formal dialogues, but also to engaging in everyday situations and discussions.
  • Emergency Preparedness and Beyond

    Students who take Emergency Preparedness and Beyond will become Preparedness Ambassadors upon completion. Students will learn personal emergency preparedness skills to help them during emergencies on and off campus. The course will include topics such as disaster psychology, first aid training, weather awareness, and how to apply their degree in the emergency management industry.

  • Financial Fitness

    This course will improve students understanding of financial products, services and concepts, so that they are empowered to make informed choices, avoid pitfalls, know where to go for help and take actions to improve their present and long-term financial well being.

  • Jews, Hatred, and Hope
    Through a focus on Judaism and antisemitism, students will come to learn interfaith frameworks for engaging in a religiously pluralistic society, develop skills for positive interfaith relations, and consider possibilities for engaging in dialogue and joint action with those of other religions (and/or ethical systems) on key issues of local and global significance. We will also examine the potential for religions to have a positive impact on civic life, particularly when their adherents combine efforts across faith traditions while simultaneously engaging in open, creative, and sustained interfaith dialogue.
  • Mental Health First Aid Certification
    This course is traditionally an 8 hour training that we have broken up into 6 weeks. After the completion of the course, students will become a certified Mental Health First Aider. In this course students will learn: risk factors and warning signs of mental health and substance use problems, information on depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis and substance use, and a 5-step action plan to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or is in crisis.
  • Nutrition & Culinary Basics
    This course is designed to gain nutrition and cooking knowledge. Half of the class will take place in the Demonstration kitchen learning basic cooking skills such as knife skills, roasting, and emulsions. The other half of the class will be nutrition education in the classroom learning about macronutrient needs, meal planning, and grocery shopping tips.
  • Performance Arts & Wellness
    This course is all about the combination of different performance art mediums and wellness. This class will explore how different art forms can be used as a tool for self-care, community building, emotional regulation, mindfulness, and healing. Some of the art forms that will be explored are poetry, music, & comedy. No special talent or artistic ability is required, and the creative process is beneficial to people of all ages.
  • Perspectives on Environmentalism
    This course explores sustainability as a framework for creating a better world and how it relates to personal wellness. Through a variety of readings, in class discussions, and reflective exercises, the course will provide the opportunity for students to learn how their own personal well-being is intimately tied to their ability to create positive social change. Students will learn how their own personal wellness is connected to their effectiveness as change agents, explore a variety of different theories of change, develop an understanding of the importance of well-being and its relationship to changemaking work, and create their own personal vision statement for their lives and future endeavors in the context of creating a more sustainable world.
  • Recovery Ally Training
    Students will learn about the disease of addiction, pathways to recovery and what it means to be a recovery ally. Classes will be discussion- and guest-speaker-based on topics including alcohol, nicotine, prescription and “street” drugs, as well as eating disorders and codependency. There will be special focuses on mindfulness practices and cognitive behavioral tools applicable to all walks of life. Students will also learn to recognize signs of different overdoses and what to do in such emergency situations, including how to administer the opioid-antidote medication naloxone.
  • Stress Reduction & Self-Awareness
    This course aims to offer students an opportunity to learn about mindfulness or deepen their awareness of its benefits. We will explore how increasing our self-awareness can enrich multiple facets of our lives, thereby reducing stress and increasing resilience. Learning to be in the present moment helps us experience our emotions, behaviors, and physical sensations in a way that allows us to be curious and non-judgmental instead of as reactive. We will be practicing a range of meditations and awareness practices that offer us the opportunity to physically relax more quickly and easily and help us grow more resilient to the unpleasantness that often arises in our daily and educational experiences.
  • Visual Arts and Wellness
    This course will focus on using art mediums and the creative process to help people explore emotions, build self-esteem, and reduce anxiety through art. By using creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collaging, etc., you can express yourselves however you would like. When creating art, people are able to focus on their own perceptions and imagination to gain personal insight and develop new coping skills. No special talent or artistic ability is required, and the creative process is beneficial to people of all ages.

Asynchronous Classes

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  • Career Exploration
    In this course, the follow objectives are included: identify present interests and personality preferences, explore educational and career alternatives, discuss self and community in relation to work, majors, and careers, and life planning, and apply decision-making and career development models to personal decision-making situations.
  • Careers in Healthcare
    This course serves to explore careers in the healthcare sector in clinical, research and administrative settings. Students will identify experiences that will allow for exploration and clarification of career goals in healthcare. Students will also research and connect current trends in the healthcare arena to personal career paths. And lastly they will complete an action plan that includes unique next steps in the career development process.
  • Financial Fitness

    No matter what your current interest and knowledge of money management is, this "Financial Fitness" course will lay out key steps to help you design a successful financial roadmap. This course will explore topics such as budgeting, credit card utilization, credit scores, student and personal loans, taxes and more through group discussions and interactive assignments. These key techniques will allow you to currently take better control of your finances and secure your financial future.

  • Fitness and Nutrition
    The course is designed to discuss the combined impact of nutrition and exercise. After giving an overview of the basics of fitness and nutrition, the course will expand into the nutritional value of foods, how to fuel one’s body based on activity level, different physiological factors that compose fitness, and how nutritional needs differ among various sports/activity levels.
  • Life and Career
    This course will help students learn about and practice using Career Services tools and resources, in person and online. Through this course students will obtain the skills necessary to create tailored, well-written resumes and cover letters, develop strategies for maximizing use of LinkedIn to manage a professional network, practice interviewing skills and learn about different types of interviews and complete an action plan with detailed next steps for the career development process.
  • Love and Sex
    In this course, students will explore various aspects of sex and relationships, including safer sex practices, healthy and unhealthy relationships, sexual identities and behaviors, consent, and other topics.
  • Personal Leadership Development

    The purpose of this course is for students to explore and enhance personal development skills in the areas of self-awareness, time management, resiliency, problem solving, relationship development, well-being, and communication.  Through readings, discussions, hands-on application, self-reflection, and personalized assessments, students will learn to build powerful habits, choices, and skills that will help them thrive during their time as a University of Richmond student and beyond. 

  • Relationships
    This course focuses on relationship concerns and issues as well as how to relate better, communicate more effectively, and live happier in these connections. The course covers the following topics: relation to self, boundary setting, examining unhealthy relationships, love languages, & creating/ maintaining relationships
  • Spiritual Wisdom Well-being
    Utilizing spirituality as its primary lens, this course will critically examine this apparent body/spirit divide and its larger impacts and implications. It will provide students with the opportunity to engage their own spiritual paradigms, practice several spiritual disciplines, and develop their own understanding of the mind/body relationship. We will glean wisdom from many of the world’s spiritual and religious traditions in the hope of constructing an understanding of the spirit/body relationship that promotes wellbeing and allows for individual and communal flourishing.
  • Stress Management
    This course will focus on these dimensions of wellness: emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual. Through interactive activities and written reflections, the course is designed to discuss the psychological and physiological responses to stress and to develop skills to manage the various stressors affecting college students. At the completion of the course, students will have stress reduction tools that can be applied to daily living.
  • Thriving in College
    This course examines the state of college student mental health and wellness on a personal and systems level. It provides an opportunity for students to re-evaluate their beliefs, values and assumptions, and to do so in the context of learning about the science behind health and wellness. Key findings from the fields of positive psychology will inform students’ understanding of the biopsychosocial underpinnings of well-being. Topics covered in conjunction with positive psychology include mental/physical health, mindfulness, strengths, relationships, and accomplishment.

Other Classes

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  • UR LIVING WELL

    This course is for students within the UR Living Well Learning Community. Students outside of this group are not able to register. Want to apply to be a part of this community for next semester? Please email Marieka Turner at mturner@richmond.edu for more information.

  • URWELL Peer Educator

    This course is for URWELL Peer Educators and/or CAPS Interns. Students outside of these groups are not able to register for this course.

    If you’re interested in becoming a URWELL Peer Educator, please email urwellpeereducators@gmail.com