INTEG 251Creativity and Innovation
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Environment
- Subject
- Knowledge Integration
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
An introductory, integrative course in the history, psychology, value and practice of creativity across a variety of domains, from scientific research to the fine and performing arts. Students will learn to identify and explain key ideas and historical figures in the study and practice of creative thinking. They'll also learn to reliably generate novel ideas of value, both solo and collaboratively.
Prerequisites
None listed.
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 7968 | 9 / 50 | MW 14:30–15:50 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
60% liked it71% easy58% useful
From 15 ratings and 6 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Most boring course I ever took all my life, a waste of my time.
Mar 2017 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty cool and interesting course, there's a good amount of reading but also some more fun in-class stuff like drawing and discussions.
Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
This course was very enjoyable. The professor Matt is engaging and does a good job at breaking down the more theoretically dense readings. When the class was taught we also had a visiting scholar help to run workshops to practice some of the principles of creativity we learned about in the readings. Also a good course to improve essay writing, Matt had many constructive tips for how to improve, Overall very pleased with the experience, finished the class with a 94%.
Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
It was a great time, but I honestly feel like I gained so little from it. It was ultimately a critical academic examination of creativity's role in history and indigenous worldviews and a crafts class (history/philosophy + 'application'). Perhaps the shortcoming is in my imagination, but I found that the 'principles' of creativity examined were limited in their practical applicability beyond the course - a design thinking or collaborative project class would go further to that extent.
Jul 2023 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
I'd recommend Creative Thinking to anyone who wants a very interesting course with a very manageable workload. The professor is Mathieu Feagan who is friendly and helped make this such a fun and interesting course for me last fall. As a biomedical sciences student, I can also say that this is an excellent change of scenery for any STEM besties who have lots of very detailed (and sometimes less exciting, so sorry to my biol profs) courses!
May 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
5 posts and comments in 5 threads mention INTEG 251, April 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2023
whats the birdiest course from this list 1 point, 4 comments
u/Naive-Bit-7868: “I found INTEG 251 pretty chill”
Fall 2020
Course Selection Help 3 points, 13 comments
u/uwbuoy: “Can someone please share how these courses compare to each other especially online for Winter2021? Need something birdy but high scoring one of AFM 101, 102, 131 and one of ENGL (293, 295), FINE (150, 257), INTEG 251”
Frosh/High School Megathread (Fall 2020) 201 points, 1,602 comments
“Welcome to Waterloo, first-years (and interested high school students)! Use this thread to post any questions related to frosh or your first year at Waterloo in general.”
u/thinkerjuice: “If I'm choosing between SE and CE (and I know both can differ a lot) Since you can select 50+ technical ECE electives for SE if you want specialization, do you think then it's better to do SE vs CE, …”
u/general-se-student: “Currently in SE and pursuing an option in Human-Computer Interaction, which has allowed me to take really interesting courses in creative thinking (INTEG 251), ethics and social issues in the tech industry (ENGL108D and in the future, CS 492, possibly a course in social justice …”
Spring 2018
Birdiest courses 4 points, 13 comments
“Any upper year students who know the absolute easiest courses at UW, preferably without a final and/or assignments, please let me know”
u/toothblush: “INTEG 251 You can easily get 90+ with 12 hr / week. Bi-weekly group work, a few short essays, no exams. Class structure and course difficulty (or the lack of) reminded me of grade school. Con is didn't really learn much.”
Winter 2016
Entrepreneurship Option at Waterloo 1 point, 11 comments
“Would you guys recommend doing the entrepreneurship option as an engineering student? Then for the first course would you recommend taking BET 100 or ECON 220 or ARBUS 200? Thanks so much!”
u/pullover-hoodie: “do not take bet 100 and arbus 200 absolute trash bullet to the mouth courses”
u/MrSourz: “… I'd check if INTEG 251 is running in the fall. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them