The
College of Arts and Sciences offers an education in the liberal arts leading to
the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, or Bachelor
of Science in Physics. The faculty believe a good liberal arts education must
provide students with an extensive base of intellectual content and skills that
enables them to explore ideas, evaluate evidence critically, draw reasoned conclusions,
and communicate one's thoughts in a clear, coherent manner. Such abilities are
particularly important in a world in which knowledge and professions are changing
rapidly, and the United States is increasingly part of a global social and economic
network. A good liberal arts education thus demands not only rigor and depth,
but also sufficient breadth to expose students to a wide range of subjects and
methods of studying them.
Competency
Requirements
These
requirements provide the foundation for successful study in the liberal arts,
for meeting subsequent challenges in the work place, and for serving effectively
as an educated member of society:
- Composition: We expect every liberal arts graduate to have the
ability to write clearly, succinctly, and in a logical manner.
- Foreign
Language: Language is not simply a means to communicate, but also an avenue
for insights into other cultures. Many students also discover that learning a
second language improves their understanding of English and broadens their awareness
of an increasingly diverse America.
Area
Requirements
The
faculty established area requirements to ensure that all students have the background
and breadth for further learning in a variety of disciplines. In completing these
requirements, students explore a wide range of disciplines, points of view, and
modes of inquiry. In addition, they investigate unfamiliar areas and thus can
make more informed judgments about their major and elective courses.
The faculty encourages students to design programs
of study that offer the maximum range of intellectual opportunities. The area
requirements are therefore organized to provide experience with a broad array
of intellectual approaches rather than prescribe a specific body of content:
- Social Sciences: allow students to explore techniques of analysis
and modes of reasoning for studying a wide range of social, economic, and political
relations.
- Humanities: improve the student's understanding of the
achievements and potential of literature and the arts, whether verbal, visual,
or musical. They may also address basic questions concerning values and ethics.
- Natural
Sciences and Mathematics: improve a student's comprehension of the fundamental
principles of natural phenomena and of scientific methods as a way of describing
and understanding the world.
- Non-Western Perspectives: broadens
students' exposure to other cultures and to the ways those cultures perceive their
environment or organize their society.
- Historical Studies: introduce
students to the historical forces that have shaped and changed the nature of human
societies and the methods that are required to study such forces. Encourages students
to think about cause and effect and the continuity and change over time.
The
Major
The faculty requires
each student examine one subject in depth in order to experience sustained, cumulative
study of a range of related topics and issues over a period of several semesters.
The declaration of a major in a single subject also allows students to focus on
an area of interest where they would like to develop their intellectual capacity.
The faculty does not view the major as a direct path to a particular career. However,
by developing a mastery of a particular area, students advance their intellectual
capabilities in ways that will be of value in a range of later endeavors.
A degree program must
be completed in four academic years and, under certain conditions, can be completed
in three. The first two years are intended to be spent in developing the knowledge
and skills associated with a broad range of basic academic disciplines, including
natural science, history and social science, the humanities, foreign language,
English composition, mathematics and fine arts. In the third and fourth years,
students are expected to continue at a more advanced level in several of these
fields and to concentrate in one of them (the major subject). Twelve or more transfer
credits awarded in a single semester for work at another institution will constitute
one of the eight semesters allotted for full-time registration in the College.
The minimum residence
requirement for a degree is two academic years. The last year of candidacy must
be spent in this University, and courses offered in the major for the degree must
be completed at the University unless written exception is made by the dean of
the College in consultation with the department or interdepartmental program concerned.
For graduation from the
College the candidate must have satisfied the area requirements given below and
a plan of major study. In addition, the candidate must have passed and offer for
a degree a minimum of 120 credits of approved courses, of which at least 96 must
be passed on a graded (A-B-C-D) basis. Among the 120 credits must be at least
102 College or College-equivalent credits. A candidate must have made a grade
point average of at least 2.0 on all graded courses taken in the College or elsewhere
in the University and offered for a degree. A student who has received a baccalaureate
degree cannot submit any courses offered for that degree toward another degree
in the University. Students are subject to the area requirements in effect during
the academic year when they first enter the University. Students are subject to
the requirements for the major in effect during the semester in which they declare
the major.
2001-2002
College of Arts and Sciences Calendar
| Fall
Semester | | August
25 | Arrival of new students
| | August 25-26 | Orientation
for new students | | August
26-29 | Advising |
| August 22-31 | Final
registration (via ISIS) | | August
29 | Classes begin |
| September 12 | Last
day to drop a course | | September
14 | Last day to add a course;
last day to change to or from credit/no credit; last day to elect AU (audit) option |
| September 28 | Last
day to submit degree application for January 2002 Graduation |
| October 12 | Last
day of classes before Reading Holiday | | October
13-16 | Reading Holiday |
| October 17 | Classes
resume | | October
24 | Last day to withdraw
from a course | | October
26-28 | Family weekend |
| October 26 | Fall
Convocation | | October
29-November 9 | Advising,
selection of spring courses | | November
20 | Last day of classes
before Thanksgiving recess | | November
21-25 | Thanksgiving recess |
| November 26 | Classes
resume; last day to withdraw from the University and return for Spring 2002 semester
| | December 3 | Last
day to request change in examination schedule | | December
7 | Classes end; last day
to submit degree applications for May 2002 graduation | | December
8-9 | Reading days |
| December 10-17 | Course
examinations | | December
17 | Last day for fourth-semester
students to declare a major | | January
18 | Deadline for completing
authorized incompletes from fall semester | | Spring
Semester | | January
9-18 | Final registration
(via ISIS) | | January
16 | Classes begin |
| January 30 | Last
day to drop a course | | February
1 | Last day to add a course;
last day to change to or from credit/no credit; last day to elect AU (audit) option |
| March 1 | Last
day of classes before spring recess | | March
9-17 | Spring recess |
| March 18 | Classes
resume | | March
20 | Last day to withdraw
from a course | | April
1-12 | Advising; selection
of fall courses | | April
16 | Last day to withdraw
from the University and return for fall 2002 semester | | April
26 | Last day to request
change in examination schedule | | April
30 | Classes end |
| May 1-2 | Reading
days | | May 3-10 | Course
examinations | | May
10 | Last day for fourth-semester
students to declare a major | | May
19 | Final Exercises |
| June 7 | Deadline
for completing authorized incompletes from spring semester |
Compliance
with College Regulations Students are held responsible for selecting their
courses in accordance with the course restrictions and policies printed here,
in the College
of Arts and Sciences Handbook, and in advising material distributed by
departments. Only after the approval of the dean's office has been obtained in
the form of a petition may a student enroll in a course that does not comply with
the College's regulations.
Requests
for Exceptions and Appeals Students who believe there is a valid reason for
requesting an exception to any of the rules should file a petition to their association
dean. In most cases, the recommendation of a course instructor or advisor is required
on the petition before it is filed. An unfavorable response from the dean may
be appealed to the Committee on Faculty Rules. The College has established procedures
to deal with requests for exceptions to rules in cases involving psychological
issues. College students should contact their association dean for information
about such procedures.
Accuracy
of Students' Records Students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of
their academic records by the drop deadline and, thereafter, each time they make
a change in their schedule. Students who fail to do so are subject to various
penalties as determined by the dean. Changes to the transcript are permitted only
during the current and immediately subsequent semesters. Upon payment of a nominal
fee, transcripts may be requested from the Office of the University University
Registrar in Carruthers Hall. PACE reports are mailed each semester by the University
Registrar, and grade reports are mailed to students at the end of each semester.
Errors must be reported to the dean's office within the stated deadlines. After
one semester has lapsed, a student's record is considered permanent. With official
College communications to students being sent via U. S. mail, messenger mail,
and now e-mail, students are strongly urged to check their mail on a regular basis
and are expected to respond promptly to all notices from the College. Students
who object to the use of email for the transfer of information regarding their
academic standing should notify their association deans in writing and anticipate
that the processing of information about them is likely to be slower.
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