Graduation Requirements

Because of the rapid pace of cultural and technological change in our society, there is no guarantee that highly specialized training will provide the student with the preparation and knowledge required to respond to the future.  A broadly based liberal arts education, however, offers the student the intellectual perspective, problem-solving experience, and communication skills necessary to adapt to a changing world.

Muhlenberg College general academic requirements are designed to furnish the student with the theoretical and practical knowledge that an educated person should possess, regardless of personal career goals.  Such knowledge includes an understanding of the major fields of learning, an ability to express oneself clearly and cogently, an understanding of the values found in religious traditions and philosophical reflection, an understanding of epochs, languages, and cultures other than one’s own, and above all, an ability to see issues from many sides, to question what is taken for granted, and to view particular events in relation to their larger contexts.  The Muhlenberg College curriculum provides opportunities for exploring and integrating ideas while challenging students to question, discuss, and think critically about their own beliefs and values.  By fostering such skills and perspectives, a Muhlenberg education seeks to provide the student with the insight and flexibility needed to meet the challenges of the future.

General Academic Requirements

The following academic requirements apply to all liberal arts degree candidates.

I. Academic Skills

Effective writing, speaking, and reasoning are important in all academic disciplines and are hallmarks of the educated person.  The development and utilization of these skills will be evident in courses throughout the curriculum.  Students are also required to have some knowledge of a language other than English - a skill which helps in understanding the structure of language as well as providing access to another culture.  Requirements have been established so that all students may have the opportunity to achieve competency in these skills early in their college experience.

1. First-Year Seminars (FY) – small, discussion-oriented courses that focus on the development of effective thinking, writing, and speaking skills. In the concentration on writing, emphasis is placed on the formulation of thesis, critical use of evidence, and processes of revision.  All students are required to complete a First-Year Seminar.
2. Writing (W) – competency in writing clear and cogent expository prose.  Required: First-Year Seminar and two additional writing intensive courses; one of these must be a course designated by the major department.
3. Language (FL) – the development of the basic skills of language acquisition and usage, such as understanding grammatical structure, oral-aural ability, reading comprehension, and writing ability as well as an introduction to the cultural aspects of language study.  Required: two courses in the same language OR proficiency adequate to prepare students for the Conversation & Composition course (301, 302) in the language.  Students are encouraged to complete the language requirement by the end of the sophomore year.  Initial placement in language study is dependent upon experience and placement test results as recommended by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.
4. Reasoning (RG) – the ability to understand and utilize mathematical and/or logical relationships, to analyze data, to construct and assess arguments, and to make sound judgments.  A course used to fulfill the Reasoning requirement may not be double counted for a distribution requirement.  Required: one course. Students are encouraged to complete the reasoning requirement no later than the end of the sophomore year.  Departments: Computer Science, Mathematics, and Philosophy.

II. Intellectual Breadth

The following requirements provide breadth in the academic experience of all students.  Courses meeting distribution designations will introduce students to the different types of assumptions, questions, ways of understanding, and results that characterize various fields of inquiry in the liberal arts.  Within a distribution area each course satisfying that area requirement must have a different prefix.  A maximum of two courses required for the major may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.

Departments listed with a distribution area below will generally offer courses with that designation, although there may be certain instances where the department may offer a course in another distribution area.  Interdisciplinary Programs that offer a course(s) within a distribution area are listed as well.  Because the nature of interdisciplinary programs is to span several academic areas, an Interdisciplinary Program may be listed in more than one distribution area.

1. Arts (AR) one course
   Students develop the technical skills, problem-solving ability, judgment, and courage necessary to create new work in the visual, performing, and literary arts, together with the knowledge of the theory, history, and social context of artistic practice.  Departments and Programs: Art, Dance, Music, and Theatre, and Creative Writing.  Two 0.5 unit dance technique courses enrolled in a single semester or two 0.5 unit Individual or Class applied Music courses in the same instrument will also satisfy this requirement.
2. Humanities (HU) three courses with different prefixes
   Students interpret and evaluate issues of human concern, experience, and expression by means of analysis, critical reasoning, and historical reflection.  They cultivate knowledge and understanding of human activity and world views across time, geography, and cultures.  Departments and Programs: English; History; Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Philosophy; Religion Studies; and American Studies, Film Studies, and Jewish Studies
3. Natural Sciences and Mathematics (SC) two courses with different prefixes
   Students explore biological, computational, mathematical, and physical theories and paradigms.  They use quantitative and scientific problem solving skills to investigate natural phenomena.  Departments and Programs: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Physics, and Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies
4. Social Sciences (SL) two courses with different prefixes
   Students investigate how modern institutional structures and social, political, economic, and cultural practices shape and are shaped by individual choices, group behavior, and public policies.  Students develop an understanding of the operations of power and ideology across social contexts, relationships, and practices.  Departments and Programs: Anthropology; Business and Economics; Education; Media and Communication; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology; and Innovation and Entrepreneurship and International Studies

III. Exploration and Integration

Muhlenberg College is committed to the interdisciplinary exploration and integration of ideas throughout the four years of undergraduate education. We strive to enable our students to make connections between various areas of knowledge and approaches to inquiry, to prepare for life as global citizens, and to integrate what they are learning in their major with their broad educational experience at Muhlenberg.

1. Cluster Courses (CL) two directly linked courses with different prefixes
   Students must enroll in two courses with different prefixes that form an integrated cluster.  The courses will focus on a shared area of interest, theme, or question, examining it from the perspective of each discipline.  Clustered courses may double count for distribution and HDGE requirements (see below).
2. Human Difference and Global Engagement (DE) two courses
   Students must take two designated courses in the areas of Human Difference and Global Engagement.  HDGE courses across the curriculum aim to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of human difference and to develop the intellectual and civic skills students require for participation in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.  HDGE courses may double count for distribution and cluster requirements.
3. Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE)
   Culminating Undergraduate Experiences (CUEs) are the capstone experience in a major and provide the opportunity for students to clarify their relationship to a discipline, demonstrate their mastery of content, reflect on accumulated content and experiences, and open new paths for the future.  They are required for all majors offered by departments and programs at Muhlenberg College and are the purview of the departments and programs.  The CUE can be a credit-bearing course or an assignment embedded within a credit-bearing course.

IV. Physical Education

Courses in physical education are designed to promote an understanding of the elements of physical well-being.  All students are required to successfully complete Principles of Fitness & Wellness which is a semester long course exploring the dimensions of wellness and the health related components of fitness.  Students are strongly encouraged to complete the physical education requirement no later than the end of the sophomore year.

Writing Program

Muhlenberg College offers a cross-curricular writing program in which faculty from almost every department participate.  In order to graduate, students are required to pass a minimum of three officially designated writing-intensive (W) courses: one First-Year Seminar, one W-course designated by the student’s major, and one W-course from anywhere in the curriculum (including the student’s major).  Students who are double-majoring are required to take a W course in each major.  Students in self-designed majors should choose an appropriate W course from across the curriculum that is approved by their advisor to serve as the W in their major.

A writing-intensive course is a regular academic course that privileges writing as a mode of learning.  Enrollment is limited to twenty students. Students complete a minimum of fifteen pages of writing broken into at least three assignments.  One of these assignments should be some kind of re-thinking or extending of an earlier draft (not just cosmetic editing).

The basic premise of the writing program is that writing improves thinking and learning; it is an essential way of acquiring knowledge and of arriving at ideas about it.  Another primary assumption of the program is that the ability to write well is not a skill one can acquire in a one-semester course. Instead, students are encouraged to take a number of writing-intensive courses throughout their careers at the College.  The Writing Program is supported by a Writing Center that is staffed by trained peer tutors with majors in a wide range of disciplines.

In exceptional cases, students may appeal to the Writing Program Committee to receive special W-credit for a course that is not designated as a W. The fact that a student has done a significant amount of writing in a course, however, is not sufficient reason for assigning special W-credit because a writing-intensive course is a particular kind of collaborative learning experience.  Independent studies do not typically count for writing-intensive credit because only regular courses can satisfy graduation requirements.  Guidelines for applying for special W-credit are available in the Office of the Registrar.  Questions about W-courses in general and special W-credit in particular should be directed to the Writing Program Committee (WPC@muhlenberg.edu).

Exemptions

Exemptions from general academic requirements may be granted to those students who can demonstrate the requisite level of proficiency or understanding by means of a College Board Achievement examination, an Advanced Placement (AP) examination, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a Muhlenberg College exemption test, or a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test.

Fulfilling the general academic requirements through alternate means that can be demonstrated to satisfy the intent of these requirements is permitted with the approval of the Dean of Academic Life and the faculty’s Curriculum Committee.  Any student, after consultation with his/her advisor and the academic department(s) involved, may submit a proposal for consideration.

Degree Regulations

1. Candidates for a degree must earn no fewer than 34 course units, at least 17 of them in courses offered through Muhlenberg.
2. Candidates must be certified in a major field of study.  Normally, at least half of the courses required for a major must be Muhlenberg courses.
3. Candidates must earn a cumulative grade point average of not less than 2.00, based on the total number of Muhlenberg College course units attempted.
4. Candidates must earn a grade point average in the major field of study of not less than 2.00, based on the total number of course units required for the major.
5. Candidates must normally complete their final two semesters “in residence.”  A student is considered “in residence” when enrolled for 3 or more course units at Muhlenberg during a traditional academic (fall or spring) semester.  This regulation does not apply to students who have been accepted to degree candidacy through the Wescoe School of Muhlenberg College.
6. Candidates must satisfy all general academic requirements with one unit courses, except in the case of dance techniques and applied music courses.
7. Candidates may satisfy requirements in a major or minor field of study and a general academic requirement concurrently, although only one cluster course may be counted toward a major and a maximum of two courses required for the major may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
8. Candidates must attend Commencement unless excused by the Office of the Registrar.  The policy regarding participation in Commencement by students who have not yet completed all graduation requirements is available in the Office of the Registrar.

The Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) is awarded to degree candidates completing majors in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences divisions.  Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees are awarded to candidates completing majors in the Natural Sciences or Mathematics division.

Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences

A student who has completed 43 or more course units and the major requirements for both the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bachelor of Science degree may earn a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Interested students should contact the Office of the Registrar for additional information.

Financial Obligations

All fees - comprehensive, room and board, and other charges (including fines) - incurred by a student, regardless of nature, must be paid in a timely fashion.  Students with outstanding balances will not be permitted to enroll for courses or participate in any College activities, including commencement exercises.