Single Major. A departmental major consists of at least 30
credits with the specified and elective courses determined by the
individual department.
Several departments, e.g., English and History, have a number of
internal options or specializations. To round out the departmental
major, students may be required to take a designated number of
credits of related work determined in consultation with a faculty
advisor.
The faculty of the college have ruled that for the Bachelor of
Arts degree, a maximum of 45 credits with the same departmental
prefix may be applied to the total number of credits required for the
degree. A cross-listed course will be considered a part of the 45 credit
total, regardless of which prefix a student used to register for the
course.
Students who choose a single major will normally have a
number of “free elective” credits. Considerable thought should be
given to the best use of these elective credits.
Double Major. This involves fulfilling the major requirements
of two Bachelor of Arts or two Bachelor of Science majors. The
advantage of a double major is that the student is able to develop and
demonstrate strength in each area covered in the undergraduate
program. Admission to double major status requires the approval of
both departments and the dean(s) of the college(s). The minimum
grade necessary in all courses required for the double major is the
same as that needed for a single major in that degree program.
Interdepartmental Major. Students whose goals and
interests heavily involve materials from two departments but do not
extend to all aspects of each subject area may work out and submit
for the approval of both departments and the dean of the college an
interdepartmental proposal. More detailed instructions on the
Interdepartmental Major are available in the Dean’s Office, but
basically this major involves a minimum of 21 credits from each
department with another nine credits that may be distributed in a
number of ways. Examples of departments frequently combined in
such programs are Communication and English or Political Science
and Economics. With the approval of the other college or department,
one area of the interdepartmental major may be from outside the
College of Arts and Sciences. The interdepartmental major always
leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
A minimum grade of C- is normally required in all courses
constituting the 21 credits of each area, and a C average is necessary
for all the 51 credits in the interdepartmental major.
Area Study. Opportunity is provided for students interested in
pursuing a broader field of study such as Comparative Literature,
International Relations or Latin American Studies. Students majoring
in International Relations are required to take 51 credits distributed
among appropriate departments. Thirty of the 51 credits must be
earned with at least a C- grade, and a C average is required for the
total of the 51 credits.
Minors. In addition to the major, students may also elect to
complete one or two minor programs. Departments offering a minor
set their own requirements, but these always include at least 15
credits of course work. A minimum grade of C- is normally required
in all courses for a minor.
(See the list of minors in the front of this catalog.)
