Graduation Requirements
Degrees Granted
A degree can be earned by completing the requirements for either a
Sciences and Letters Curriculum or one of the Specialized Curricula.
A student completing the Sciences and Letters Curriculum receives
the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts
and Sciences, depending on the student's major. A student electing
one of the majors in the physical sciences, life sciences, psychology,
mathematics, or statistics will receive the Bachelor of Science degree.
A student in any of the other majors will receive the Bachelor of
Arts degree.
Components of the Sciences and Letters Curriculum
English Composition Requirement
The ability to write effectively is a cornerstone of a liberal education.
All students in the Sciences and Letters Curriculum must satisfy the
campus rhetoric requirement. Students are strongly encouraged to include
additional writing courses in their programs whenever possible.
Language Requirement
Each student in the Sciences and Letters Curriculum is expected to
learn a language other than English in the undergraduate program.
A minimum expectation is that the student obtain a knowledge equivalent
to the completion of the fourth semester of college study in a language.
Some programs may require additional study or the study of a specific
language. A student planning on graduate study may wish to consult
the department of intended graduate study about language requirements
for the graduate program. This may dictate the student's choice of
language study during undergraduate work. The language requirement
may be met in any of the following ways:
- Satisfactory completion of four years of the same language in
high school;
- Satisfactory completion of the fourth-semester level of a language
in college;
- Satisfactory completion of the third-semester level in each
of two languages by any combination of high school and college
work;
- Satisfactory performance at the fourth-semester level in a language
proficiency examination approved by the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences and the appropriate department.
General Education Requirement
Through required General Education courses, each student in the college
is expected to obtain an understanding of the ways in which knowledge
is acquired and used in the diverse disciplines represented by the
University's curricula. The graduate must have some acquaintance with
literature and the arts, historical and philosophical inquiry, and
the insights and techniques of the social and behavioral sciences,
the aims and methods of the natural sciences, and quantitative reasoning.
Students enrolled in the Sciences and Letters Curriculum are therefore
required to complete broadly distributed course work from the approved
LAS General Education course lists. Specific LAS General Education
requirements and current lists of courses approved for each of the
general education categories may be obtained in the LAS Student
Affairs Office, 270 Lincoln Hall or may be viewed at www.las.uiuc.edu/students/programs/gen_ed_
requirements.shtml.
Students enrolled in Sciences and Letters Curriculum Teaching
Options and Foreign Language Teacher Education majors should contact
their adviser to be sure of General Education, degree, and certification
requirements in their particular areas.
Students enrolled in Specialized Curricula must fulfill the Campus
General education requirements.
Students are urged to consult with their advisers regarding the
choice of General Education courses. Some of the approved courses
have prerequisites.
Major/Minor
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requires in-depth study in
one discipline as well as substantial experience in a number of other
areas. The in-depth study portion of the student's program of study
is called the major. Students might also pursue a minor in many subject
areas across the campus. A minor constitutes a coherent program of
study requiring some depth in the subject but is not as extensive
a program as the major. Minors are optional.
Advanced Hours Requirement
Each student is expected to complete a minimum portion of the undergraduate
program in courses that presume some prior knowledge of the discipline.
A course is considered advanced if it presumes such prior knowledge
as indicated by the faculty, by the course number, by the prerequisites
necessary for enrollment in the course, or by the quality and depth
of work expected of students in the course. All students in the Sciences
and Letters Curriculum are expected to complete at least 21 hours
of courses designated as advanced by the college in order to graduate.
All such courses must be taken at baccalaureate-granting institutions.
At least 12 advanced hours in the major must be taken on this campus.
Courses designated as advanced are those courses numbered 300 or above.
Electives
Most liberal arts majors allow time in the student's program for a
number of courses chosen freely from among the University's offerings.
These courses, called electives, may be used to prepare for professional
study, to prepare for business and career opportunities, or simply
to explore additional interests. In addition to all courses used in
fulfilling the minimum graduation requirements of the college (rhetoric,
foreign language, general education, and major), a student following
a major may use as electives:
- Courses offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences;
- Courses offered by departments and schools in other colleges
of the University that sponsor majors in LAS [art (excluding applied
art courses), computer science, finance, music (excluding applied
music courses), or physics];
- A maximum of 24 hours (to be counted toward graduation) of
courses not included in either of the above, that is, courses
offered by departments and schools in other colleges on campus.
Examples of courses in this category are accounting, aviation,
business administration, engineering, applied art courses, and
applied music courses.
Undergraduate students of high academic standing (i.e., a 3.0
grade point average or higher in courses taken beyond the sophomore
level) within 10 semester hours of earning their bachelor's degrees
may elect courses in the Graduate College for graduate credit with
the consent of the dean of that college. Also, students with senior
standing may petition the Graduate College for permission to elect
graduate courses for undergraduate credit. Interested students should
first consult the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 270 Lincoln
Hall.
Residence
Students must satisfy the University residence requirement for graduation.
They must complete on this campus, uninterrupted by work elsewhere,
either the first three years (at least 90 hours of course work) or
the last year (at least 30 hours). The hours must be applicable toward
the degree sought. In addition, all students must earn 60 hours of
course work at four-year (baccalaureate-granting) institutions after
any work at community colleges.
Total Hours
A total of 120 semester hours acceptable toward the degree is required
for graduation in the Sciences and Letters Curriculum.
Students should be aware that there are several specific limitations
on the amount of particular kinds of credit that may be used in
the 120 hours: no repeated courses; no more than 24 elective hours
outside the college, as discussed above; no more than 4 hours of
credit in basic kinesiology courses; no more than 12 hours of credit
in calculus and analytic geometry; no more than 12 hours of credit
in basic physics; no more than 18 hours of credit in 100-level life
science courses toward a School of Life Sciences major; no more
than 9 hours of credit in basic rhetoric courses; no more than 10
hours of first- and second-year foreign language proficiency; no
more than 24 hours of credit in aviation courses (must be from the
pilot training curriculum); no more than 6 hours (200 and 300 level)
of credit in ROTC courses; no more than 12 hours of credit in undergraduate
open seminar (199 course); and no more than 18 hours of credit in
independent study and 199 courses. See the LAS Student Handbook
for details about the credit limitations in each of these areas.
Students matriculating at some college or university in June 1989
or later may not use credit in algebra (MATH 012 or equivalent)
toward a baccalaureate degree in the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences. In addition, students in the programs requiring trigonometry
for admission (e.g., the specialized curricula in chemical engineering,
chemistry, and physics) may not use credit in trigonometry (MATH
014 or equivalent) toward an LAS degree. See the LAS Student Handbook
for further details.
|
|
