College of Arts and Sciences

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College of Arts & Sciences
Liberal Arts Building 153 ~ 260-481-6160 ~ ipfw.edu/as/

The College of Arts and Sciences offers courses and programs in the traditional liberal arts disciplines. In addition to providing students with opportunities to develop skills required in the workplace and for advanced study, we seek to foster the development of a well-rounded individual. The college recognizes the role of non-traditional students at IPFW and makes special efforts to meet their needs.

Graduates of the college’s baccalaureate programs should have a level of knowledge and awareness that enables them to be effective citizens and lifelong learners. They are expected to have a working understanding of the knowledge and methodology appropriate for their field of study; to be aware of major issues in their discipline; and be able to communicate this content effectively to others.

The research and service components of the college are those appropriate for a comprehensive regional university. The college is responsible for basic-skills courses in mathematics, oral communication, and written communication as well as for the majority of courses that fulfill both College and IPFW General Education requirements. Faculty maintain their qualifications as teachers by engaging in research and creative endeavors, and they enhance the reputation of the university through their contributions to the advancement of knowledge within their disciplines. Through research and service, the college seeks to be a vital resource for business, industry, public and private education, the arts, and government in northeast Indiana.

Academic Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences offers a broad range of majors, minors, interdisciplinary certificate programs, and transfer programs.  Each program, with its sponsoring unit in the college, is listed below.  If you are undecided about declaring a major within the college, contact an advisor who can help you choose courses to assure reasonable progress as you narrow your choices and finally decide on a specific plan of study. If you change your major, your degree requirements and university affiliation may also change.

All bachelor’s degrees require a major with at least 24 credits in courses specified by the major department. Completion of any minor requires a minimum of 12 credits, including at least 6 resident credits at the 200 level or above, and a grade of C- or better in each course.

Associate of Arts

Associate of Science

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Science

Minors 

 Certificates

Research Certificates

Pursuing a research certificate provides opportunities to engage in active learning situations integrating original research and the undergraduate curricula.  You will learn research methods and tools appropriate to your discipline and research interests within the discipline; the foundations of research relating to the history, philosophy, and theory of the discipline; and advanced communications skills.  You will apply the knowledge learned by designing and executing a research study or project, then communicating the results to others.  

Cooperative Education (Co-Op) Program

Cooperative education provides an opportunity for students to gain work experience while still enrolled in school. Check with your department regarding eligibility for this program.

Transfer Programs

The college’s transfer programs in agriculture, forestry and natural resources, and preveterinary technology are described in Part 5 of the Bulletin.  You may also complete at IPFW one or two years of work toward many bachelor’s degrees offered by the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington and by the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science at Purdue University West Lafayette.  If you are planning to complete your degree at another campus, make this interest known the first time you see your IPFW academic advisor.  Students transferring into the college need to consult with a college advisor in their first semester to ensure transfer credits are properly evaluated.

Preprofessional Programs

The college provides academic advising and programs for students who wish to prepare to compete for admission to professional colleges at one of the public universities in the state or at other institutions. In the list below, the years refer to full-time study, 30 to 32 credits per academic year: 

*Although some colleges offer early admission to highly qualified students who have completed 90 credits, most applicants have completed a bachelor’s degree. If you think you may qualify for early admission, you should consult your advisor about completing the requirements for the bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts and Sciences during the first year of professional college.

Academic advising for pre-pharmacy and pre-veterinary students is provided in the Department of Biology.  Pre-medical and pre-dental students majoring in Chemistry are advised in the Department of Chemistry; all other pre-medical and pre-dental students are advised in the Department of Biology. Pre-law students are advised in the Department of Political Science.

Academic Renewal Option

The College of Arts and Sciences participates in the Academic Renewal Option for eligible students returning to IPFW after an absence of five or more years.  See your advisor for details.

Advising

Students intending to apply for graduation should consult with an advisor at least one term prior to their anticipated graduation date.  Transfer students need to consult with a college advisor within their first semester to ensure transferred courses are properly credited.  All degree-seeking students are strongly encouraged to meet with their college or department advisor at least once each term.

Degree Requirements and Academic Regulations

In addition to the academic regulations of IPFW (see Part 8 of this Bulletin), the following rules apply for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Where college regulations are stricter than IPFW regulations, the college regulations apply.

Requirements for the Associate of Arts

Requirements for the Purdue Associate of Arts in Women’s Studies’ appear in Part 5 of this Bulletin.

Requirements for the Associate of Science

Requirements for the Associate of Science in Chemical Methods appear in Part 5  of this Bulletin.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

In addition to the IPFW General Education program and the requirements for your major, you must satisfy the following college requirements:

1.  Parts A through D listed below

2.  At least 30 credits in upper-level courses as defined by the departments offering the courses (excluding military science courses).

3. A grade of C- or better for all courses required in the major and a GPA of 2.00 or higher for all major department courses taken.

4. The college requires that students complete one of the following MA courses:  MA 14000, 15300, 15900, 16500, 22700, 22900, STAT 12500, or placement above MA 15300, or the math course required for your major.  Please note that in many degree programs, a specific math course/courses is/are required.  The various courses differ with respect to emphasis on the foundations of mathematical reasoning and their application.  One of these MA courses may also meet your IPFW General Education Category A3 (Quantitative Reasoning) requirement; therefore, you are strongly encouraged to consult your academic advisor to determine which course would be most appropriate for you.
    
5. The College of Arts and Sciences requires that you complete at least one science course with a scheduled laboratory as part of your IPFW General Education requirements. This requirement may be met either by taking a lecture course that includes a scheduled laboratory (e.g., CHM 11100) or a lecture course plus a laboratory course designed to accompany it (e.g., GEOL G100 plus GEOL L100). This provides the opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom and to conduct scientific inquiry.
    
6. A sufficient number of elective credits to bring the total number of credits counting toward graduation to 120.

Part A:  English Writing and Speaking

An education in the liberal arts and sciences emphasizes the value of analyzing and presenting ideas in writing and speaking; thus the College strives to improve its students’ oral and written communication skills.  Consequently, in addition to your General Education writing course (ENG W131 or equivalent), you are required to complete ENG W233 or an equivalent second writing course approved for this purpose by individual departments and the College.  In general, these second writing courses are developed to introduce students to the types of writing they will do in their respective fields.  Approved equivalents are:  ENG L202, HIST H217, ILCS I300, or POLS Y207.  You are also required to complete COM 11400 or an equivalent oral communication course approved by individual departments and the College.  An approved equivalent course is HIST H125.  You must complete all courses meeting this requirement with a grade of C- or better.

Part B:  International Language

You must complete two courses at the first-year level and two courses at the second-year level in  a single international language (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency). You are urged to begin studying a language as soon as possible.  For advanced placement and special credit in an international language, see the additional information for the bachelor’s degree.

Part C:  Distribution

A significant component of the College of Arts and Sciences education is the breadth of knowledge throughout the three major areas of Science and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Humanities. You will accomplish this by completing 3 credits in each of these areas. Credits in your major discipline or in directed study courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.

1.  Science and Mathematics - Courses from the following disciplines satisfy this requirement:

Agriculture (FNR 10300 only)
Anthropology (ANTH B200 only)
Astronomy
Biology (excluding BIOL 10500)
Chemistry
Entomology
Geography (physical geography only)
Geology
Mathematics (excluding MA 10100, 10200, 10300, 10900, 11300 and 12401)
Physics
Political Science (POLS Y395 only)
Sociology (SOC S351 only)
Statistics

2. Social and Behavioral Sciences - Courses from the following disciplines satisfy this requirement:

Anthropology (excluding ANTH B200)
Communication (excluding COM 11400, 21000, 23600, 24000, 31200, 31600, 32700, 35800, 44300, 46300, and 47500)
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Economics
English (ENG G205, G206, and G301 only)
Geography (human, cultural, or social geography only)
Gerontology (GERN G231 only)
International Studies (INTL I200 only)
Journalism (JOUR C200, C300, J300, and J337 only)
Linguistics
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS P201 only)
Political Science (excluding POLS Y395)
Psychology
Sociology (excluding SOC S351)
Spanish* (SPAN S425, S426, and S428 only)
Women’s Studies (WOST W210 and W240 only)

3. Humanities - Courses from the following disciplines satisfy this requirement:

Afro-American studies
Arabic*
Architectural Engineering Technology (ARET 21000 and 31000 only)
Chinese*
Classical studies*
Communication (COM 21000, 21600, 23600, 24000, 31200, 31600, 35800, and 46300 only)
Comparative literature
English (except ENG G205, G206, G301, P131, W129, W131, W140, W232, W233, W234, W331, W364, W397, W398, W421, W422, and W460)
Film studies
Fine arts (excluding studio courses)
Folklore
French*
German*
History
International Language and Culture Studies (excluding ILCS I300)
International Studies (excluding INTL I200)
Japanese*
Journalism (excluding JOUR C200, C300, and J300)
Latin American Studies
Medieval Studies
Music (excluding performance/skills courses)
Near Eastern Language and Culture*
Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS P200 only)
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Russian*
Spanish* (except SPAN S425, S426, and S428)
Theatre (excluding performance/production courses)
Women’s Studies (excluding WOST W210 and W240)

*excluding courses used to satisfy the Part B requirement

Part D:  Cultural Studies

An important element of the College of Arts and Sciences degree requirements is for students to acquire skills necessary to be productive, responsible citizens and community leaders. To do this, you must have a commitment to free and open inquiry and show mutual respect across multiple cultures and perspectives. Students will accomplish this by taking 6 credit hours in cultural studies, including one course in Western Culture and one course in Non-Western Culture.

1. Western Culture - You must complete one of the following 3-credit courses dealing broadly with the Western tradition:

CLAS C205, C405
COM 31200
ENG L101, L102
FINA H111, H112
HIST H113, H114, H225 (when offered as Intro To Pol Theory)
PHIL 11000, 24000, 30100
POLS Y105, Y381, Y382
REL 11200, 23100, 30000

2. Non-Western Culture - You must complete one of the following 3-credit courses dealing exclusively or primarily with a non-Western culture or cultures:

ANTH E310, E320, E321, E330, E335, E340, E341, E345, E356, E375, E398, E401, E402, E405, E420, E445, E455, E457, E462, E470, E479, P360, P370
EALC E232
ENG L107, L113, L364
FINA H415
FOLK F305, F352
HIST A310-A311, C393, D310, D402, D410, E100, E331, E332, E336, E431, F341, F342, F346, F432, G451, G452, H201, H202, H232, T335
NELC N204
POLS Y332, Y339, Y340
REL 23000, 30100, 30600, 30700, 31100
SPAN S246, S412, S471, S472, S477, S479, S480
WOST W301

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science

In addition to the IPFW General Education program and the requirements for your major, you must satisfy the following college requirements:

1. Parts A and B listed below
    
2. At least 30 credits in upper-level courses as defined by the departments offering the courses (excluding military science courses)
    
3. A GPA of 2.00 or higher for all major department courses taken.
    
4. The college requires that students complete one of the following MA courses:  MA 14000, 15300, 15900, 16500, 22700, 22900, STAT 12500, or placement above MA 15300, or the math course required for your major.  Please note that in many degree programs, a specific math course/courses is/are required.  The various courses differ with respect to emphasis on the foundations of mathematical reasoning and their application.  One of these MA courses may also meet your IPFW General Education Category A3 (Quantitative Reasoning) requirement; therefore, you are strongly encouraged to consult your academic advisor to determine which course would be most appropriate for you.
    
5. A sufficient number of elective credits to bring the total number of credits counting toward graduation to 120.

Part A:  English Writing and Speaking

An education in the liberal arts and sciences emphasizes the value of analyzing and presenting ideas in writing and speaking; thus the College strives to improve its students’ oral and written communication skills.  Consequently, in addition to your General Education writing course (ENG W131 or equivalent), you are required to complete ENG W233 or an equivalent second writing course approved for this purpose by individual departments and the College.  In general, these second writing courses are developed to introduce students to the types of writing they will do in their respective fields.  Approved equivalents are:  ENG L202, HIST H217, ILCS I300, or POLS Y207.  You are also required to complete COM 11400 or an equivalent oral communication course approved by individual departments and the College.  An approved equivalent course is HIST H125.  You must complete all courses meeting this requirement with a grade of C- or better.

Part B:  International Language

You must complete two courses at the first-year level (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency) in one international language. Students in a teaching program are exempt from the international language requirement. You are urged to begin studying a language as soon as possible. For advanced placement and special credit in international language, see the additional information for bachelor’s degrees, below.

Additional Information for Bachelor’s Degrees

Along with the IPFW academic regulations (see Part 8), the following information applies to all bachelor’s degree programs:

1. Special Credit for International Language

When you begin your international language study at IPFW at the second-semester level (112-113) or higher, you are eligible to apply for special credit after you successfully complete the course into which you placed. You may receive up to 14 credits of special credit for courses skipped.

2. Undistributed Transfer Credit

Undistributed transfer credit (for courses not equivalent to IPFW courses) may be used to satisfy general education requirements and distribution requirements and may be counted in the major. You should contact the college office to confirm the application to your program of any undistributed transfer credit you are awarded.

3. Credit Restrictions - The following restrictions apply to all of the College of Arts and Sciences degrees:

a.  You may count no more than 4 credits in:

• HPER activities

b.  You may count no more than 3 credits in:

• IDIS courses, ENG W135, MA 14900

c.  You may count no credit in:

• Developmental courses such as CHM 10000; EDUC X15x; ENG R15x, W11x, and W130; and MA 10900, 111, and 11300.
• Courses that provide only surveys of career opportunities, such as AGR 10100, BUS J100, CNT 10100, EDUA F300 (except when offered as Invitation to Teaching) and G250, EDUC X210, ETCS 10100, HSC 10000, HSRV 10000 (1 cr.), IDIS 10500, MHT 10000 (1 cr.), NUR 10100, RHIT 10000, PPOL V352, and VM 10200.
• Courses designed to provide a skill not required to complete the major, such as AHLT Mxxx, AHSP Mxxx; BUFW C124, C125, C293, and X221; BUS K214; DAST Axxx; DHYG Hxxx (except DHYG H240 and H320); OLS 12100; and SPV 39900. 

4. Credit for Military Service

Up to 9 credits for military service in the armed forces of the United States may be counted toward graduation.

5. Upper-Level Courses

All courses numbered 300 or above are considered upper-level courses.  In addition, the following 200-numbered courses are defined as upper-level by the departments offering them and may be included in the 30 credits in upper-level courses required for graduation.

BIOL 21500
CHM 21800, 22400, 24100, 25400, 25500, 25600, 25800, 26100, 26200, 26500, 26600, 27500, and 29000
ENTM 20600-20700
GEOL G213, G221, and G222
MA 26100, 26300, and 27500
PHYS 27000
PSY 20100, 20300, 20500, 23500, 24000, and 27200
REL 23000 and 23100

6. Overlapping Content

You may not count toward graduation any courses or sequences considered to have overlapping content. Such courses are listed below; check this list before registering. This list may not be exhaustive. Please consult with your advisor. If you enroll in a course that appears in the left column, and you have completed any of the courses that are listed to its right, only the most recently completed course will apply toward graduation.

Courses with Overlapping Content:

Academic Course Load

You may register for more than 18 credits per semester or 7 credits in a six-week summer session only if:

1. Your most recent semester GPA is 3.00 or higher.
2. You have no incomplete grades at the time of registration.
3. You obtain approval from a dean of the college.

Pass/Not-Pass Option

The following restrictions are in addition to those in the IPFW academic regulations in Part 8 of this Bulletin:

1. You must be classified as a sophomore or higher and must have a GPA of 2.50 or better.
2. You may take no more than two courses per year under the Pass/Not-Pass Option. Summer-session enrollments are counted as part of the preceding academic year for the purpose of this restriction.

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