University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
The COLLEGE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS has two primary functions: (1) to provide a specialized education, both graduate and undergraduate, in the basic disciplines of the humanities and the social and behavioral sciences, and (2) to provide general education courses that enrich the cultural understanding of students in all colleges of the University.
In addition to participating in the Liberal Arts undergraduate courses, majors, and minors (disciplinary and interdisciplinary), students may enhance their studies by combining their Liberal Arts major with any minor in the University.
TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS--Students may satisfy requirements for the provisional certificate for teaching in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while also satisfying requirements for a bachelor's degree, with a major in the College of the Liberal Arts in one of the following: English, French, German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. Students who want to prepare for teacher certification should consult their advisers and the University Certification Office, 228 Chambers Building. See also Teacher Education Programs.
PREPROFESSIONAL PROGRAM -- Students who want to qualify for entrance to professional schools of medicine, dentistry, or other health fields may adapt any one of several majors; the Letters, Arts, and Sciences major is particularly suited for this purpose. Students who want to qualify for entrance to professional schools of law may adapt any one of several majors. Under certain conditions a student may earn the B.A. degree after completing six satisfactory semesters at The Pennsylvania State University and one year at an accredited professional school.
CONCURRENT MAJOR PROGRAM--A program is available for students to obtain in five academic years of study a bachelor of arts awarded by the College of the Liberal Arts and a bachelor of science by the College of Engineering or the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. This program permits students to obtain a liberal education as well as technical preparation for a career. For more information, see the entries in the Majors section of this bulletin under LIBERAL ARTS AND EARTH AND MINERAL SCIENCES CONCURRENT MAJOR PROGRAM or LIBERAL ARTS AND ENGINEERING CONCURRENT MAJOR PROGRAM.
RESIDENT EDUCATION
JACK SELZER, Associate Dean for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, in charge
For at least the first two semesters, students are classified as Liberal Arts (LA). To be eligible for entrance to a major in this college, a degree candidate must meet the entrance-to-major requirements listed below. By the end of the sophomore year, a student must declare one of the Liberal Arts majors described in the Bulletin. (Please note: Under certain circumstances, the University may need to limit enrollments in the college or in certain majors because of space limitations.) Most majors and minors are administered by specific departments; students who want information about one of these majors should consult the appropriate department or program. Most majors in the college lead to the bachelor of arts degree; some of the majors in the college offer both the bachelor of arts and the bachelor of science degrees.
ADMISSION
Students must meet the secondary school units as published in the General Information section of this bulletin. Note: Effective for students graduating from high school in 2001 or later, those who have not completed the recommended two high school foreign language units will need to schedule the appropriate foreign language course work at Penn State within their first two years of study.
ENTRANCE-TO-COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS
Any student may enter the college provided that the following requirements
have been met:
1. The student must have a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average.
2. The student must demonstrate the ability to complete total requirements
within nine semesters.
3. The student must have completed the appropriate Carnegie Units as listed
previously.
ENTRANCE-TO-MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Any student may enter a Liberal Arts major provided that the following
requirements have been met:
1. The student must have a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average.
2. The student must have an average of C (2.00) or better in any courses
already taken in the proposed major.
3. The student must demonstrate the ability to complete total requirements
within nine semesters.
4. The student must have completed 27.1 credits or higher.
GENERAL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
All baccalaureate degree candidates must follow the graduation requirements
as established by the Senate.
1. Minimum 2.00 cumulative grade-point average.
2. Completion of minimum total credits for graduation.
3. Completion of all General Education, College (B.A. degrees only), elective,
and major requirements. General Education requirements have changed for students
enrolling summer session 1999 and thereafter. Students who enrolled prior
to summer session 1999 should continue with current requirements. All students
in the College of the Liberal Arts must complete 9 credits of natural science,
including one laboratory science. In addition, all Liberal Arts students must
complete one first-year seminar, one intercultural and international competence
course, and one writing intensive course. For more information, visit
http://bulletins.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/general_education.cfm
.
4. All courses fulfilling major requirements must be completed with a grade of
C or higher.
5. Students wishing to graduate with a minor must apply for the minor no later
than 5:00 p.m. on the published deadline. All required course work must be
completed with grade of C or higher by the end of the semester the student
plans to graduate.
6. Students in Bachelor of Arts degree programs must complete level 003 of a
foreign language with a D or higher.
7. Students in Bachelor of Science degree programs must have either 2 Carnegie
Units of foreign language completed prior to admission to Penn State, or a
grade of C or higher in college level 001 or 002 of a foreign language, or a
grade of D or higher in college level 3.
Note 1: Duplicate courses, ENGL 004, ENGL 005; MATH 001, MATH 002, MATH 003, MATH 004; ESL 004 and SPCOM 004 cannot be counted toward the total number of credits required for graduation.
BACCALAUREATE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
BACHELOR OF ARTS AND BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES
GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(Same for Bachelor of Arts AND Bachelor of Science)
(See description of General Education in this bulletin.)
BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: 9-24 credits
FOREIGN LANGUAGE (0-12 credits)
Student must attain 12th credit level of proficiency in one foreign language.
See the ADMISSION section of the General Information in this bulletin for the
Placement Policy for Penn State Foreign Language Courses (under Opportunities
for Credit by Acquisition).
B.A. FIELDS (9 credits)
Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences, Quantification (may not be taken in the area of the student's primary major; foreign language credits in this category must be in a second foreign language or beyond the 12th credit level of proficiency in the first language)
OTHER CULTURES (0-3 credits)
Select 3 credits from approved list. Students may count courses in this category in order to meet other major, minor, elective, or General Education requirements, except for the General Education US/IL requirement. See approved list at http://bulletins.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/ba_requirements.cfm.
ELECTIVES: 15 credits or more, depending on major (Same for Bachelor of Arts AND Bachelor of Science.)
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS: See description of major degree requirements in this bulletin.
COLLEGE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS
SUSAN WELCH, Dean
RAYMOND E. LOMBRA, Associate Dean for Research, Administration, and Advancement
JACK SELZER, Associate Dean for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
COLLEGE ORGANIZATION
African and African American Studies -- GRACE HAMPTON, Head
Anthropology -- NINA G. JABLONSKI, Head
Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies -- PAUL HARVEY, Head
Communication Arts and Sciences-- JAMES DILLARD, Head
Economics -- ROBERT MARSHALL, Head
English -- ROBIN SCHULZE, Head
French and Francophone Studies -- THOMAS A. HALE, Head
History -- A. G. ROEBER, Interim Head
Religious Studies -- ON-CHO NG, Director
Jewish Studies -- BRIAN HESSE, Director
Labor Studies and Employment Relations -- PAUL CLARK, Head
Languages and Literatures, School of -- CAROLINE D. ECKHARDT, Director
Comparative Literature -- CAROLINE D. ECKHARDT, Head
Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures -- ADRIAN WANNER, Head
Linguistics and Applied Language Studies -- JOAN KELLY HALL, Head
Latin American Studies -- MATTHEW RESTALL, Co-Director; JACQUELINE TORIBIO, Co-Director;
Philosophy -- SHANNON SULLIVAN, Head
Political Science -- DONNA BAHRY, Head
Psychology -- MEL MARK, Interim Head
Sociology -- JOHN McCARTHY, Head
Crime, Law, and Justice -- JOHN McCARTHY, Director
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese -- WILLIAM R. BLUE, Interim Head
Women's Studies -- CAROLYN SACHS, Head