Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

Policy on Degree Requirements

The Committee on Instruction and the faculty of Columbia College review College degree requirements and curricular matters each year. The bulletin reflects these faculty recommendations and curricular changes in its yearly reprinting. College policy then requires students to fulfill all degree requirements as stated in the bulletin of the first year of their matriculation into the College.

Points

Every student must complete 124 points. The last two terms must be taken while enrolled in the College for study on this campus, at Reid Hall in Paris, or at the Berlin Consortium.

One course may not normally be taken to fulfill more than one requirement for the degree. However, a course that satisfies the Major Cultures, the science, or the foreign language requirement may also be used to satisfy a student’s major or concentration requirements.

Courses may not be repeated for credit, nor may course credit be earned in subjects for which Advanced Placement has been granted. Students also cannot receive credit for previous courses in which the content has been substantially duplicated, at Columbia or elsewhere. For example, credit cannot be earned for two first-term calculus courses, even if one is more theoretical in approach than the other; credit cannot be earned for two comparable terms of a science or foreign language even if one has a Barnard course number and the other a Columbia course number. In some courses only partial credit may be counted toward the degree. Courses not listed in this bulletin must be approved by the advising dean, since such courses might not bear College credit (e.g., BUSI W3020 Introduction to marketing/marketing management ; WRIT W3022 News and feature writing ; WRIT W3025 Magazine and feature writing ). A student who has a question about whether degree credit may be earned in a course should go to their advising dean.

NOTE: Mathematics W1003 does not count toward the degree.

Required Courses: The Core Curriculum

The following required courses constitute the Columbia College Core Curriculum. They include general education requirements in major disciplines that are
described in this section and, except for Physical Education, must be taken for a letter grade. The entire Core can be summarized as follows:

• Art Humanities: W1121
• Contemporary Civilization: C1101 and C1102
• Foreign Language Requirement: four terms or the equivalent
• Literature Humanities: C1001 and C1002
• Major Cultures Requirement: two terms from the List of Approved Courses
• Music Humanities: W1123
• Physical Education Requirement: two terms and a swimming test
• Science Requirement: C1000 and two terms from the List of Approved Courses
• University Writing: C1010

Students are generally required to complete Literature Humanities, University Writing, and Frontiers of Science in the first year. Additionally, the College strongly recommends that students complete Contemporary Civilization by the end of the sophomore year.

Students considering a major in the sciences should, in their first two years, focus on required introductory science courses in addition to their Core requirements.

Students considering a major in the humanities and social sciences should, in their first two years, take a combination of Core requirements and introductory level courses in the departments in which they are interested in majoring.

All students should consult with their advising deans and departmental advisers, who will assist them in selecting appropriate courses and planning their programs.

The Departmental Major or Concentration Requirement

All students must complete either a major or a concentration as described in the departmental sections of this bulletin. Specific premedical concentrations are also available. Students interested in this option should see Special Programs. Students should check for both the minimum and maximum points allowed for a major, as well as for any restrictions on courses in which a student earns a grade of D.

The purpose of the major or concentration requirement is to give each student the experience of doing sustained and advanced work, including individual
research, in a field of special interest. A major consists of intensive study in one department involving the satisfaction of a variety of requirements; a concentration demands fewer departmental course points or requirements than a major.

It should be emphasized that this requirement is not designed to produce professionally trained specialists, nor is it assumed that students will ultimately be
employed in work related to the subject in which they are majoring or concentrating. In the spring of their sophomore year, students may confer with faculty members in the department, advising deans, or advisers in the Center for Career Education while choosing a major or concentration.

NOTE: A student needs to complete a major or a concentration, not both.

Whether the student chooses a major or concentration depends on his or her particular aims and needs, as well as on the offerings of the particular department in which he or she plans to work.

Major declaration procedures are explained under Registration—Spring Program Consultation Period.

Some majors and concentrations require that certain introductory courses be completed before the start of the junior year. Students should read carefully the degree requirements for their proposed major or concentration.

NOTE: The purpose of a premedical concentration is to allow students who are completing the various requirements for medical school to be able to benefit fully from a liberal arts curriculum. Therefore, students declaring a premedical concentration may not combine it with another premedical concentration, a regular concentration, or a major. Students interested in medical school are not required to declare a premedical concentration; they may instead declare a regular concentration or major while fulfilling the premedical requirements.

The Related Course Requirement

Normally, related courses for a major or concentration may not be used to satisfy the related course requirement for a second major or concentration. However, a student may petition the Committee on Instruction for a waiver of this policy. The Committee will base its decision on such petitions on what it regards as intellectually compelling grounds.

Fulfillment of Degree Requirements

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the general degree requirements stated above by the end of the sophomore year.

Courses in fulfillment of the general degree requirements must be taken in Columbia College, with the exception of the foreign language requirement, which, in some instances, may be satisfied at Barnard or in the School of General Studies. Other exceptions to this rule are granted only with the approval of the Committee on Academic Standing, except for Major Cultures and the Science Requirement, which must be petitioned to the appropriate faculty committee through the Office of the Dean (208 Hamilton). Students who wish to satisfy degree requirements with courses taken at other universities in the summer must receive the approval of their advising dean in advance.

Length of Candidacy

A student is normally permitted eight terms in which to earn the Columbia B.A. degree. A student may continue to work for the degree past the eighth term only with permission in advance from the Committee on Academic Standing. (Please obtain request forms in your advising center office.)

Modification of Requirements

The requirements for the degree may be modified or waived in individual cases by the Committee on Academic Standing acting for the Faculty. Students wishing to petition the Committee are advised to discuss their requests with their advising dean.

Requirements for Transfer Students

Columbia College offers transfer students the opportunity to experience a wideranging liberal arts education that includes its Core Curriculum and a myriad of course offerings in major departments. Upon admission to Columbia College, transfer students should familiarize themselves with the regulations below pertaining to their special status.

Regulations on Transfer Credit

In order to receive the Columbia College degree, transfer students must complete a minimum of 60 points while enrolled in the College. Transfer students may apply a maximum of 64 points toward advanced standing at the College. Credit granted on the basis of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and other standardized examinations will be counted toward the 64-point maximum. Credit is not granted for college courses taken while in high school.

Credit toward the degree and Core/major requirements: Transfer students will receive credit for non-Columbia courses that are substantially similar to Columbia College courses only when the grades received are C or better. Transfer students must supply course descriptions and syllabi for all courses they would like considered for transfer credit. Once a transfer student is admitted, a credit review is conducted, and a tentative credit evaluation is sent to the student. A final credit evaluation will be conducted when the student has matriculated in Columbia College, received all appropriate approvals from the departments, and a final official transcript, course descriptions, and syllabi have been received.

Advanced standing and study outside Columbia: Transfer students who enter with up to 44 points of advanced standing may study abroad for one semester only. However, a transfer student entering the College with 45 points or more is not eligible to receive any further credit for work outside Columbia College and may not study abroad.

Degree completion: Transfer students are expected to graduate in eight semesters, including terms completed before entering Columbia. Extended time will not be granted to finish a particular major, so transfer students should be especially careful to meet with advisers to plan out their academic schedule. Some majors may not be available to certain transfer students based on the number of credits required to complete the major.