Baccalaureate Degree Program
2011-12 FINAL 1-30-12
Augustana College offers the Bachelor of Arts degree. Requirements for the degree are listed in the Degree Requirements section of this catalog. For additional information, contact the Office of the Registrar.
The Bachelor of Arts degree requires study in courses representing a broad base of knowledge as well as coursework focused in a specific area. Electives may be taken according to individual student’s interests or needs. The intent of the Augustana General Education Studies (AGES) program is to introduce students to college discourse and help them develop skills for their active participation in an academic community. The AGES program begins in the first year with LSFY and HONR courses, which count toward a student’s general studies requirements rather than the academic major or minor.
For the well-prepared student whose high school background includes four years of study in a foreign language, approximately 40 percent of the credits required for the Bachelor of Arts degree are in general education distribution and course requirements, one-third are elective, and one-third are in the student’s selected major. Students may earn minors in areas of study which complement or supplement the major. Credits which apply to minors are typically included in the elective credits and general education distribution credits.
The flexibility of Augustana’s graduation requirements permits students earning the liberal arts degree to build the foundation of special coursework necessary for application to graduate and professional schools, or for beginning a career upon completion of the baccalaureate degree.
Majors
Graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of a major. There are two types of majors —departmental and interdisciplinary—and many options within these. A major must be completed with a grade-point average of 2.00 or better in all Augustana courses. At least 9 credits applicable to the major must be in 300- and 400-level courses taken at Augustana. Applicable courses may not be taken Pass-No Credit unless approved by the appropriate department chair. The completion of a major is recorded on the student’s permanent academic record and transcript.
Departments offer majors consisting of 24 to 40 credits, often with options, and may offer a major for secondary school teaching. While the general requirements for the baccalaureate degree provide breadth of study in several disciplines, the major provides depth of study and advanced work in one area. Specific requirements for each major are listed in the Courses and Programs of Study section of this catalog.
- Accounting
- Africana Studies
- Anthropology
- Art
- Art Education*
- Art History
- Asian Studies**
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Biology Education*
- Business Administration-Finance
- Business Administration-International Business
- Business Administration-Management
- Business Administration-Management Information
- Systems
- Business Administration-Marketing
- Chemistry
- Chemistry Education*
- Classics
- Classical Studies-Greek
- Classical Studies-Latin
- Classics-Latin Education*
- Communication-Language Arts Education*
- Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Communication Studies
- Computer Science
- Earth and Space Science Education*
- Economics
- Organization
- of the Curriculum
- Elementary Education*
- Engineering Physics**
- English
- English-Creative Writing
- English-Writing
- English and Language Arts Education*
- Environmental Studies**
- French
- French Education*
- Geography
- Geography Education*
- Geology
- German
- German Education*
- Graphic Design
- History
- History Education*
- International Business
- Mathematics
- Mathematics Education*
- Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication
- Music
- Music Education-Instrumental*
- Music Education-Voice*
- Music Performance-Composition
- Music Performance-Instrumental
- Music Performance-Vocal
- Music Performance-Piano
- Neuroscience**
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Physics Education*
- Political Science
- Pre-Medicine**
- Psychology
- Religion
- Scandinavian
- Sociology
- Sociology-Social Welfare
- Spanish
- Spanish Education*
- Theatre Arts
- Women's and Gender Studies**
* Students interested in completing a secondary education teaching major should contact the education department during theirfirst year of study.
** These programs are interdisciplinary majors, which include work in two or three departments-reflecting links among disciplines and strengthening advanced work in each. Interdisciplinary majors also meet the graduation requirements for a major. Specific requirements are found in the Courses and Programs of Study section of this catalog.
Contract Majors
Contract majors allow students to create a course of study outside department and interdisciplinary majors. Students must be in good standing, with an overall grade-point average of 3.30 or above at the time of application. Students must apply in writing to the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) by spring term of their sophomore year, prior to obtaining the final 60 credits for graduation. Proposals should be submitted no later than week 2 of spring term of the student's sophomore year to ensure that EPC can review and act on the proposal. Proposals submitted after week 2 may not be accepted, depending upon the schedule of EPC. The student must convince EPC that his or her major is a rigorous, coherent and focused area of study, and demonstrate how each course contributes to the major.
The student's major advisor must be from the department with the contract major's greatest number of credits. The advisor must write a brief statement of support, addressing the coursework and senior project and asserting his or her willingness to advise the student until graduation.
Contract majors consist of a minimum of 27 credits, 14 of which must be 300-level courses or above. At least three different academic disciplines must be represented. Students must propose and complete a senior project. This project must be proposed to a faculty panel of three, composed of the student's major advisor and two other faculty members from the disciplines that make up the major. A grade-point average of 2.00 or above in the major courses is required for graduation.
A checklist is available in the Office of the Registrar to help students process the proposal.
Minors
A broad selection of minors is available to comple-ment or supplement work in a major. A minor also may be used to study an area which holds a special interest for the student. Specific requirements for minors are given in the Courses and Programs of Study section of this catalog. The minor must be completed with a grade-point average of 2.00 or better in all Augustana courses. At least 6 credits applicable to the minor must be 300- and 400- level courses taken at Augustana. Applicable courses may not be taken Pass-No Credit unless specific approval is granted by the advisor. The completion of a minor is recorded on the student's permanent academic record and transcript.
Most departments offer minors consisting of 17 to 24 credits for students who wish to concentrate in a second area. Minors are offered in the following:
- Accounting
- Africana Studies*
- Anthropology
- Art
- Art History
- Asian Studies*
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Chinese
- Classics
- Computer Science
- Economics
- English
- Environmental Studies*
- French
- Geography
- Geology
- German
- History
- Jazz (Music)
- Latin American Studies*
- Mathematics
- Medieval and Renaissance Studies*
- Music
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Religion
- Scandinavian
- Sociology
- Spanish
- Speech Communication
- Theatre Arts
- Women's and Gender Studies*
* These interdisciplinary minors consist of at least 17 credits and include coordinated work in two or more departments. Since there is considerable flexibility in these minors, students should work closely with the advisor in making course selections.
