TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

Undergraduate Bulletin for 1998-99

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College of Arts and Sciences

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degrees

Note: Students matriculated in the College of Arts and Sciences before fall 1988 and students transferring from another university or college with 15 or more credit hours into the College of Arts and Sciences before September 1990 are not obligated to complete the graduation requirements listed below. Such students may continue to follow the program described in the 1987-1988 Bulletin with the transition modifications specified in the CAS Bulletin Supplement. This special Supplement is available at the Academic Advising Center in Sullivan Hall as well as from departmental advisers.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers the student either a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. The B.A. degree gives students a broad-based education which includes the study of a foreign language. The B.S. degree, offered in biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer and information sciences, geology, mathematics, and physics is intended for those students who wish more specialized professional training in order to work in one of those fields.

Credit Hour Requirements

The College of Arts and Sciences requires that students complete a total of 123 credits. Of that total, 90 credits must be in CAS courses. Of those 90 CAS credits, 45 must be in upper level CAS courses. Of those 45 credits, students receiving a Bachelor of Arts (as opposed to Bachelor of Science) degree must distribute their course selections to satisfy the upper level distribution requirements.

Students must also satisfy the requirements of the University Core Curriculum.

The detailed explanations of the College of Arts and Sciences' credit hour requirements appear in the paragraphs that follow.

The B.A. and the B.S. degrees both require a minimum of 123 credit hours, distributed according to University and College policy outlined below, with at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA). A minimum 2.0 GPA must also be maintained in CAS courses and in the major.

To earn a CAS baccalaureate degree, a student must complete a minimum of 90 semester hours in CAS courses.

A course shall be classified as a CAS course if it is listed in the CAS course description section of the Temple University Undergraduate Bulletin or if it is in the departments of Art History or Economics.

Students with inter-collegial majors in art, music, and interdisciplinary studies can obtain information concerning the minimum number of semester hours in CAS courses required for graduation from their major advisers and from the description of their major found in this Bulletin.

These credit hour requirements apply to students entering fall, 1995 or later.

A maximum of nine semester hours in preparatory courses (courses numbered 0001-0049) may be applied to any baccalaureate degree. Semester hours earned in Mathematics 0015 (formerly Math 0001), military science, and RCC-Enhanced do not receive credit toward the minimum semester hours required for graduation.

Bachelor of Science Requirements

  1. Core. In addition to the requirements above, Bachelor of Science candidates must complete the University Core Curriculum.
  2. Major. They must also complete the requirements of a departmental major. B.S. majors are offered the following programs:
  3. Minor or Additional Specialization. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree may also choose to fulfill the requirements of a Double Major, Minor, or Additional Specialization. See below under Special Major and Minor Requirements.

Bachelor of Arts Requirements

  1. Core. Bachelor of Arts candidates must complete the University Core requirements with the following difference: For the Core Language or International Studies requirement, candidates for the B.A. degree are required by the College of Arts and Sciences to complete both an International Studies and a Language requirement.
    1. by completing the third semester of a language (course number C061, except in Critical Languages) and one international studies course or
    2. by completing the second semester of a language (course number 0052, except in Critical Languages) and two international studies courses, at least one of which must be "Third World/Non-Western."
  2. Upper level distribution requirements. B.A. students must complete upper level distribution requirements by taking two upper level CAS courses outside the curriculum division of their major (Curriculum Divisions listed below). Students who have double majors in the same division must take two upper level courses outside this division. Students who have double majors in two different divisions automatically satisfy the distribution requirement. Students taking an interdisciplinary major or program must take at least one upper level course in each of the two divisions.
  3. Major.
    They must also complete the requirements of a major. The minimum acceptable grade in a course taken to fulfill major requirements is a C-. Students are encouraged to declare their major by the end of the freshman year; forms for this purpose are available in the Academic Advising Center in Sullivan Hall. B.A. majors are offered in the following programs:
    • African American Studies
    • American Studies
    • Anthropology
    • Art
    • Art History
    • Asian Studies
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Computer and Information Sciences
    • Criminal Justice
    • Earth Science (see Geology)
    • Economics
    • English
    • French
    • Geography and Urban Studies
    • Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literature
    • Greek and Roman Classics
    • Hebrew
    • History
    • Interdisciplinary Studies
    • Italian
    • Jewish Studies
    • Latin American Studies
    • Mathematics
    • Mathematical Economics
    • Music
    • Philosophy
    • Physics
    • Political Science
    • Psychology
    • Religion
    • Russian (See German and Slavic)
    • Sociology
    • Spanish
    • Women's Studies

Curriculum Divisions

Students should use the following curriculum divisions in satisfying the distribution requirements mentioned above:

*Courses in these departments may not be used to satisfy upper level distribution requirements.

Placement Tests

All new freshmen must take diagnostic English and mathematics placement tests. Transfer students who have not completed composition C050 or a college level math course are also required to take placement examinations. The results of these tests determine if students are required to enroll in preparatory composition and mathematics courses. Students assigned to English 40/41 must register each semester for that course until the requirement is completed. Only upon successful completion of English 40/41 can such students enroll in Composition C050/51. Students assigned to courses designed to remedy deficiencies in mathematics are required to complete those courses before enrolling in the mathematics component of the University Core. Incoming students must also take a foreign language placement examination if they plan to continue a language previously studied, or if they wish to place out of a foreign language requirement.

Special Major and Minor Requirements

  1. Interdisciplinary Major.
    Rather than major in an existing department or program, students may apply for a major in Interdisciplinary Studies. The proposed major should consist of coursework totaling at least 36 semester hours, and be justified in terms of some thematic unit of cohesive rationale. The program should not closely resemble any major currently available in the College of Arts and Sciences.

    The proposed major program may include courses outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, but at least 24 semester hours must be in upper level Arts and Sciences courses. The student's proposal must be sponsored by two faculty members from different departments, at least one from the College of Arts and Sciences.
    Approval for the program must be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Advising Center prior to the initiation of the last 60 semester hours of the degree.
  2. Honors Interdisciplinary Major.
    Students in the University Honors Program may apply for a College of Arts and Science Honors Interdisciplinary Major. They must complete the degree requirements of the B.A. in the College of Arts and Sciences and the requirements for the Interdisciplinary Major described above as well as the requirements for the University Honors Program. Approval for this program must also be obtained from the University Honors Committee prior to the initiation of the last 60 semester hours of the degree.

    In addition, the proposed Major Program should include submission of an acceptable Honors Thesis to the University Honors Steering Committee.

  3. Minor.
    Students may also choose to complete the requirements for a minor. The minimum acceptable grade in a course taken to fulfill minor requirements is C-. The minimum GPA for all CAS minors is 2.0. This requirement is superseded if some higher GPA is required by any specific minor program. At least half of the courses taken by a student to fulfill the minor must be taken at Temple. Forms for declaring a minor are available in the following programs:
    • African American Studies
    • American Studies
    • Ancient Mediterranean Studies
    • Anthropology
    • Art
    • Art History
    • Asian Studies
    • Biology
    • Cognitive Neuroscience (see Psychology)
    • Computer and Information Sciences
    • Criminal Justice
    • Economics
    • English
    • French
    • Geography and Urban Studies
    • German
    • Greek and Roman Classics
    • Hebrew
    • History
    • Italian
    • Jewish Studies (see Religion)
    • Mathematics
    • Mathematical Economics
    • Music
    • Philosophy
    • Physics
    • Polish (see German and Slavic)
    • Political Science
    • Portuguese (see Spanish and Portuguese)
    • Psychology
    • Religion
    • Russian
    • Sociology
    • Spanish
    • Women's Studies
  4. Additional Specialization.
    Finally, students may choose to complete the requirements for an additional specialization. Forms for declaring an additional specialization are available in the Academic Advising Center in Sullivan Hall. Additional specializations are available in the following programs:

Comments and questions concerning this web version of the bulletin or requests for adding reference marks for linking to subsections of a page may be sent to Robert Schneider.