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General Education Requirements

The Major And The Second Area

The completion of a Bachelor degree requires a major and a second area. The specific requirements of the major and the second area are provided in information given later by each department. If more than one major is fulfilled, the student does not have to pursue a separate second area of study. More than one area of study is allowed.

Distribution Requirements

The faculty and administration of Manhattanville College firmly believe that the best preparation for a rapidly changing world lies in a widely ranging liberal arts education. Specific jobs, technologies, and ideologies ma y come and go, but in order to remain both vocationally competitive and spiritually supple, world citizens will need analytical, communicative, and deliberative skills. The best liberal arts education includes course work from all five areas of the colleg e curriculum: Mathematics and Science, Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages, and the Fine Arts. Developments in computers and technology will increasingly affect our lives, and an understanding of basic mathematical concepts and the scientific method wi ll prepare students to actively participate in the next wave of technological evolution. As our population rises, attendant social problems will demand the creative application of the social sciences; likewise, the humanities provide historical, literary, and philosophical perspective to past, present and future. As our world grows more interdependent, the ability to communicate in other languages will become even more important, and persons with bi-lingual and multi-lingual skills will be in high demand. Finally, the arts provide a window into the human soul. The ability to discover one; own creativity or appreciate the artistic expression of others enriches both the individual and society as a whole.

Students at Manhattanville College are encouraged to explore all these areas as they develop and integrate their personalized study plans within the Portfolio System. As a minimal acceptable distribution for graduation, however, students must complete a m ajor and minor field of study, as described above, and fulfill the following distribution requirements: Students must take a minimum of 6 credits each from four of the following five areas:

IDS course area will be determined by content. English composition courses ENW 2085 or below may not count toward fulfillment of the humanities requirement. Bachelor of Music in Performance students are required to take at least three courses in the human ities, but only two in the social sciences.

Graduation Credit Requirements

Graduation Credit Requirements: To qualify for a Bachelor; degree, all students must complete a minimum of 120 credits with an overall average of C (2.0) or better, and with individual grades of C or better in all courses used for the major and sec ond areas of study. Music and Dance/Theater majors must complete 129 credits with the same average.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may apply credits earned at another college or university at a level of C or better and approved by the Dean of Studies to their Manhattanville program. In general up to 60 credits, or half of the total, may be accepted as transfer credi t; 60 credits and 4 semesters of work must be completed at Manhattanville. In calculating transfer credit, grades are not transferred, only credits. Students must complete all requirements (including total credits, minimum g.p.a., major and second area, a nd the three portfolio reviews) in order to be eligible for graduation and participation in the commencement ceremony.

Part-Time Undergraduates

Adult part-time undergraduates are not mandated to work within the Portfolio System, so degree requirements for them are somewhat different from those for full-time students. They, too, must satisfy the criteria set by the department selected as their major field and that selected as a second area of strength. However, although they must complete 120 credits (60 of them at Manhattanville), they may do so over a longer period of time. Despite the fact that they are not requi red to assemble portfolios, part-time students are urged to acquire breadth, as well as depth, in their studies. They are encouraged to plan their work so that they acquaint themselves with a variety of academic areas, in addition to in-depth knowledge of another area besides the major. There is a special advisor to assist part-time students in this effort.

Accelerated Degree Programs

Most Bachelor of Arts students complete their degrees in eight semesters. It is possible to accelerate the degree program if special permission is granted to take more than the maximum of 17.5 credits per semester, or if the student is a participant in one of the College's accelerated combined degree programs. Students interested in graduating in less than eight semesters must present a plan to the Board on Academic Standards by the end of their first year of college work . Students should note that they may not automatically accelerate their degrees by taking more than the normal load of 15 credits per semester, or by adding isolated summer courses. The equivalent of eight semesters of attendance is required by the College (at least four while a student at Manhattanville), unless special permission is granted by the Board on Academic Standards.

The criteria applied by the Board on Academic Standards in evaluating accelerated degree requests include overall excellence as demonstrated by both the transcript and the work submitted, at least two-thirds of courses above the introductory level, and de monstration at an early stage of careful planning and direction.

The accelerated program is not usually open to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program who concentrate in music education nor to candidates in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, nor to those who wish to do practice teaching in order to gain New York State provisional teaching certification within the Bachelor of Arts program.

Residency Requirements

The undergraduate residency requirement stipulates that students complete at least four semesters of work and at least one-half of their major courses at Manhattanville. The Academic Policy Committee has reaffirmed the four-s emester residency requirement, though it has agreed that there might be truly exceptional cases in which some concessions might be made. Approval for any such exceptions must be sought from the Board on Academic Standards.

Registration

All students, including those planning to take music lessons, write senior papers or complete comprehensive examinations, independent studies or internships, must register at the start of each fall and spring semester and each summer s ession. A pre-registration period for undergraduates is held during each preceding semester for scheduling convenience. A mail-in option for registration is available for graduates and part-time undergraduates. Note that space availability is sometimes li mited for classes and that pre-registration is strongly advised. Work cannot be credited toward a degree unless a student registers on the assigned dates, which are announced in advance. All fees are payable on or before these dates. Late registration is permitted through the first week of both the fall and spring semesters and up to two calendar days after the beginning of each summer session, but a late fee is charged for this. After the final date for late registration, which is announced in advance, n o schedule may be changed without approval.