• General Education Requirement
• Internal Transfers into Humanities and Sciences

Special Regulations

Special regulations applicable to students enrolled in H&S:

1. All candidates for graduation must complete the general education requirement, mathematics requirement, writing requirement, and the requirements listed by the department of their major. Any variation from the requirements in the major field must be approved in writing by the department.

2. A minimum of 120 credits, including satisfactory completion of all required departmental courses and general education requirements, is necessary for graduation.

3. The senior year normally must be taken in residence at Ithaca College. Any variation from this requirement must be approved by the department and dean prior to enrollment in courses elsewhere.

4. Students must select a major by the end of their sophomore year.

5. In order to graduate from H&S, a student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in required courses in the major, and no more than two grades below C- in required courses.

6. In order to fulfill the requirements of a minor in H&S a student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in the courses required by the minor and no more than one grade below C- in those courses.

General Education Requirement

Students should

1. explore how we, as individuals, come to act and believe as we do, how we relate to one another in small or large groups, and how we govern ourselves within our communities.

2. understand the physical basis of the natural sciences and associated technology, as well as the methods that scientists use to study physical and natural phenomena.

3. learn to perform basic computations and understand how mathematical literacy and/or formal, logical reasoning are necessary to solving a variety of society's problems, such as those found in business, finance, health, politics, law, and economics.

4. learn to analyze and understand the uses of verbal language in forms of expression such as plays, stories, essays, speeches, and everyday conversation.

5. learn to analyze and understand artistic performances and visual works of art as ways of expressing a range of meaning, from the emotions and ideas of individual creators to the ideas of entire societies.

6. explore how the past shapes the present and the reasons behind the changes.

7. examine self, society, science, mathematics, formal reasoning, language, and/or the visual and performing arts from the position of a human community outside the United States.

To meet these goals, students in H&S must complete foundation, focused curricular choice, and global and historical perspective requirements in addition to the requirements of their specific majors.

Foundation Courses

Writing effectiveness

Effective writing is defined as writing that is clear, focused, and adequately developed in response to an assignment. Such writing is well organized and reasonably correct, according to conventional standards of grammar, punctuation, and usage.

Students can satisfy the writing effectiveness requirement by receiving both

1. a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Language and Composition or Literature and Composition Examination and

2. a score of 1 or 2 on the writing department placement test.

Students in H&S who do not satisfy the requirement in this way must complete 377-10600, 377-11000, 377-15000, 377-15100, or 377-16500. At the end of each of these courses, the instructor applies the criteria established for effective writing to determine which students meet the writing requirement. Students are notified of the decision. Students failing to meet the requirement after earning credit for 377-10600, 377-15000, 377-15100, or 377-16500 may then do so either by enrolling in 377-11000 (if credit has not already been earned for this course) or by completing a writing portfolio under the direction of a writing department faculty member. At the end of the semester, the student is notified as to whether the requirement has been satisfied.

Students failing to satisfy the writing effectiveness requirement after completing the portfolio process must satisfy it by meeting guidelines established by their major department.

Detailed information on the portfolio process is available from the writing department and the student's academic adviser. Guidelines for departmental majors are available from each academic department in H&S.

Mathematics

Students must either achieve a score on the Math Placement exam placing them in Group 3, 2, or 1 or, if placed in Group 4, earn a grade of C- or better in 313-10000 or 313-18000.

Focused Curricular Choice

The general education program of the School of Humanities and Sciences divides its general education curricular choice into five areas.

Courses that may be used to fulfill the requirements of the general education program will carry a designation indicating the curricular area in which the course is placed. Designated courses that meet major and/or other degree requirements may also be counted toward satisfying the requirements of the general education program.

Up to two courses of AP credit may be used toward the general education requirement. This would apply when students receive course-specific AP credit for courses that have been designated as general education courses.

Global and Historical Perspectives

A number of courses in the five curricular areas of inquiry cultivate a global and/or historical perspective. A course is categorized as primarily global in focus if it concentrates on developing an understanding of communities outside the United States. It is categorized as primarily historical in focus if it concentrates on developing a historical understanding of how communities develop and function. A course can be designated as both global and historical if it concentrates on both of these aspects.

Students in H&S must include in their coursework at least 6 credits with a global designation and 6 credits with a historical designation.

Courses satisfying the global and historical perspectives requirements may come from those courses used to satisfy the area/category requirement. A course with a dual global and historical designation may be used to meet the requirement in one or the other perspective, but not both. Credits earned in an approved study abroad program will fulfill the global perspective requirement.

Focused Curricular Choice

Area of Inquiry	Category	Credits	Area Total
1. Self and Society			12
2. Science, Mathematics, and Formal Reasoning	a. Science b. Mathematics and formal reasoning	6 3	9
3. Human Expression	a. Verbal language b. Visual expression and performing arts	6 6	12

Internal Transfers into Humanities and Sciences

All Ithaca College students are required to remain for at least one semester in the school to which they were originally admitted. Thereafter, it is possible to transfer into the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) on two different bases: through the third semester as an exploratory student, or in any semester as a major in one of the humanities and sciences disciplines.

Students must meet the minimum academic standards in H&S: a cumulative GPA of 2.00 and completion of at least 12 credits each semester, and at least 24 credits in a 12-month period. They must also have achieved a GPA of 2.00 for the semester before the transfer and have at least a 2.00 GPA in all H&S courses they have completed. Students may apply at any time during the semester, and those who have been accepted may transfer into the school at any point.

Admission procedure: A change of college/school form, available from the dean's office, must be submitted to the dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences.