The Liberal Arts Education
Drew is strongly committed to the idea that a liberal arts education provides its students with the skills to succeed in the most demanding professional and graduate school programs, and in a rapidly changing work force. Yet the faculty also recognizes that Drew’s curriculum must constantly evolve to meet the changing needs of students and of our larger society.
The undergraduate curriculum includes specialized work in a major field of study, and a general education program that provides a framework for a liberal arts education.
Through the general education program, students explore many fields, gain familiarity with diverse subjects and methodologies, and study a field in depth beyond their majors. Students sharpen their skills of research, analysis and effective communication, and are challenged to examine their presuppositions and to place individual subjects into larger contexts.
Degree Requirements
To earn the B.A. degree students must complete 128 credits, fulfill general education requirements, and complete a major.
I. The Writing Requirement
One component of Drew’s general education breadth program is a writing requirement, which should be satisfied by the end of a student’s first year at Drew. Students may use Advanced Placement English Language and Composition to satisfy the requirement if they scored 4 or 5 on the examination. The majority of students satisfy the requirement at Drew according to the policy below.
Writing Placement
Students who are transferring from a 4-year or 2-year institution and who have been awarded transfer credit for a 3 or 4 credit composition course have fulfilled the College Writing requirement. However, it is recommended that students who have not written papers longer than 3 or 4 pages include a writing- intensive [WI] course in their program as soon as possible.
Students who have not taken a composition course must complete the college writing requirement either by taking ENGL I or ENGL 2 in Spring 2010 or by completing one writing-intensive [WI] and the appropriate Writing in the Major [WM] course by graduation.
II. The Language Requirement
Students must complete at least two courses (8 credits) in one foreign language at the appropriate placement level, or demonstrate competence in one foreign language through the intermediate level. A score of 680 or higher on the SAT-II Test in a foreign language, or a score of 4 or 5 on the appropriate Advanced Placement Examination, or satisfactory performance on a Drew language placement examination also satisfies this requirement.
Language in Context: To place the language into its larger cultural context, all students, including those who achieve exemption, must also complete at least one course (4 credits) that deals in depth with the culture, literature, history, society, politics, philosophy, religions, or economics of a nation or region where the language studied is or was spoken. A list of courses that satisfy this requirement for each language appears in the Catalog at the end of the course listings for that language. These courses may also be used to satisfy any other appropriate graduation requirement.
This requirement may also be fulfilled by completing one additional course in the same foreign language at a level appropriate to the student’s skills.
III. Breadth Requirements
A. Overview
To explore the similarities, differences, and connections among ways of knowing in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, students must complete at least eight courses (32 credits)from different departments, areas or programs.
To fulfill this requirement, students must complete at least 1 course (4 credits) in each of two different departments in the following four divisions of the curriculum:
- Natural and Mathematical Sciences: All courses offered by the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science [note: mathematics and computer science is one department], and physics.
- Social Sciences: All courses offered by the departments of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, and archaeology courses offered by the Classics department.
- Humanities: All courses offered by the departments of history, philosophy, religion, and history courses offered by the Classics department.
- Arts and Literature: All courses offered by the departments of art, art history, music, and theatre arts; all intermediate and upper-level writing courses offered by the department of English; all literature courses offered by the departments of classics and English, and civilization and literature courses offered by the foreign language departments.
Extradivisional Programs Students may replace up to 3 of the 8 courses (12 of 32 credits) in the breadth requirements with courses from extradivisional programs. Extradivisional courses include those designated as American Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Humanities, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Pan-African Studies, and Women’s Studies and Women and Gender Studies. When using this option to meet the breadth requirements, students may offer only 4 credits of work from each extradivisional program included.
Additionally, students exercising this option must still take 8 credits in the natural and mathematical sciences, and at least 4 credits in each of the other three divisions.
B. The Major Requirement
One of the requirements for graduation is a major in at least one field of knowledge or a major concentration that draws on several fields. You may also develop a special major, drawing on several fields in a coherent plan of study. Special majors require special approval. Schedule an appointment with the Dean of Educational Affairs and see the College Handbook for criteria and procedures related to special majors.
You need not formally declare a major until the second semester of the sophomore year, although you may do so at any time after completing the First-Year Seminar. Nevertheless, give thought to possible areas in which you may major as you begin your study at Drew. Take into account the requirements for a particular major as you select courses for your first year. In a number of fields, intermediate and advanced courses have introductory courses as prerequisites.
If you have a major in mind now, check the requirements in the Catalog. Include the necessary foundation courses for a major in your first-year program. Taking the necessary or advisable courses for a major gives you a taste of that field and prepares you for further work. Taking courses in other fields as well allows comparison and evaluation of your long-range commitment to your major. Many students discover that their initial interest in a major is not the one they eventually wish to pursue.
Double Majors. You can complete more than one major, but doing so requires careful planning. The earlier such planning begins, the easier it will be to complete both concentrations.
C. In-Depth Study Outside the Major
To ensure further breadth and depth in a Drew student’s education, each student must complete a minor. Courses taken for the minor may also satisfy other appropriate graduation requirements. The minor must be declared by the end of the first semester of the student’s junior year. All minors must include at least five courses (20 credits), and no more than 1 course (4 credits) may be at the introductory level, unless specifically approved by the faculty. The following options are available to meet this requirement:
- Disciplinary Minors: Most disciplines that offer a major also offer a minor.
- Interdisciplinary Minors: Interdisciplinary fields draw together courses from several departments, sometimes in dialogue with interdisciplinary core offerings, in order to explore a topic or area. The College offers Interdisciplinary Minors In Archaeology, Arts Administration and Museology, Asian Studies, Biochemistry, Business, Society and Culture, Dance, Environmental Studies and Sustainability, European Studies, Jewish Studies,Holocaust Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistic Studies, Middle East Studies, Russian Studies, Public Health, Western Heritage, World Literature, Women’s and Gender Studies and Writing.
- Student-Designed Minors: A student-designed minor allows students to pursue a particular interest and explore an area not represented in the regular curriculum. In consultation with a faculty sponsor, students may design a minor of six courses (24 credits including no more than 4 credits at the introductory level) that is composed of courses focused on a particular topic, problem or theme. The faculty sponsor must approve the minor, which is then submitted for approval to the Associate Dean of Curriculum and Faculty Development. Student-Designed minors must be approved by the Committee on Academic Policy and Curriculum.
The minor requirement is waived for students completing:
- A double major
- An interdisciplinary major that requires 60 credits or more (Behavioral Science, Biological Anthropology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or Neuroscience)
- Special programs: The teacher education certification program, the UMDNJ dual degree program, and approved 3/2 engineering programs.
