Degrees and Graduation Requirements

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Degrees and Graduation Requirements

Degrees and Graduation Requirements

Mount Holyoke’s primary degree is the bachelor of arts. In addition, the College offers dual-degree programs, a master of arts in teaching and other programs.

Bachelor of Arts

The College confers one undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Arts. At Mount Holyoke as elsewhere, this degree may be abbreviated as either A.B. or B.A., depending on whether one is abbreviating the customary Latin (artium baccalaureus) or the current English name for the degree. An A.B. or a B.A. are the same degree.

Students pursue a rigorous, well-rounded course of study that includes work in the humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. All students must complete 128 semester credits (one standard course equals 4 credits).

The College's distribution requirement is designed to acquaint students with a wide range of knowledge and encourage them to explore new areas of interest. At least 68 credits must be earned from course work outside the major department, across the three curricular divisions: humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. Mount Holyoke requires a distribution across divisions of knowledge, a language other than English, and a multicultural perspectives course.

For a complete explanation of requirements see the .

Dual-degree programs

Mount Holyoke offers several dual-degree engineering programs in partnership with three outstanding, accredited institutions. Engineering students can earn both a bachelor of arts degree from Mount Holyoke and a bachelor of science degree in engineering from the California Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts, or the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.

Second bachelor’s degree

While Mount Holyoke welcomes students interested in earning a second bachelor’s degree, candidates are not eligible for financial aid from the College. Interested students should contact the Office of Admission for information about the application process.

Other degrees and certificates

The College also offers:

Certificate for International Guest Students
Five College Certificates
Nexus Program
Teacher Licensure
Master of Arts in Teaching with programs for:

Learning goals

By combining the proven strengths of a liberal arts education with the transformative power of experiential learning, the �� liberal arts experience provides the best foundation for citizenship and career in a global world. Audacity, creativity, determination, excellence, leadership, and commitment to the common good are the hallmarks of a Mount Holyoke education. As the oldest continuing women's college in the world and one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the nation, Mount Holyoke produces analytical, confident, creative, and independent thinkers who make a difference in the world. Mount Holyoke offers its students a compelling invitation to embrace complexity, cultivate curiosity, and nourish habits of lifelong learning. Our students learn the diverse practices of social, ethical, personal, and environmental stewardship and responsibility. The Mount Holyoke curriculum is designed to encourage students to:

Think analytically and critically by questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and articulating well-reasoned arguments.
Develop intellectual breadth through study across disciplines and different modes of inquiry.
Develop the ability to write and speak confidently and effectively.
Engage in artistic forms of expression.
Acquire depth, methodological expertise, and historical understanding in a discipline.
Acquire quantitative and technological capabilities.
Develop skills in more than one language and engage with cultural communities other than their own.
Conduct independent or collaborative research incorporating diverse perspectives and skill sets.
Apply the liberal arts through experiential learning in work and community environments.
Learn practices of self-assessment and reflection for academic, personal, and career growth.

Graduation requirements

These graduation requirements are applicable to all current students and all those who graduated after May 2014 as long as they either entered the College after Fall 2011 or were active students in Spring 2014. Please contact the Registrar's Office if you have any question about which requirements apply to you. It is the responsibility of each student to make sure they meet all graduation requirements.

Successful completion of at least 128 credits in approved academic work.
- A maximum of 16 credits of independent study and honors work may be applied toward this requirement.
- A maximum of 12 credits in total earned in Mount Holyoke curricular support courses or in any Mount Holyoke, Five College, or transferred non-liberal arts courses, whether taken before or after the student's matriculation at the College.
64 of these credits (16 courses) must be taken while at Mount Holyoke during the student's sophomore, junior, and senior years, and they must be registered at Mount Holyoke for four semesters during those years. This is the Residency Requirement.
At least 68 academic credits must be in courses outside the student's major field of study, unless the student elects and completes a second major, a Special (individually designed interdisciplinary) major, or a designated interdisciplinary major.
4 units of physical education, expected to be completed within the student's first four semesters at the College. Students admitted as transfer students or Frances Perkins Scholars need complete only 2 units of PE. PE units are distinct from academic credits.
A 2.00 cumulative grade point average.

Every student must complete a designated First-Year Seminar course, except those who enter the College with sophomore or junior standing as transfer students or Frances Perkins scholars.

A designated course in a language other than English.

In the case of a student whose first language is not English, an exemption may be granted by the Dean of Studies to those with at least one of the following:

Documented attendance at a secondary school for at least one year at which instruction was conducted in a language other than English.
Documented attendance at a secondary school outside of the US where the language of instruction was English but they elected a language or literature course taught in their native language.
An O-Level, A-Level, or GSCE language result (for students from India, this would be a grade of X or XII) or an official record of satisfactory completion of a college-level language or literature course in their native language.

One approved 4-credit course devoted primarily to the study of some aspect of: a) the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East; or b) peoples of color in Australia, Europe, or North America; or c) peoples in North America whose primary language is other than English. The course must incorporate a diversity of perspectives. Courses are available in many fields of study; the courses meeting this requirement are designated in the catalog.

One designated course in each of the three divisions below.

Division I, Humanities
Division II, Science and Mathematics
Division III, Social Sciences
- Approved language courses may be used to meet either the language requirement or distribution; but the same course(s) may not meet both requirements for a student.
- A single course designated as either meeting language or distribution requirements may also be used by a student to meet the Multicultural Perspectives requirement, as long as it has been designated for the two requirements.

All students must complete a major of one of three types:

Departmental Major
At least 32 credits must be completed in the major field. At least 8 of those credits must be taken at the advanced (300) level. Specific requirements for each departmental major are listed in the catalog. Ask the department chair if you have questions about those requirements.
Interdisciplinary Major
At least 40 credits must be completed in the major. At least 12 of these credits must be at the advanced (300) level, and must be from at least two different departments. The interdisciplinary programs each have specific requirements for their majors; again, these are at the beginning of each program's course offerings in the catalog. Program chairs will answer questions about those requirements.
Special Major
At least 40 approved credits are required in the major. At least 20 of these credits must be taken at the advanced (300) level, from at least two different departments. Students apply for special, self-designed majors through the Dean of Studies. A special committee of faculty members is assigned to oversee the student's work. Specific requirements for the major are approved through the committee and the Dean of Studies.

Each student must declare a major in their sophomore year, no later than the end of the eighth week of classes of the second semester.

Optionally...

Students may also elect to complete any number (or none) of the following:

a second major
a minor (but not both a second major and a minor)
a Five College certificate
a Nexus program

No course included in a student's major may be included in their minor.

Note on ungraded courses

Students may take up to a total of four courses (16 credits) of work on an ungraded (credit/no-credit) basis. They may never be elected in the field of the student's declared major(s), nor applied to the minor, nor used to meet the College's multicultural, language or distribution requirements. Only one course may be taken ungraded within any one semester. If a course is taken ungraded, it may not be changed later to graded, even though a student may want to include it in their minor or toward a general requirement. For this reason, we suggest using the ungraded option carefully. The option is not intended to make it possible for students to do less work in a course than if that course were being taken for a letter grade.

Contact us

Office of the Registrar

The Office of the Registrar ensures the integrity of academic records and implements College policies regarding the curriculum. The Registrar's office is also responsible for release of official academic records and transcripts.

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