Degrees

Wittenberg offers the following five undergraduate degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
• Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.)
• Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.)
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
• Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Credits

All candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree, Bachelor of Music degree, Bachelor of Music Education degree, Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or Bachelor or Science degree must complete 130 semester hours to earn their degree.

Grade-Point Average

To qualify for graduation, a student must attain a cumulative gradepoint average of C (2.0) and at least a C (2.0) average in each major field of concentration. To be certified as having completed a minor, a student must achieve a cumulative grade-point average of C (2.0) in the courses counted toward the minor.

Majors, Minors, and Electives

In addition to completing the general education requirements, each student must pursue at least one area of knowledge in depth. This is done by completing the requirements for a major concentration. The student has the option of completing the requirements for one or more minors. Generally, a major consists of 32 to 42 semester hours of credit, and a minor consists of 20 to 22 semester hours of credit. Each student completes the degree with electives sufficient in number to meet the minimum credit requirement of 130 semester hours.

Fields of Study Available as Majors (most also offer minors):

• American Studies
• Art
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Communication
• Computer Science
• Earth Science
• East Asian Studies
• Economics
• Education
• English
• French
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• Liberal Studies (SCE only)
• Management
• Mathematics
• Music
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Religion
• Russian Area Studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Theatre & Dance

Additional Minors:

• Chinese
• Creative Writing
• Computational Science
• Dance
• Environmental Studies
• Global Studies
• Japanese
• Journalism
• Marine Science
• Pre-Modern and Ancient World Studies
• Statistics
• Urban Studies
• Women’s Studies
• Writing

Others:

• Accounting
• Engineering
• Marine/Aquatic Biology
• Pre-Law
• Pre-Medicine (including Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Veterinary, and other health professions)
• Pre-Theology
• Mathematics
• Music
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science

Interdepartmental Majors

Students whose area of academic inquiry spans traditional disciplinary boundaries may design an interdepartmental major, composed of courses selected from several departments, all contributing to a unified theme, focus, or area of study.

Students desiring to plan an interdepartmental major must complete the following requirements as early in their college career as possible:

1. Form a three-member faculty team by October 1 of the junior year, each of whose area of specialization is relevant to the student's academic focus, to approve and oversee the implementation of the proposed interdepartmental major, ensuring that it meets the academic standards required of any Wittenberg major.*  One of the three faculty members must be (or become) the student's academic adviser.  If the student is creating an interdepartmental major whose focus lies in an existing program, such as Africana or Women's Studies, the program director must also be included as one of the faculty team.
2. Once the faculty team is in place, students must prepare a formal proposal containing the following:

• A complete list of all proposed coursework toward the completion of the major.
• A rationale for the proposed selection of courses and the student's objectives in creating a particular interdepartmental major.
• A plan for formal end-point assessment activities devised in conjunction with the faculty team.
• Approval of the proposal by the faculty team.
• Students must submit the formal proposal to the Assistant Provost for Academic Services by February 1 of the junior year.

*Any interdepartmental major must demonstrate breadth of study; that is, coursework must "introduce students to the range of essential topics and practices within the field."  It must also demonstrate depth of study and "involve each student in advanced study in at least some aspects of the field," typically "achieved by several upper-level courses."  An interdepartmental major consists of at least 36 semester hours; required coursework should include no fewer than eight semester hours at the 300 level or higher, and no more than twelve semester hours at the 100 level.  Additionally, the interdepartmental major must accomplish the general education goals required of any major (Faculty Manual, Academic Policies).  The interdepartmental major must include courses that allow the student to address the component of the writing goal within the major (i.e., two of the classes counted toward the interdepartmental major must be writing intensive - W), the Speaking goal, the Research goal, the Computing goal, and the Diversity of Human Experience goal.

Assessment of Student Achievement

Wittenberg’s general education program and each of its major programs are organized around distinct learning goals. Students typically accomplish these learning goals by completing a variety of general education courses and courses in their major field of study. To ensure that students are meeting these goals, as well as satisfactorily completing the requisite courses in general education and in their major, the university has established a formal assessment program. Each student is expected to complete assessment activities that monitor both individual progress and departmental or program effectiveness. In addition to university-wide assessment, each department designs and administers its own assessment activities, including “end point” assessment of its majors in the senior year.

Assessment makes it possible for the university not only to evaluate student achievement of learning goals and the effectiveness of its academic programs, but also to discover opportunities to improve teaching and learning. As such, assessment is a central feature of liberal learning at Wittenberg and an integral component of its commitment to continuous quality improvement.

No student is advanced to candidacy for a degree until he or she has completed required departmental assessment activities. Departments inform their majors in a timely manner regarding assessment procedures and requirements.

Residence Requirements

At least 50 percent of the semester-hour credits for all course work and 50 percent of the semester-hour credits for course work in the major are to be completed while in residence. At least one of the last two semesters must be done in residence. Any deviation from this regulation must have approval of the Provost. Seniors applying to nonaffiliated and study-abroad programs must petition for part of the residency requirement to be waived.

Upon the approval of the Provost and the major department involved, a student who enters a graduate or professional school at the end of the junior year and works toward a post-baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree may be granted the Bachelor of Arts degree upon completion of the advanced degree at the graduate or professional school provided that (1) the student completed 98 semester hours of credit; (2) the student completed at least 64 semester hours of credit while in residence at Wittenberg; (3) the student completed at least one of the last two semesters in residence at Wittenberg; (4) the student met the major and general education requirements stipulated in the Academic Catalog (In rare and special circumstances, certain requirements may be waived by petition.); (5) the student is in good standing and has at least a 3.000 grade-point average at Wittenberg and its equivalent in the courses taken at the graduate or professional school.

The student’s major department and the Provost are responsible for judging the appropriateness of the courses upon submission in writing of course descriptions by the student with the confirming transcript from the graduate or professional school.

Academic Year

The academic year begins in late August and concludes in early May. It is divided into two semesters, each of which is 16 weeks in length, including one week for final examinations. Progress toward the degree is measured in semester hours. A student should earn an average of approximately 16 semester hours each semester (32 semester hours each year) to graduate at the end of four years.

Summer Session

For the student who wishes to accelerate the program, Wittenberg conducts a summer session through the School of Community Education. Most courses that meet during the day meet daily, Monday through Friday; most evening courses meet two or three times weekly. Additional information is available from the School of Community Education.