Undergraduate Program Requirements

Undergraduate Programs

• Areas of Study

This section includes course descriptions, general information and specific course and credit requirements for the University Core, undergraduate majors, minors and other programs of study.

Core Curriculum Requirements

All undergraduate students at BW pursue a course of study sufficiently varied to acquaint them with a broad spectrum of knowledge and to provide them a strong foundation in core academic skills. The knowledge and skills that students utilize and develop through their core courses are essential to their success in academic work as well as in their personal and professional lives. The core requirements include course work in the following areas: foundation courses in Mathematics, English Composition, and First-Year Experience (FYE 100 ); breadth courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences; wellness courses in Health and Physical Education; coursework in International Studies; and coursework in Diversity Studies. Completion of a minor adds depth in a particular area of study, to balance the breadth provided by distribution requirements across the Liberal Arts and Sciences. Each core course provides an opportunity for students to develop their skills in at least two of the following areas: written communication, oral communication, critical thinking, quantitative literacy, computer/information literacy, and teamwork.

Liberal Arts and Sciences Core – Total semester hour credits: 43

Mathematics – 3 credit hour minimum

MTH 135  or higher depending on major and minor.* Students majoring in Early Childhood Education take MTH 111  (4 credits) and MTH 113  (2 credits); Mild/Moderate Educational Needs majors take MTH 111  (4 credits) and MTH 112  (4 credits) for core. Prerequisite: Registration into these courses (except for MTH 137 ) requires students to have scored at least 22 on the quantitative portion of the ACT or at least 520 on the quantitative portion of the SAT. For students with both ACT and SAT scores, the higher placement will be used. Students who wish to challenge their ACT- or SAT-based placement, or students entering Baldwin Wallace University without ACT or SAT test scores, must take a mathematics placement test in order to take their MTH core course. Students should complete their MTH core requirement during their first two semesters at BW if they meet the prerequisite upon entry, or within their first three semesters if the prerequisite must be completed first.

*Exception to requirement: Students who received credit for AP Statistics or AP Calculus are exempt from the MTH core requirement and will receive credits as follows:

English Composition – 3 credit hours

ENG 131  - Workshop in Exposition and Argument, 3 credit hours. Prerequisite: ENG 111  or placement. Students placing into ENG 131  should take it within their first two semesters at BW. Students required to take ENG 111  should take it during their first semester at BW, and should take ENG 131  no later than their third semester at BW.

English Composition placement determined by ACT and SAT scores as follows:

Students may challenge their placement in ENG 111  or 131  by taking the English challenge exam, in which they write an essay under supervised conditions.  Students exempted from ENG 131  satisfy core requirements by completing 40 hours rather than 43.

First-Year Experience (FYE 100 )– 3 credit hours

First-Year Experience is required of all entering students or of transfer students bringing in less than 15 credits.

Humanities – 14 credit hours of core-designated coursework taken from the following areas:

Fine Arts – 4 hours from selected courses in: Art; Broadcasting; English; French, German, or Spanish Literature; Dance; Music; Philosophy; Theater (courses with “F” designation in the course number)

Cultural Heritage – 6 hours from at least two areas—History, Philosophy, Religion

General Humanities – 4 additional hours from any Humanities area listed above as well as Communication Studies, Communication Disorders, Chinese, Italian or courses with HUM-prefix

Natural Sciences – 7 credit hours of core-designated coursework, one of which must include a lab (indicated by an ‘L’ in the course number) from at least two of the following areas:

Social Sciences – 8 credit hours of core-designated coursework from at least two of the following areas:

Liberal Arts and Sciences electives – 3 additional credit hours of core designated coursework in Humanities, Natural Sciences or Social Sciences

Health and Physical Education – 2 credit-hour minimum

Students are required to take 2 credits to fulfill the HPE requirement with core-designated (W) activity, technique, or health and wellness related courses.  The W course requirement could be completed at any time and up to one credit hour can be transferred into BW.

International Studies

Students must fulfill one of the following three options*

Foreign Language: One year of one foreign language excluding Foreign Languages & Literature courses taught in English.

Study Abroad: This requirement can be fulfilled by one of the following:

1. Earning academic credit for at least three courses in an approved study abroad program.
2. Earning the equivalent of 15 credit-hours in an accredited college abroad.
3. Living abroad and attending a non-U.S. elementary or secondary school for at least one academic year.
4. Military deployment(s) or overseas duty station(s) for at least one academic year.
5. Other experiences abroad as approved by the Core Curriculum Committee.

Coursework in International Studies (courses with an ‘I’ designation)

Three courses with no more than two from the same department. Courses that fulfill the International Studies requirement meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Explore an international cultural or cultures, past and/or present.
2. Explore current global problems.
3. Develop competencies in international communications.
4. Explore international aspects of political and economic systems.

*International Studies core requirement does not apply to Music Education majors.

Diversity Studies (courses with a ‘D’ designation)

Students must complete one course designated as meeting the domestic diversity requirement. Courses that fulfill the Diversity Studies requirement have a significant amount of course content devoted to the analysis of domestic diversity, such as culture, race, religion, age, disability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, and social class. Courses that fulfill the Diversity Studies requirement meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Help students understand the historical or contemporary experiences of underrepresented groups in U.S. society.
2. Introduce students to the ways in which diversity in America enriches our intellectual, social and cultural lives.
3. Assist students in their preparation for both professional and civic life, by providing them perspective and insight on the diversity they will encounter in their workplaces and communities.
4. Provide students the foundation for asking and answering insightful questions about the ways in which diverse peoples interact with each other and the consequences of these interactions.

Letter Designations:

Areas of Study