Undergraduate Program Requirements

Undergraduate Programs

• Areas of Study

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

The BW Competency Curriculum

The BW Competency Curriculum is a nationally-unique program that we developed in response to employer demand for specific skills in college graduates. Unlike most other colleges, BW does not require a “core curriculum” that forces all students to take the same set of courses. BW’s Competency Curriculum allows you a range of choices; each choice provides professional “competencies” that employers and graduate schools say they want college graduates to have. Threaded through these choices are two unifying themes tied to BW’s mission: the consideration of what you mean when you say, I want to live a good life, and the ability to engage in civil, constructive dialogue across difference.

There are two levels to this curriculum: “foundational competencies” that provide essential skills every BW graduate must develop, and an “elective competency” that you choose and which will appear on your transcript. You will also develop a major field of study, which confers a professional-level competency, and most of you will develop a minor field of study, which confers an intermediate-level competency. In this way, every BW student graduates with at least ten areas of professional competency, rather than the two that most college programs confer.

BW Competency Curriculum Requirements

Level One: Foundational Competencies

1. Competency in Civic Literacy

First-Year Experience (FYE 100 )

First Year Experience helps you become acclimated to the academic life of the university and introduces you to the resources and life of the campus community. It also introduces the skills of civil dialogue that are the hallmark of the BW Competency Curriculum and the questions that are central to the BW Mission to help you live your best life.  FYE is required of all entering first-year students, including those first-year students who complete college credit as part of their high school curriculum (i.e., College Credit Plus/dual enrollment prior to high school graduation). Transfer students who have completed more than 15 transferable credit hours after they graduated from high school are exempt from the FYE 100  requirement.

One course in Civics

This course engages you in exploration of your civic identity. Through a class in history, politics, religion, or sociology, the course will ask questions about the development of democracies and the responsibilities of engaged citizenry.

2. Competency in Effective Communication

One course in English Composition

Foundational English Composition courses ensure that students have the writing skills necessary to succeed in entry-level university courses. ENG 131 - Workshop in Exposition and Argument . 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:

One course in Oral or Digital Communications

What communication skill do you think will best serve your career interests? Choose from a menu of courses that includes world languages, presentational speaking, interpersonal communications, public relations, broadcasting, media recording, and public relations.

One course in Writing Extension

This course will help you master professional writing in a style appropriate for your chosen discipline.

3. Competency in Quantitative Reasoning

One course in Core Math

Foundational Core Math helps students develop essential quantitative skills for all career paths. MTH 101 , MTH 105 , MTH 108 , MTH 120 , MTH 121 , MTH 140 , MTH 141 , or MTH 151 . Students majoring in Dual Primary Education and Mild/Moderate Educational Needs take MTH 111  (4 credits) and MTH 113  (4 credits) for core. Prerequisite: Registration into these courses (except for MTH 101 , MTH 105 , MTH 108 ) requires students to have scored at least 22 on the quantitative portion of the ACT, a SAT Math Section Score of 550 or higher, or a SAT Math Test Score of 27.5 or higher. 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 Calculus are exempt from the MTH core requirement and will receive credits as follows:

One course in Quantitative Extension

Choose from a menu of courses that help you expand your quantitative skills in a way that is appropriate for your chosen career path. Are you studying music? Take music theory. Are you studying engineering? Take calculus II. Are you studying art? Take our course on packaging. Learn how to make math work for you.

4. Competency in Wellness

Two credit hours of Wellness coursework

Foundational Wellness courses help students learn about the core elements of wellness: emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual. Students are required to take 2 credits to fulfill the Wellness requirement with competency-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.

5. Competency in Critical Analysis

One course in Analytical Reading

One Course in Formal Logical Reasoning from an Ethical, Religious, or Philosophical perspective

Employers say they want graduates who can “think critically.” Our courses provide multiple types of training in critical thinking, including quantitative and scientific reasoning, analytical reading, and formal logic. Choose from a menu with choices appropriate for your career path.

6. Competency in Scientific Reasoning

One course in Lab Science

Laboratory Science teaches observation, data analysis, and evidence-based reasoning. Choose one course from a wide range of choices.

7. Competency in Multicultural Literacy

Employers and graduate schools want candidates who can function effectively in diverse environments. The BW Competency Curriculum starts with civil dialogue training in the First Year Experience course. It also requires:

One Diversity-designated course that is about systems of power, inequality, and how institutions and individuals respond to them.

It also provides three different pathways to complete a requirement in International Studies. You can choose to

(a) take one course in a world language at the 200-level or higher. (One may not test out of this requirement.)

(b) take two courses in a world language at the 100-level or take two International-designated courses. These are courses that are designed to introduce you to a culture framework outside that of the United States.

(c) Study Abroad: Earn academic credit in a BW-approved Global Explorations study abroad program.

8. Competency in Creative Arts

One course in a Creative Art. Do you want to create? Learn to analyze or appreciate? Perform? It’s your choice.

Level Two: Elective Competency

Choose a three-course elective competency that adds a little something extra to your portfolio. Are you planning a career in music or art? Perhaps a competency in digital marketing is for you. In education? School districts like to see candidates with awareness of human psychological development. In business? Employers will appreciate a candidate who can advertise a competency in ethics. And everyone wants good writers.

Click for a specific list of courses that apply toward the BW Competency Curriculum and Elective Competency Options.

Course Letter Designations:

Areas of Study