To receive a degree from Allegheny, students must complete the following requirements:
The Graduation Requirements are designed to provide all students with diverse learning opportunities, as well as with depth in more than one area. Every student must complete work in each division of the College. The academic departments and interdisciplinary programs of the College are classified in divisions as follows:
Art, Communication Arts, English, Modern and Classical Languages (includes French, German, Latin, and Spanish), Music, Philosophy and Religious Studies.
Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Geology, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics.
Economics, Environmental Studies, History, International Studies, Political Science, Psychology.
For the purposes of the College Graduation requirements, courses offered by Women's Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies are considered to be outside all three divisions.
Each student must successfully complete 131 semester credit hours. These shall include courses taken to meet the first-year/sophomore requirements, the major requirement, the minor requirement, the distribution requirement, and the Senior Project requirement, as well as elective courses.
All students are required to take three FS courses in the first two years, FS 101, 102, and 201, as well as three advising courses, Academic Planning 102, 201, and 202. The FS program encourages careful listening and reading, thoughtful speaking and writing, and reflective academic planning and self-exploration. These courses provide opportunities to develop communication and research skills useful for generating, exploring, defending, and challenging ideas. This background prepares students to succeed in the Junior Seminar and Senior Project that are required in the student's major. Taken together, the FS program, Junior Seminar, and Senior Project ensure that all Allegheny graduates are equipped to think critically and creatively, to communicate clearly and persuasively, and to meet challenges in a diverse, interconnected world.
FS 101 Descriptive Communication and Inquiry
All first-year students take Descriptive Communication and Inquiry during
the fall semester; the seminar instructor serves as the student's first
academic advisor. The seminar contains both a significant academic component
focused on developing oral and written communication skills and an integral
advising component that assists students in exploring their interests and
possible academic paths. The topical material covered in the seminar varies
from section to section and year to year, and students select a seminar
from a wide range of sections organized around different topics and taught
by faculty from different departments.
FS 102 Persuasive Communication
All first-year students take Persuasive Communication during the spring semester.
This course builds on the work completed in Descriptive Communication and
Inquiry and emphasizes written and oral communication with a focus on persuasion.
The topical material covered in the seminar varies from section to section
and year to year, and students select a seminar from a wide range of sections
organized around different topics and taught be faculty from different
departments.
FS 201 Communication in a Discipline
Taken during the sophomore year, this seminar explores speaking and writing
skills with attention to expectations for compelling speech and writing
within a specific academic field. Students investigate what counts as persuasive
evidence in the discipline and why, the conventions of communications in
the discipline, and the methods by which practitioners position their work
within the larger disciplinary context. In practice, most students elect
to take FS 201 in a department in which they expect to major or minor;
however, this is not required.
Each student is required to take a sequence of three one-credit advising units (Academic Planning 102, Academic Planning 201, and Academic Planning 202) beginning the second semester of the first year and extending through each semester of the sophomore
year. The courses assist students in exploring their interests and designing a program of study and co-curricular activities that meets their academic, professional, and life goals.
All Allegheny students must complete a major consisting of 32 to 48 semester credit hours, including the Junior Seminar and Senior Project. Students must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in the major. A maximum of 64 semester credit hours may be required by the major, including collateral and prerequisite courses, though students may choose to take more credit hours in any given department.
Seventeen departments at Allegheny offer at least one major; several offer two or more. Three interdisciplinary majors in International Studies, Neuroscience and Women's Studies also are available, providing 30 choices in all.
Students may also double major and design their own major programs. All traditional majors are described by department under "Courses of Instruction"; double majors and student-designed majors are described here.
Students electing majors in addition to the graduation major must fulfill all requirements for each program. Each additional major must contain at least 20 credits not counted in another major or minor.
Students should select a major advisor and declare a major (as well as a minor or second major) by the end of the sophomore year, after consulting with their current advisors and perhaps the Counseling Center, and after completing their Academic Planning Portfolio. Students who will have 72 or more credits by the end of their current semester at Allegheny will not be permitted to register for the next semester until they have declared a major and a minor or second major. Appropriate forms for declaring a major may be obtained at the Office of the Registrar.
No more than 64 semester credit hours from any one department may be counted toward graduation. Additional credits may be earned in the major department, but they will not count among the 131 required for graduation.
All Allegheny students must complete a minor (or second major) containing at least 12 credits outside the division of the (first) major. Students whose first major requires courses from more than one division should consult the major description to determine the division of the major and options for fulfilling the minor requirement. Minors require at least 20 credits of coursework with a minimum grade point average of 2.00. Courses may not be counted for both the major and the minor. Forms for declaring a minor may be obtained at the Office of the Registrar.
When a second major is used to fulfill the College Minor Requirement, it must contain at least 20 credit hours that do not also count toward the first major. At least 12 of these 20 credit hours must be outside the division of the first major. Interdivisional majors may take any minor or any second major to fulfill the requirement.
Students electing minors in addition to the graduation minor must fulfill all requirements for each program. Each additional minor must contain at least 12 credits not counted in another major or minor. View the list of available minors.
All students must complete a Senior Project in their major. The Senior Project is not a mere report or semester paper, but a significant piece of independent study, research or creative work. An oral defense, required by most departments as the culminating point of the Senior Project, may involve a comprehensive examination of the student's departmental studies.
A student completing two majors may complete two Senior Projects or, with the approval of both departments, one project that integrates both disciplines and is evaluated jointly by both departments. In the latter case, the Senior Project will fulfill the Senior Project requirement for the major in the respective departments.
A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 is required for graduation from the College. Descriptions of the grading system and the academic standing requirements are found in the pages "Grading Systems" and "Academic Standing."
The residency requirement is satisfied upon completion of 64 semester credit hours "in residence." Of these, a student's final 16 semester credit hours before graduation must be taken in residence. Work in residence is undertaken through registration at Allegheny and supervision of Allegheny faculty, who evaluate the student's performance. Students are not required to live on campus or in Meadville to satisfy the residency requirement.
