Allegheny College: Off-Campus Studies

Curricular Options

Cooperative Programs (3-3, 3-2 or 3-1 Programs)

Independent Study and the ICIS Program

Cooperative Programs

General Information
Requirements
Fee And Transcript Information
Application Process
Allegheny Approved Cooperative Programs

General Information

Cooperative programs (often referred to as 3-3, 3-2, or 3-1 programs) enable Allegheny students to acquire a solid liberal arts background while accelerating their progress toward professional training and certification. Most of these require the successful completion of 96 semester credit hours at Allegheny before beginning course work at the cooperating institution.

Requirements

Students who want to participate in cooperative programs must complete:

the courses identified for an approved major, including the minor outside the division of the major
Allegheny's distribution requirements
the FS and APL requirements.

There are additional specific departmental course requirements for cooperative programs and students should consult with the appropriate program liaison person about them when planning their course of study. Satisfactory completion of the stated Allegheny requirements and the cooperating institution's requirements earns the student the bachelor's degree from Allegheny and the specified degree or certification from the cooperating institution.

Fee and Transcript Information

There is a maintenance fee payable to Allegheny for each year in which the student is enrolled at a cooperating institution. This fee, payable before final processing of the application can be completed, is $50 for two years at a cooperating institution, or $25 for one year. The maintenance fee helps to offset the costs of special record maintenance, correspondence, and transfer credit.

Because work at the cooperating institution is evaluated as transfer credit, transcripts showing that the student's work at the second institution has been satisfactory must be received before the Allegheny degree is awarded.

Application Process

Students who elect to complete any of the programs that involve three years of work at Allegheny and additional years at a cooperating institution should follow the steps below:

Obtain a "Cooperative Program Approval Agreement" form at International Programs and Services (Reis 200).
See their academic advisor and the appropriate cooperative program advisor to make sure all academic requirements have been addressed (per the form).
Complete the cooperative agreement form (fill in blanks and acquire appropriate signatures).
Early in the final semester at Allegheny, schedule an appointment with Jenny Kawata by contacting Linda Litzinger at the International Programs and Services (332-4891). At that time, students should review the steps to take through the entire cooperative program.
Students interested in cooperative programs at institutions not listed below will need to file an approval petition to the College.

Allegheny-Approved Cooperative Programs

Allied Health

A cooperative program in Medical Technology has been arranged with Rochester General Hospital School of Medical Technology (affiliated with the University of Rochester).
The program involves three years at Allegheny to fulfill basic science requirements and one year at Rochester to complete technical requirements. This arrangement permits students to earn an Allegheny bachelor's degree and certification in medical technology after four years of study.
Cooperative arrangements in any allied health field may be made at other institutions with the approval of the Allegheny faculty. Students in interested in pursuing such programs should first contact Kirsten Peterson, Health Professions Advisor (Reis Hall 102A).

Engineering

Allegheny has cooperative agreements with the following engineering departments: Columbia University, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Washington University (St. Louis). The Dual Degree (3/2) program typically involves three years at Allegheny and two years at one of the above listed schools.
After all requirements of both schools are met students will receive a Bachelor's degree from Allegheny in their major and a Bachelor's degree in engineering from the cooperating engineering school.
Students who participate in this program must generally complete their Allegheny requirements (major, minor, FS and distributive requirements) by the end of their third year. (The Senior Project requirement is waived for 3/2 students.) However, some of the cooperating institutions will accept students for up to a year after graduation from Allegheny.
Students must also complete certain course required by the cooperating institution including two-semesters of calculus-based physics, one semester of chemistry with lab, one semester of computer programming and mathematics courses through differential equations. Additional courses may be required depending on the institution and engineering subfield.
There is also a minimum GPA requirement, both overall and in the required courses. The minimum GPA varies depending upon the requirements of the cooperating institution.
Students should consult with their advisor in their major field and with the overall coordinator and physics liaison Professor Daniel Willey of the Physics Department (Carr 119) for specific program requirements. In addition, students can meet with the Chemistry department liaison Phillip Persichini or the Mathematics department liaison Tamara Lakins.

Public Policy: Carnegie Mellon Heinz School of Public Policy

Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management and Allegheny College offer an accelerated master's program to qualified Allegheny College students.
The program, structured as three years at Allegheny College followed by three to four semesters at the Heinz School (depending upon the program), will result in students receiving both bachelor's and master's degrees in less time than is usually required.
Programs of Study:
- Masters of Science in Public Policy Management (MSPPM)
- Masters of Science in Health Care Policy and Management (MSHCPM)
- Masters of Art Management (MAM)
- Masters of Information System Management (MISM)
Students will receive both bachelor's and master's degrees upon completion of their graduate program at Carnegie Mellon.
Students will pay tuition and fees to Allegheny College from their freshman through junior years. They will pay tuition and fees to Carnegie Mellon for their graduate program, either three or four semesters beyond the completion of the junior year, depending upon the program.
Interested students should consult with their advisor in their major field and with the overall coordinator of the Carnegie Mellon Public Policy Program, Stephen Onyeiwu, (212 Quigley Hall)

Nursing

Allegheny has a cooperative program with Case Western Reserve University for students intending to prepare for careers in nursing.
Students must first complete three years of study at Allegheny; they may then be admitted to advanced study at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing of CWRU. The arrangement with Case Western Reserve involves four years of advanced study in nursing
The student is awarded the appropriate Allegheny bachelor's degree after two years of advanced study, and, at the conclusion of the fourth year of nursing studies, s/he receives the Doctor of Nursing degree.
Admission to these nursing programs is competitive and the existence of a cooperative program between Allegheny and the other institution does not assure an Allegheny student admission. Students interested in the programs should consult with Kirsten Peterson, Health Professions Advisor (Reis Hall 102A), in their first year for specific course requirements.

Chatham Cooperative Program

Independent Study And The ICIS Program

With the approval of a faculty sponsor, students may design a course of study to pursue a topic of special interest. It should be noted that some departments limit the number of independent study credit hours that may be included in the major program. Independent study projects which are broad in scope, which may involve more than one department, and which call for the equivalent of several courses are approved through the Individualized Curriculum for Independent Study program.

Individualized Curriculum for Independent Study (ICIS) Program

The ICIS program allows students to receive academic credit for courses of study not described in the Catalogue. The minimum requirements for participation in this program are a 2.75 grade point average and sophomore class standing.

Students meeting these minimum requirements may submit a proposal (available at International Programs and Services) for an ICIS project. Students will design their own programs, which may take place either on or off the campus. The proposal must identify the student's level of preparation for undertaking the study. It should also explain how the study relates to the student's course of study at Allegheny and to a liberal arts education in general.

Finally, the proposal should address the manner in which scholastic rigor will be assured and the academic component of the study will be evaluated.

In preparing the proposal, the student must consult with faculty members and departmental ICIS liaisons (if appropriate) and International Programs and Services. Departmental faculty and ICIS liaisons will establish the guidelines for reviewing and granting ICIS credit. Final approval of all individual ICIS projects will be granted by the Director of International Programs and Services.

Members of the Allegheny faculty will serve as the final evaluators for all work performed in the ICIS program. Work will be evaluated each semester, using criteria established during the proposal process, and will be credited either by letter grade or Credit/No Credit. ICIS projects may be worth up to 32 semester hours of credit; students may apply for and receive permission to undertake more than one ICIS project during their tenure at Allegheny as long as the total number of credit hours received through all ICIS work does not exceed 32, and credit for any internship component(s) does not exceed eight semester hours.