Adapted from Middlebury College Handbook 2007-2008, available online at http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/academics
A. Degree Requirements for students entering in Fall 2007
Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree must complete 36 courses. At least 18 of these courses must be Middlebury courses. Courses taken at Middlebury summer Language Schools or at the Middlebury Schools Abroad will count in the 18-course total and the grades will count in the undergraduate grade point average. No more than six courses with a D grade may be applied to degree requirements. A minimum of two winter term courses are required and a maximum of four winter term courses will count toward the graduation requirement of 36 courses. First-year students must be in residence for their first winter term and enrolled in a winter term course on campus. Specific requirements follow:
1. Residency. First-year students must be enrolled in a Middlebury course during their first winter term at the College. Residency in Middlebury, VT, for the fall and spring semesters of the student's senior year is required for all students unless excused by the Administration Committee.
2. A writing-intensive seminar for first-year students (FYSE) must be completed during the first semester.
3. Each student must elect a second writing-intensive course during the second, third, or fourth semester at Middlebury. A college writing course taken concurrently with a first-year seminar does not satisfy this requirement. Writing-intensive classes devote special attention to the process of writing and revision and are designated in the Middlebury College Catalog as CW.
4. Each student must complete the distribution requirements described below and in the “Degree Programs and Projects’ section of the Middlebury College Handbook.
5. Each student must complete a major. Minors are optional.
6. Each student must complete two physical education units prior to graduation unless excused by the Administration Committee, normally upon recommendation of the College Health Service. See the Middlebury College Catalog for details on physical education courses.
7. The normal pattern for earning the baccalaureate degree at Middlebury College is four consecutive years of study. The requirements must be completed within ten calendar years from the initial date of matriculation. If a student is not able to complete the degree within that time frame, s/he will be held to the curriculum and degree requirements listed in the Catalog in the year in which they are readmitted, or as determined by the Administration Committee.
B. Distribution Requirements
All students must complete two sets of distribution requirements: (a) academic categories, and (b) cultures and civilizations.
Courses that count toward the major and the minor may be used to satisfy distribution requirements. Winter term courses, first-year seminars, and College writing courses may also be used to satisfy distribution requirements.
Independent study courses do not qualify for distribution requirements.
Students must take at least one course in seven of eight academic categories described below. Single courses can be listed with two distribution categories. A student may count a single course in no more than one academic category requirement.
1. Academic Categories
a. Literature (LIT)
Literature has been a central form of expression for many societies. Analysis and appreciation of the literary text give students insight into the minds and lives of other human beings, both their own cultural predecessors and people of different traditions, and into the process whereby human experience is imaginatively transformed into art. By studying literature in English and in other languages, students also sharpen their ability to express their own ideas with grace and precision.
b. The Arts (ART)
The understanding of the history, theory, and practice of the arts is an integral part of a liberal arts education. Courses in this category either emphasize the creative process through the making and performing of actual works of art (ranging from paintings and sculptures to plays, dances, creative writing, film/video, and musical compositions) or study the place of such works of art within a particular historical, cultural, or aesthetic context.
c. Philosophical and Religious Studies (PHL)
Courses in this category examine philosophical systems and religious traditions from a variety of viewpoints, including analytical, systematic, historical, sociological, anthropological, and phenomenological perspectives. Some courses deal with specific philosophical problems or theological issues; others trace the history of philosophy or of religious traditions; still others examine philosophical schools of thought or religious traditions during specific periods of history.
d. Historical Studies (HIS)
History is that branch of knowledge that seeks to account for the diverse ways in which human beings in different cultures and societies have all met and responded to temporal change. Courses in this area study the development of societies and cultures over time.
e. Physical and Life Sciences (SCI)
Courses in this category study inductive and deductive processes of science. Emphasis is on the methods used to gather, interpret, and evaluate data critically, and the placement of this information into a larger context. Fundamental principles of each discipline are discussed in a manner that illustrates the evolving relationship of science, technology, and society.
f. Deductive Reasoning and Analytical Processes (DED)
Courses in this category deal with one or more of the following: (a) basic principles of reasoning and the axiomatic method; (b) statistical methods for analyzing and interpreting data; (c) key mathematical concepts; (d) abstract symbolic manipulation or reasoning.
g. Social Analysis (SOC)
This category deals with the analysis of the individual in society. Courses in this area involve the systematic study of human behavior and the processes and results of human interaction through organizations and institutions, both formal and informal. Social analysis can be undertaken from a variety of perspectives: inductive (using data to make generalizations about human behavior), deductive (using principles to search for and to develop new theories), and normative (using values to recognize important questions and to evaluate alternative answers).
h. Foreign Language (LNG)
Speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a language other than one's own exercise and expand the mind. Because of the close interdependence between language and culture, study of a foreign language helps one gain insights into other societies and ultimately one's own. Courses in this category include many, but not all, of those taught in a foreign language or which focus on texts in a foreign language.
2. Cultures and Civilizations Requirement
Middlebury College believes that students should have broad educational exposure to the variety of the world's cultures and civilizations. Because cultural differences are based upon, among other factors, geography as well as history, ethnicity as well as gender, issues pertaining to cultural difference are integral to most of the academic disciplines represented in the curriculum. Accordingly, Middlebury students are required to complete a cultures and civilizations requirement consisting of one course in each of the following four categories:
a. AAL: courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
b. CMP: courses that focus on the process of comparison between and among cultures and civilizations, or courses that focus on the identity and experience of separable groups within cultures and civilizations.
c. EUR: courses that focus on some aspect of European cultures and civilizations.
d. NOR: courses that focus on some aspect of the cultures and civilizations of northern America (United States and Canada)
A single course may be listed as fulfilling no more than two of the four categories above (as determined by the Curriculum Committee). If two of the four categories are listed for a single course, a student may choose which category the course will fulfill, but a single course cannot count for two categories. A student may, however, count the same course toward both an academic category requirement, and the cultures and civilizations requirement. Courses that count toward the major and the minor, winter term courses, and first year student seminars may be used to satisfy the cultures and civilizations requirement.
College Board Advanced Placement credits may not be used to satisfy distribution or cultures and civilizations requirements.
C. Major Programs of Study
Students choose one of the following programs of study:
(a) 1 major (departmental, joint, or interdisciplinary)
(b) 1 major (departmental, joint, or interdisciplinary), 1 minor
(c) 1 departmental major, 2 minors
(d) 2 majors* (either 2 departmental or one departmental and one interdisciplinary), no minor (a student declaring two majors may elect a Teacher Education minor).
*A student who has declared two majors will have to choose to complete only one major should scheduling conflicts occur.
A major requires a minimum of 10 fall and spring semester courses. Students may take no more than 16 fall and spring semester courses and, in addition, no more than two winter term courses in a major department or program.
All students must officially declare a major by the end of the third semester. Any student who wishes to complete a second major must officially declare by the end of the fourth semester of study. After the fourth semester, students wishing to add a second major, or change majors, must petition and gain approval from the new department or program to ensure that the student can complete the major by the end of the eighth semester.
Some highly structured programs, particularly those involving study in the foreign languages or the natural sciences, are facilitated by a declaration of major by the end of the second semester.
A department may define standards for the admission of students to its major program. Students who do not meet these standards may be denied admission or may be admitted provisionally, pending demonstration of their qualifications for advanced work in the department.
Major/Adviser Declaration/Change forms are available in the Office of the Registrar and each of the Commons offices. The declaration form must be signed by the chair of the major department or program (or designee).
D. Change of Major
To change a major, a student must present an academic plan for completion of the new major or program to the adviser and chair or director (or designee) of the proposed major department or program. Upon gaining approval of that plan, the student must submit a Change of Major form to the Office of the Registrar, signed by the adviser in the present major department or program, and the adviser and chair (or designee) of the proposed major department or program.
E. Joint Majors
To complete a joint major, a student is required to:
1. Secure formal approval from advisers and chairs (or designees) in both departments or programs. To gain that approval, the student is required to work with the chairs (or designees) of both departments or programs on an academic program for completion of the proposed joint major. The minimum requirements agreed upon, and the overall program, along with the combined total of 14 fall and spring semester courses, must be submitted in writing with the signature of the two department or program chairs (or designees) to the Office of the Registrar.
2. Complete a senior program which combines both majors and is agreed upon by the advisers and department or program chairs (or designees) involved. That senior work may include or exclude normal expectations regarding independent work and general examinations as appropriate.
A student declaring a joint major may not declare any other major.
F. Two Majors
To complete two separate majors (either 2 departmental or one departmental and one interdisciplinary), a student is required to:
1. Formally declare both majors according to procedures stated above, with the approval of the chairs (or designees) of both departments or programs.
2. Complete all the requirements for the major in each department or program. A course will meet the requirements of more than one major for the same student if that specific course is listed by number and name, in the college catalogue, as specifically required for both majors. Up to two courses implicitly or explicitly listed as generic or categorical requirements of both majors will also meet the requirements of more than one major for the same student. No other courses will be counted as satisfying the requirements of more than one major for the same student except by specific action of the Curriculum Committee and faculty.
3. A student declaring two majors may not declare any minors, with the Teacher Education minor as an exception to that rule.
G. Minors
A student declaring one major (departmental, joint, or interdisciplinary) may choose to declare up to two minors. A student declaring two majors may not declare any minors, with the Teacher Education minor as an exception to that rule.
Normally, all students choosing to declare a minor will do so officially by the end of the Add period of the seventh semester.
Minors will consist of four to six courses, at least one of which must be at an advanced level.
Departments and programs may designate configurations of courses that will constitute a minor (or minors) for that department, program, or major.
Students may not self-design a minor.
Faculty may design interdepartmental minors in those areas of the curriculum in which a major is not offered.
Minors will be listed on students' transcripts.
A course may count toward a student's major or minor, but not toward both. A course counted toward one minor may not be counted toward an additional minor.