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The College of Arts and Science
Bachelor of Arts Degree Programs
The Bachelor of Arts degree provides a broad-based liberal education while allowing students the option of practical application of their studies through Drexel's well-established cooperative education program. (In some cases, four-year options or alternatives to the co-op experience are available.)

The B.A. degree continues the Drexel focus on critical reasoning, a strong grounding in arts and sciences, and effective development of communication skills. The degree is intended to provide a solid liberal arts background for graduate study as well as for professional degrees in such areas as law, public history, foreign service, education, counseling, social work, public health, and medicine.

While the B.A. degree requires more liberal arts courses than the Bachelor of Science degree, it also allows more varied choices in the fulfillment of math and science requirements. The B.A. degree prepares students for an everchanging and culturally diverse world and will provide them with the tools they will need to be leaders in industry, arts, government, and human services. Drexel's strong advising program helps students learn more about the degree options and which option best matches each student's long-term goals.

Curricular Organization for Science and Mathematics Majors
All Students in the majors in biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and unified science study essentially the same or similar subjects during the freshman year. This recognizes the fundamental knowledge common to those disciplines; it also allows for transfer between majors at the end of the freshman year without loss of time.

Upper-class students in those disciplines are given the opportunity to take electives in liberal, scientific, and technically related fields.

The flexibility available in the elective programs and the opportunity to complete an academic minor permit students to prepare for continuing studies in graduate or professional school, for work in government or industry, or for a change in educational goals.

Generally the basic requirements in each major are completed prior to the senior year. Thus, for science and mathematics majors, the technical electives in the last year may be selected in some advanced specialty within the specific major, and free electives may be used for enrichment or to prepare for a change of field. Each student's elective program must be approved by and adviser from his or her major department.

Curricular Organization for Humanities and Social Science Majors
Students majoring in the humanities and social sciences complete the same or similar sets of courses in the freshman and sophomore years. Some of these courses (for instance, the humanities sequences) are identical for all students, including science majors, while others may vary by discipline (for instance, Calculus I for majors in the technical and science track of the communication major but Calculus I or Introduction to Analysis I for psychology majors). All students majoring in a humanities or social sciences field are encouraged to take at least one course in their proposed field of concentration in the freshman year. Intensive work in a specific concentration begins in the sophomore year, but in each year after the first, students have an opportunity to take at least one elective course. All humanities and social sciences majors have a significant degree of flexibility, allowing them to complete disciplinary requirements and, through electives, to take a minor or another major or prepare for entry into graduate or professional school.

Majors in Science or Mathematics with Secondary and Elementary Teacher Certification

The School of Education offers innovative and science-intensive curricula that combine academic majors with appropriate coursework and experiences to satisfy state requirements for certification in biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, mathematics, physics, and elementary education. Students interested in the teacher education programs should contact the director of the School.

Accelerated Program and Bachelor's/Master's Dual Degree Program
The Accelerated Program of the College of Arts and Sciences provides opportunities for highly talented and strongly motivated students to progress toward their educational goals essentially at their own pace. Primarily through advanced placement, credit by examination, flexibility of scheduling, and independent study, the program makes possible the completion of the undergraduate curriculum and the master's degree in science disciplines in five years. Students enrolled in this program may take advantage of the five-year Bachelor's/Master's Dual Degree Program described in the Academic Regulations section.

Preprofessional Programs
Students wishing to prepare for admission to professional schools of law, medicine, veterinary medicine, or dentistry may obtain preprofessional counseling and assistance in making application from the Office of Preprofessional Programs, 215-895-2437.

Degree Requirements
Certification for graduation is provided by the individual department or program according to the requirements for each major, which are set forth in subsequent pages. The minimum number of credits required for the degree of Bachelor of Science varies from one department and program to another but in no case does it exceed 192 credits of academic work with two to six terms of co-operative experience.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements
In order to graduate, all students beginning with the entering class of 2002/01 (fall, 2002) must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog indicates that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. Departments will designate specific sections of such courses as writing-intensive. Sections of writing-intensive courses are not indicated in this catalog. Students should check the section comments in Banner when registering. Students scheduling their courses in Banner can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term. For more information on writing-intensive courses, see the Drexel University Writing Program's Writing-Intensive Course page.