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2023-2024 Catalog
Bachelor of Arts
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Bachelor of Arts - (AB, Artium Baccalaureae) Wesleyan offers the bachelor of arts degree through a rigorous four-year curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences that is faithful to the origins of the college and that encompasses the best of current thinking about education. The curriculum ensures depth of knowledge through the required major and the optional minor. It ensures breadth of learning through an exciting, learner-centered general education program that grows directly out of the mission of the college.
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Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts
I. The student must satisfy proficiency in modern foreign language and writing.
A. Modern Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement
Wesleyan values the insights into other cultures that people learn through the study of modern foreign languages and thus requires for Day Program students a minimum of two semesters (101 and 102) of one language or its equivalent. The College offers beginning courses in Chinese (Mandarin), French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish for students who do not already meet the requirement upon matriculation. For Online Program students, students may meet a minimum of two semesters (101 and 102) of one language or its equivalent, or take both SPA 111: Spanish for Professionals I and SPA 112: Spanish for Professionals II .
Means of meeting the Modern Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement:
- Students entering Wesleyan may show proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin), French, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish through taking the College’s new student assessments and placing above the second-semester level of the language (101 and 102). Students who place out of the first-semester (101) level will complete the requirement by taking the second-semester (102) course. Students placed into SPA 102 are encouraged to take SPA 100 in the semester prior to SPA 102 as a review, especially if they have not been in a Spanish class for more than a year.
- Students may complete courses through the second-semester level (both 101 and 102 in Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish). A student must earn a grade of C or better in the 101-level courses in order to continue into the next course. A grade of D or higher in the 102- level course will satisfy proficiency credit.
- Online Program students only may optionally take SPA 111: Spanish for Professionals I and SPA 112: Spanish for Professionals II .
- International students whose home country does not have English as an official language according to The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency, and who were required to take the TOEFL as part of the college admission process, will be exempted from the foreign language proficiency requirement, but may take language courses as part of their regular course of study. Exempted students will not receive any credit hours for the exemption.
B. Means of meeting the Writing Proficiency Requirement:
- Students with an SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing score below 510 or a composite ACT score below 19 or a low score on the entry placement test must enroll in WRI 101 in one of their first two semesters at Wesleyan. WRI 101 is a credit-bearing course designed to help students achieve proficiency at college-level writing.
- Non-native speakers of English may enroll in WRI 100 in lieu of WRI 101 .
- A grade of D or higher will satisfy proficiency credit.
- Students transferring credit for the equivalent of ENG 101 or ENG 102 do not need to enroll in WRI 100 /WRI 101 . However, if their SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing score is below 510 or their composite ACT score is below 19, they are strongly encouraged to take the course.
II. The student must complete the Wesleyan general education program.
The Wesleyan General Education Program. Wesleyan College’s General Education Program gives students the chance to gain knowledge and develop skills needed to live purposefully and successfully in a rapidly changing world. The Wesleyan College General Education Program broadens student’s perspectives and encourages innovation. A successful Wesleyan College graduate integrates knowledge from many sources, thinks deeply and creatively, and understands and responds to her individual, local, and global responsibilities. A Wesleyan College graduate sees the importance of and makes connections among liberal arts disciplines: humanities and fine arts, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. Students live as an engaged citizen, making sound ethical and personal decisions, communicating their views clearly and persuasively and working in communities to solve problems.
The General Education curriculum provides academic experiences for students to hone their intellectual, expressive, and creative skills individually and collaboratively. The curriculum enables students to learn about the world through a variety of disciplinary perspectives and ways of learning. Many of these experiences also challenge disciplinary boundaries, encouraging students to integrate strategies for understanding, analyzing, evaluating, and contributing to a body of knowledge. Students build a foundation through writing, speaking, and quantitative reasoning courses as well as Wesleyan’s First-Year Seminar. Additionally, students explore domains of knowledge and synthesizing perspectives by taking courses in the following areas: 1) Historical Events and Phenomena, 2) the Natural World, 3) Individuals and Communities, 4) Thinking and Expressing Creatively, 5) Women’s Experiences and 6) the Diverse and Interdependent World.
The General Education Program at Wesleyan College requires 34-35 credit hours and a minimum of 11 courses, distributed as follows:
- 4 courses in foundation building
- 4 courses for exploring fundamental issues that meet different learning objectives
- 3 courses for synthesizing perspectives while expanding foundational knowledge
In the process of completing these courses, students shall take two courses (with different prefixes) from each of the following four academic divisions:
- fine arts
- humanities
- natural science and mathematics
- social and behavioral sciences/professional studies.
The requirements of the General Education Program are closely tied to the foundation building categories and six domains of knowledge outlined below. The details of each of the various required courses are explained in sections A-D below.
Foundation Building. As she pursues her studies in general education, a Wesleyan student builds a foundation for knowledge in the following areas:
- The Wesleyan Integrative Seminar Experience
- Writing
- Speaking
- Quantitative Reasoning
Domains of Knowledge and Synthesizing Perspectives. Through General Education coursework, a student develops an understanding of:
- Historical events and phenomena: how current thought, actions, and behaviors are informed by historical events and phenomena;
- Natural world: how the natural world functions;
- Individuals and communities: how individuals function and interact within and among communities;
- Thinking and expressing creatively: how individuals and groups think and express creatively through diverse art forms and media;
- Women’s experiences: how women’s experiences are shaped by such factors as age, class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexuality;
- Diverse and interdependent world: how living in a diverse and interdependent world presents both challenges and opportunities.
A. Foundation Building: The Wesleyan Integrative Seminar Experience (2 courses).
Each first-year student taking in-person courses shall complete the Wesleyan Integrative Seminar Experience (WISe 101), which will lay the foundation for her future coursework at Wesleyan. Students who enter Wesleyan begin their academic program with this course designed to introduce academic life at Wesleyan by modeling our diverse and challenging academic community, asking students to examine intentionally the value of a Wesleyan education for them, and helping them acquire skills and strategies for success at Wesleyan. Students will also take a one credit Transition to College seminar (WISe 110) that will introduce students to the important tools and resources available at Wesleyan to help a student succeed.
Entering first-year students taking in-person courses must complete WISe requirements. Because WIS 101 and WIS 110 are fundamental for success at Wesleyan College, students may not withdraw from these courses. The only exception is that students who have reached the point in WIS 101 or WIS 110 when it is impossible for them to earn a grade above an F, students may petition their WISe instructor and the WISe Faculty Coordinator for permission to withdraw from the course. If both the instructor and the WISe Faculty Coordinator give permission, the student may withdraw from the course through the Registrar’s Office by submitting the Withdrawal From a Class form before the withdrawal date as posted on the academic calendar.
Students who withdraw from or do not pass one or more of these courses with a D or better (or earn CR via the CR/NC grading option) will be permitted to petition to have the WIS 101 and/or WIS 110 requirement waived once they achieve 30 credit hours in good academic standing. The advisor must submit the appropriate Requirement Waiver form to the Registrar’s Office.
Upon completing this requirement, students will 1) develop evidence-based collaboration discussion skills to prepare them to participate in a diverse community of learners and 2) develop the academic and selfefficacy skills needed to make a successful transition to college.
Day Program Students. Day Program students entering Wesleyan in the fall semester directly from high school will fulfill their Wesleyan Integrative Seminar Experience requirements by completing WIS 101 and WIS 110 during the fall semester of their first year of college.
Day Program students entering directly from high school in the spring semester will be permitted to petition to have the WIS 101 and WIS 110 requirement waived once they achieve 30 credit hours in good academic standing. The advisor must submit the appropriate Requirement Waiver form to the Registrar’s Office.
Day Program students who have earned an associate’s degree through joint/dual enrollment while in high school have the option of choosing the First-Year Students curriculum or the Transfer and Online Program curriculum. The student is responsible for notifying the Registrar’s Office of her decision before the end of the drop/take period of her first semester. Should the student fail to notify the Registrar before the published end of the drop/take period of her first semester, she will be classified as a transfer student.
If students are concerned about their WIS 101 grade at the Split Term A Withdrawal date, they have the option to switch from letter grades to Credit/No Credit.
Transfer and Online Program Students (either transfers or first-time college students). Students who have completed two semesters of full-time enrollment at another institution and Online students (either first-time college students or transfers) are exempt from the Wesleyan Integrative Seminar Experience requirements.
B. Foundation Building: Writing, Speaking, and Quantitative Reasoning (3 courses).
To develop and strengthen skills in writing, oral communication, and quantitative reasoning, each student is required to complete one 3-4 hour course in each of these three areas. The course may be in any field including the major field.
Writing
The Writing Foundation Building course, ENG 101 , ensures that students learn to write clearly and correctly to convey their ideas to a variety of professional and academic audiences. It stresses the importance of proper source use, clear argumentation, and an understanding of basic rhetorical formats and professional style guides, such as MLA and APA. Because students will benefit from learning research writing skills early in their academic careers, ENG 101 must be completed within a student’s first 30 hours at Wesleyan. Upon completing this requirement, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) incorporate material from credible and relevant sources to support or extend ideas and 2) use appropriate and relevant content and language to develop ideas.
Students who do not meet writing proficiency must successfully complete WRI 101 before they can take ENG 101 and fulfill the Writing Foundation Building requirement. Those students must enroll in WRI 101 in one of their first two semesters.
Speaking
The Speaking Foundation Building requirement is designed to develop in students the ability to think critically, reason soundly, and evaluate evidence correctly. In addition, students should learn to organize information coherently, articulate content clearly, deliver ideas effectively, listen to others appropriately, and engage in constructive discussion and debate in a variety of interpersonal, group, and public contexts. Upon completing this requirement, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) deliver content in an organized, understandable, and compelling way tailored to audience, occasion, and event and 2) use evidence to develop and support claims in an organized way.
Students will fulfill the Speaking requirement by earning or receiving credit for one of the following:
Quantitative Reasoning
The Quantitative Reasoning Foundation Building requirement is intended to help develop a student’s understanding of some of the logical, numerical, and graphical aspects of problems and issues of interest. Such an understanding is needed in our technological society, and has a wide variety of applications in virtually all academic and vocational endeavors.
New students who do not have an SAT or ACT Math score must take a mathematics assessment to determine which of the mathematics courses is most appropriate. A student with an SAT mathematics score of 610 or higher or an ACT mathematics score of 28 or higher may register for any of the Quantitative Reasoning courses listed below. Upon completing this requirement, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) solve quantitative problems in a clear and concise manner and 2) interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, and tables, and draw inferences from them.
Students will fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning requirement by earning or receiving credit for one of the following:
C. Exploring Domains of Knowledge (4 courses).
All Wesleyan students will be exposed to domains of knowledge from different disciplines. The Exploring courses meet the following learning objectives and students will fulfill the Exploring requirement by earning or receiving credit for one of the following in all objectives:
1. Historical events and phenomena:
how current thought, actions, and behaviors are informed by historical events and phenomena. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) analyze change and continuity in the development of a particular historical event, behavior, or phenomenon and 2) explain the connection between a current event, behavior, or phenomenon and an event or series of events in the past.
2. Natural world:
how the natural world functions. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) use empirical evidence to analyze or explain natural phenomena and 2) test hypotheses in a laboratory setting.
3. Individuals and communities:
how individuals function and interact within and among communities. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) analyze how individual and social processes and behaviors shape specific institutions, policies or outcomes and 2) evaluate ethical and moral positions that shape individual or group decisions.
4. Thinking and expressing creatively:
how individuals and groups think and express creatively through diverse art forms and media. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) interpret how artworks express meaning and 2) communicate expressively through visual art, writing or performance.
Students may take either one 3-hour course or three 1-hour MUP courses.
D. Synthesizing Perspectives (3 courses).
In addition to building a foundation of knowledge from various disciplines by taking four Exploring courses, each student develops depth of knowledge outside of her major discipline by completing three Synthesizing Perspectives courses. These courses also act as a bridge to help prepare students for the senior integrative experience. In addition to focusing on either women’s experiences or a diverse and interdependent world, these courses will also contain a synthesizing element that will give special attention to critical thinking skills. Critical thinking courses allow students to establish expertise in the various techniques of acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, applying, evaluating, manipulating, and presenting information from a variety of sources. These sources may include texts of information that may be written, visual, or oral. The student will apply these techniques in courses that are writing and discussion intensive. The Synthesizing Perspectives courses meet the following learning objectives and students will fulfill the requirement by earning or receiving credit for at least one course from each category below:
5. Women’s experiences:
how women’s experiences are shaped by such factors as age, class, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexuality. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) compare gender expectations over time and across cultures; 2) analyze issues pertaining to one or more of the factors shaping women’s experiences; and 3) analyze an issue comprehensively from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
6. Diverse and interdependent world:
how living in a diverse and interdependent world presents both challenges and opportunities. Upon completing this objective, students will demonstrate the ability to 1) identify issues arising from increasingly complex global connections; 2) communicate and interact effectively across cultures; and 3) analyze an issue comprehensively from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
III. The student must complete the Integrative Experience (1 course).
Each student will also complete an Integrative Experience in which she enhances her capacity for integrative thinking through an interdisciplinary capstone experience that encourages her to make connections between her major and her general education. This experience will help her reflect on the methods, approaches, and/or content of her major discipline and give her an opportunity to connect her discipline with both her general education and with the world outside the classroom. The integrative experience is completed in the major program.
The Academic Major. The major is a set of courses and experiences that provides the student with an in-depth study of a discipline or an approved combination of disciplines. It familiarizes students with the methodology of and the current discourse in the field of study. The major consists of introductory courses that provide a broad foundation in the field of study, intermediate courses that provide depth of knowledge, and a capstone experience that integrates the course work of the major. Study in the major enhances the student’s ability to analyze information and synthesize increasingly complex ideas.
In the major each student enhances her capacity for integrative thinking through an interdisciplinary experience that encourages her to make connections among the various parts of her course of study and between her academic learning and the world outside the classroom. A student may declare her major in the first semester of her first year; the decision should be made by the end of the sophomore year. A senior must complete all requirements in her major program that are in effect at the time her declaration of major form is submitted to the Registrar’s Office.
All major programs consist of at least 27 semester hours. A student must maintain an average of at least “C” (minimum 2.00) in the major discipline and must take at least one course in the major during the senior year. Additionally, grades earned in transferred courses that are part of the major are not calculated in the minimum 2.00 grade point average that is required in the major for graduation.
The following majors are offered:
Accounting
Advertising and Marketing Communication
Applied Chemistry
Applied Data Analysis
Applied Mathematical Science
Applied Psychology (admission to Online Program required)
Art, Studio
Arts Management
Biology
Business Administration
Elementary Education
English
Environmental Studies and Sustainability
History, Politics and Global Affairs
International Business
Music
Neuroscience
Nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing - BSN)
Psychology
Public Health
Religion, Philosophy, and Social Change
Self-Designed Interdisciplinary
Spanish
Women, Gender & Sexuality
IV. Professional Development.
To experience how a liberal arts education provides a foundation for future professional success; establish academic, personal, and professional goals; and develop and demonstrate tools and strategies for personal and professional growth, each student will undertake a 1-credit hour Professional Practice Seminar (PDE 350 ). Each student will also undertake a 1 credit hour (minimum) Professional Development Experience (PDE 400 ) after she has completed 60 hours. A PDE can come in the form of an internship, professional research experience, community service project, creative work culminating in an exhibition or performance, or a self-designed project. These curricular experiences will give students the opportunity to reflect on their liberal arts education, explore professional and career choices and prepare for future professional success.
V. The final 30 semester hours of course work must be taken at Wesleyan
(unless prior approval is granted by the Registrar).
VI. The student must complete 120 semester hours (or the equivalent) with a cumulative grade point average of C (2.00) or higher and a grade point average of 2.00 in the major and 2.00 in the minor if the student elects a minor.
Note: For graduation, students who major in Elementary Education (AB), must maintain a grade point average of 2.50 in the major and must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.50.
The Academic Minor.
A student may select a minor from the departments offering this option. A minor is not required but is offered for those students who wish to study a second discipline in depth. The student must maintain a “C” average (minimum 2.00) in the minor and must complete all requirements in her minor program that are in effect at the time her declaration of minor form is submitted to the Registrar’s Office. At least one course or not fewer than three semester hours of the minor must be completed at Wesleyan.
The following minors are offered:
Accounting
Applied Psychology
Art, Studio
Asian Studies
Biology
Business
Chemistry
Communication
Digital Marketing
Economics
Educational Studies
English
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Science
Equine-Assisted Therapy
Finance
Forensic Science
Healthcare Administration
History
Human Resource Management
Mathematics
Music
Neuroscience
Organizational Behavior
Philosophy
Political Science
Pre-Law
Psychology
Public History
Reading
Religious Studies
Secondary Education
Spanish
Strategic Management
Theatre
Visual Studies
Women, Gender & Sexuality
The following pre-professional studies are offered:
Allied Health
Athletic Training
Dentistry
Law (accelerated JD)
Medicine
Pharmacy
Seminary
Veterinary Medicine
Academic Electives.
The student may select, with the assistance of her academic advisor, elective courses from any department acceptable toward her degree. The student must take one course (three semester hours) outside her major field of study. The following limitations apply to elective courses, internships, and directed independent study:
- maximum of nine semester hours in applied music for non-music majors;
- maximum of eight semester hours in riding courses;
- maximum of twelve semester hours of field study (internship) toward fulfillment of degree requirements;
- maximum of six semester hours of directed independent study in any one field;
- maximum of six to eight semester hours (two courses) of special topics in any one field.
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