130-00 Baccalaureate Degree Curriculum

Particular types of baccalaureate degrees, which identify educational programs having common objectives and requirements, are:

• Bachelor of Architectural Engineering (B.A.E.) (five-year program)
• Bachelor of Architecture (B.ARCH.) (five-year program)
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
• Bachelor of Design (B.DES.)
• Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.EL.ED.)
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
• Bachelor of Humanities (B.HUM.)
• Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (B.L.A.) (five-year program)
• Bachelor of Music (B.M.)
• Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.)
• Bachelor of Musical Arts (B.M.A.)
• Bachelor of Philosophy (B. PH.)
• Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)
• Bachelor of Social Science (B.SOSC.)
• Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)

The Bachelor of Arts degree requirements go beyond the General Education requirements to enhance the Bachelor of Arts student’s liberal education in the central fields of arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, and quantification, and serve to increase the student’s international knowledge and expertise in the area of Other Cultures. Bachelor of Arts students are required to attain proficiency in a foreign language at the 12th-credit-level. Students may choose to develop their foreign language skills beyond the 12th-credit-level proficiency, or to start another foreign language.

Courses approved as fulfilling the B.A. requirements can, but are not required to, meet the General Education Learning Objectives that General Education courses must meet.

Bachelor of Arts degree majors require 9-24 credits distributed among three categories. In addition, students are expected to complete credits required by their college and major.

Foreign Language (0-12 credits): Must attain 12th credit level of proficiency in one language. This proficiency must be demonstrated by either examination or course work.

The B.A. Fields  (9 credits): Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences, Quantification. Courses may not be taken in the area of the student’s primary major. Foreign language credits in this category must be in a second foreign language or beyond the 12th credit level of proficiency in the first language. Credits must be selected from the list of approved courses.

Other Cultures (0-3 credits): Students must select 3 credits from the list of approved Other Cultures courses. Students may count courses in this category in order to meet other major, minor, elective, or General Education requirements, except for the General Education US/IL requirement.

These B.A. requirements are listed at the beginning of the descriptions of each college or school that offers the majority of the B.A. majors, or are listed under individual B.A. majors.

The B. A. requirements will be shown in the Blue Book Description as follows:

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: 24 credits (3 of these 24 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR, GENERAL EDUCATION, or ELECTIVES and 0-12 credits are included in ELECTIVES if foreign language proficiency is demonstrated by examination.) (See description of Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements in front of Bulletin.)
>Cross Reference: Student Policy Appendix B

A major is a plan of study in a field of concentration within a type of baccalaureate degree. Colleges and other degree-granting units may have common requirements for all of their majors.

Each major may have requirements identified in the following categories: Prescribed Courses, Additional Courses, and Supporting Courses and Related Areas.

Prescribed Courses: Specific courses which must be taken with no choice allowed.

Additional Courses: Lists of courses from which the student must choose a specified number.

Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Areas from which the student is required to develop supplemental knowledge or competencies but in which considerable choice is permitted.

Elective credits are not considered part of the major; these credits are reserved for the student’s unrestricted choice of any baccalaureate degree course. (SR:1/23/90, Appendix IV); (Agenda Appendix G, 7/1/75)

An option is a specialization within a major that involves at least one-third of the course credits required for the major but need not be more than 18 credits. A major with options must include a minimum of two options. The requirements for the options may include the three categories Prescribed, Additional, and Supporting Courses and Related Areas, or any combination of the three. A student can only be enrolled in one option within their major. (SR:1/23/90; Appendix IV)

All options in the major must have as Common Requirements at least one-fourth of the total required course credits for the major.

Revisions to Curricular Policy 132-20 was approved by the Senate at the November 29, 2022 plenary meeting.  These revisions are pending implementation procedures.  For more information, View Legislation.

1. There must be at least 15 credits of C-required courses designated for each baccalaureate degree major, although at Penn State Capital College at Harrisburg, there must be at least 9 credits during the junior and senior years.
2. SCCA urges the faculty of the academic unit to include a minimum of 15 credits at the 400 level, or the equivalent of a 400-level course, before submitting the proposal to the committee. If this 15-credit recommendation is not met, the committee may request a justification as to why it is not deemed necessary. (SR:5/1/79)

All baccalaureate majors must provide within the number of credits required for graduation, at least 6 credits which may be substituted with basic ROTC. (SR:4/6/65)

Students may take courses to concurrently meet the requirements of more than one baccalaureate degree level major. Colleges and departments may identify and should publish any combinations of majors that would not be approved for more than one major program. In general, an undergraduate student may not combine a general major with a departmental major within the same college.

The faculty in an academic unit may want to impose more restrictive academic requirements for entrance into or retention in a college/major/option/minor. The criteria for making such requests must be based on academic considerations. (Agenda Appendix C, 2/18/92)

Minors and certificates are available to help Penn State students showcase their various interests, abilities, specializations, intellectual curiosity, and skills. Both minors and certificates are course-based and indicated on a transcript. Minors are more robust; like majors, a minor requires advanced 400 level course work and may only be earned by degree candidates.

Certificates are intended to foster incremental or targeted development in an area of specialty or competency within a discipline or field of study. A certificate, though typically a smaller number of credits than a minor, should not be confused with professional certification or licensure.

The requirements for a minor may include the three categories, Prescribed, Additional, or Supporting Courses and Related Areas, or any combination of the three, in an academic program of at least 18 credits, and:

1. A minor program may consist of course work in a single area or from several disciplines but must include at least six credits but ordinarily not more than half of the credits at the 400-level.
2. The total requirements for a minor are to be specified and generally limited to 18 to 21 credits.
3. All courses for a minor must be completed with a grade of ‘C’ or above.
4. At least six (6) credits of the minor must be completed in courses offered by the University or in cooperative degree programs that have been established by formal agreement and approved by the University Faculty Senate.
5. At least six (6) credits of the minor must be unique from the Prescribed Courses required by the student’s major program(s).
6. Any prerequisites necessary to complete minor requirements must be clearly detailed in the minor description.

Minors should be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs every five (5) years for enrollment and currency.

Cross Reference: Student Policy 59-10

The qualitative standards of a minor and the method of communicating to students the University’s academic expectations are as follows: Departmental grade requirements for the minor shall conform at least with the minimum requirements for the major. In the case of minor programs where there is no corresponding major, minimum requirements for the minor must be established following the normal procedures for curriculum approval. (SR:4/26/88)

A certificate consists of a group of courses, typically 9-15 credits, developed, supervised, and evaluated by the offering faculty.

1. At least two-thirds (2/3) of the credits used to complete a certificate must be earned at Penn State.
2. In exceptional circumstances, a certificate may have fewer than 9 credits or more than 15 credits, provided adequate justification is given to explain why.

Certificates are earned either in conjunction with a major or independently of associate or baccalaureate degrees, so they may be suitable for both degree-candidates and non-degree candidates.

Certificates should be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs every 5 years for enrollment and currency.

Cross Reference: Student Policy 59-20