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Academic Requirements and Regulations
Requirements for Degree
Students are responsible for completing all requirements for graduation.
A minimum of 120 credit hours of course work. A minimum of
sixty credit hours must be completed at Skidmore College, including
all work taken in the senior year.
Satisfaction of the grade-point standards: a cumulative grade-point
average of 2.0 in all course work completed at Skidmore College and a 2.0 in all course work
in the major field.
Fulfillment of the liberal arts requirement: candidates for
the bachelor of arts degree must complete a minimum of ninety
credit hours of course work designated as liberal arts. Candidates
for the bachelor of science degree must complete a minimum of
sixty credit hours of course work designated as liberal arts.
Double majors completing both B.A. and B.S. requirements must complete 90 hours of liberal arts credit.
Fulfillment of the maturity-level requirement: successful
completion of a minimum of twenty-four credit hours of course
work on the 300 level at Skidmore College. Twelve credit hours
of 300-level course work must be taken in the senior year, six
of these twelve in the major field.
Fulfillment of a Scribner Seminar, unless exempted.
Fulfillment of the foundation requirements: quantitative
reasoning and expository writing.
Fulfillment of the breadth component: four courses, one each
in arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.
Fulfillment of the culture-centered inquiry requirement:
two courses, one course at the appropriate level in a foreign
language or foreign literature in its nontranslated form, and
one course designated as either non-Western culture or cultural
diversity study.
Declaration and satisfaction of requirements for a major
program.
In addition, the student is responsible for fulfillment of all
financial obligations to the college and for successfully fulfilling
all social and academic integrity obligations stipulated by the
Integrity Board or the Dean of Student Affairs.
Courses designated as "non-liberal
arts" in the course listings are of a professional nature
and do not carry liberal arts credit. All B.A. degree candidates
must complete a minimum of ninety credit hours of course work
designated as liberal arts. All B.S. degree candidates must
complete a minimum of sixty credit hours of course work designated
as liberal arts.
Double majors completing both B.A. and B.S. requirements must
complete ninety hours of liberal arts credit.
Courses designated in the catalog by
numbers in the 100s and 200s are intended mainly for first-year
students and sophomores, and those in the 300s for juniors and
seniors. All degree candidates must successfully complete a
minimum of twenty-four credit hours of course work on the 300
level at Skidmore College. Twelve credit hours of 300-level
course work must be taken in the senior year, at least six of
these twelve in the major field. Students with double majors
are expected to complete at least six hours at the 300 level
in each major during their senior year.
The minimum of twenty-four 300-level course credits must
be earned in Skidmore courses, not at other colleges and universities unless part of an approved program abroad.
The Committee on Academic Standing adheres closely to this minimum
expectation, in the belief that some substantial core of the
student's advanced, culminating academic work should be completed
at the institution, Skidmore, which is awarding the student's
baccalaureate degree. Under a few compelling circumstances
(e.g., for the purpose of study abroad), the CAS may approve
as many as eight credit hours of maturity-level credit
for study at another institution—a maximum of four
maturity credits for each semester spent at the other institution.
Students wishing to make such application should obtain a "Request
for Maturity-Level Credit" from the Office of the Registrar.
In their first year at college, students build connections to academic
and residential communities, identify intellectual interests, and
encounter faculty expectations for excellence. The First-Year Experience
Program provides curricular, co-curricular, and residential
opportunities that facilitate entering students' successful integration
into the Skidmore College community. Through New Student Orientation,
Scribner Seminars, and other Campus Life and Residential programming,
students learn to balance freedom with responsibility, solve problems,
and develop strategies for academic achievement.
All students are required to enroll in a Scribner
Seminar during the fall semester of the first year.
Students not completing the Seminar will be reviewed by the Committee on Academic Standing,
in consultation with the director of the First-Year Experience.
Expository Writing:
Students are required to develop their proficiency as writers
by successfully completing one designated writing course. This
requirement must be fulfilled by the end of the sophomore year.
Those students who need to take EN103
Writing Seminar I as preparation for meeting this requirement
must do so by the end of their first year.
Such courses may be English Department writing courses (EN105
or 105H)
or specially designated writing-intensive courses in other disciplines.
Quantitative Reasoning:
All students must fulfill the QR1 requirement, demonstrating
competence in basic mathematical and computational principles,
in any one of the following five ways:
scoring 630 or better on the MSAT I exam,
scoring 570 or better on any mathematics SAT II exam,
achieving a score of 28 or higher on the ACT mathematics exam,
passing Skidmore's quantitative reasoning examination before the end of the first year, or
successfully completing MA100 before the end of the sophomore year.
In addition, by the end of the junior year, all students must have fulfilled the QR2
requirement by successfully completing a designated course in
mathematics, statistics, or other numerical operations in various
academic disciplines, or in the use of computers for the manipulation
of mathematical, social-scientific, or scientific data. All
QR2 courses have QR1 as a prerequisite. Fulfillment of the
quantitative reasoning requirement is indicated in individual course descriptions.
Students are required to complete courses
successfully in the fields of arts, humanities, natural sciences,
and social sciences. Fulfillment of the
requirement is indicated in individual course descriptions.
Arts: Students must complete
one course for two, three, or four credits, or two one-credit
courses designated as Arts (AR).
Humanities: Students must complete one course designated as Humanities (HU).
Natural Sciences:
Students must complete one course designated as Natural Science (NR).
All courses satisfying the requirements must include a laboratory component.
Social Sciences:
Students must complete one course designated as Social Science (SS).
Students fulfill this requirement by
completing one course in a foreign language and one course designated
as either non-Western culture or cultural diversity study.
Foreign Literature and Language:
All students must choose one course at the appropriate level in a foreign language
or foreign literature in its non-translated form.
Non-Western Culture:
Students may fulfill the requirement by successfully completing one 3- or 4-credit course
designated as Non-Western (NW). Students from non-Western cultures may apply to the Committee
on Academic Standing for an appropriate substitution.
Cultural Diversity Study: Students may fulfill the requirement
by successfully completing one 3- or 4-credit course
designated as Cultural Diversity (CD).
A major field of study selected from
the Skidmore College degree programs must be formally declared
by the beginning of the junior year. Requirements in a department
are stated in the departmental announcements. Skidmore offers
a wide selection of interdepartmental majors, designed for
students whose interests lie in subjects overlapping departmental
boundaries.
A student may propose a self-determined major, which must contain
a core of at least 30 credit hours pertinent to the student's
central interest. See Self-Determined Major for procedures for
designing such a program.
Capstone experiences such as general major examinations or final projects may be required
in the senior year at the discretion of major departments.
A minor field of study in a department
or interdisciplinary program may be elected no later than the
beginning of the senior year. All minors require a minimum of
eighteen credit hours. See departmental announcements for specific
requirements. Interdisciplinary minors may be elected in Asian
studies, environmental studies, international affairs, law and
society, and women's studies. A GPA of 2.0 is required in the
minor field. A student may declare up to three minors.
As a general principle, one course can be used to meet only one major, minor, or all-college requirement. There are a few exceptions to this rule:
In the case of a double major, and with the permission of both major departments and the Office of the Registrar, a maximum of three courses may be counted toward both sets of major requirements.
For a major and a minor program, or for two minor fields, there can be no more than a two-course overlap.
With reference to Nos. 1 and 2 above, certain major or major/minor overlaps are not permitted. Students should check such exceptions in the Catalog and with Judy Stephens in the Office of the Registrar.
The Scribner Seminars may not fulfill any other college requirement.
Certain courses, as approved by the College Curriculum Committee and so indicated in the Catalog,
may meet two all-college requirements. However, interdisciplinary Liberal Studies 2 courses may not double
count as Breadth Component requirements, which are defined as introductions to a discipline.
