Academic Options

Independent Study offers a matriculated student the opportunity to initiate individual research or advanced projects that are beyond the limits of the standard curriculum, with limited supervision. Independent Study is available to Junior and Senior undergraduate students who have a minimum 2.5 GPA and to graduate students in good standing. To enroll in an Independent Study, the student must follow these guidelines:

1. Obtain an Independent Study Form from the Office of the Registrar.
2. Prepare a proposal and identify a University of the Arts faculty member having expertise in the area of investigation who is willing to serve as the course advisor. With the consultation of the course advisor, complete the Independent Study Form, which must include a semester plan for the course of study, indicating the number of credits being taken and the evaluation criteria. The form must be signed by the course advisor and the student’s department chair/school director.
3. Present the approved Independent Study Form at registration or within the Drop/Add period, along with your registration or Drop/Add form. The course number for an independent study is the department code (the course advisor’s department) and course number “999” (Example: FAPR 999).
4. Each Independent Study may be taken for one to three credits in Liberal Arts, 1.5 to six credits in CAD, and one to six credits in CPA and CMAC.
5. The student is responsible for documenting the content of the Independent Study work to other institutions or outside agencies.
6. Students cannot elect the Pass/Fail or Audit options for Independent Study.

Independent Study cannot fulfill major requirements. Independent Study may serve as free, studio, and liberal arts electives, depending on the topic of investigation. Students cannot apply more than 12 total credits of independent study towards their degree requirements.

Credit for an Independent Study cannot be reduced or increased after the student has registered.

Independent study by graduate students is governed by the policies listed above with the following exception:

The course number for graduate independent study is the department code (the course advisor’s department) and course number, e.g., GRPR 690.

Internships allow matriculated graduate students and undergraduate students in their Junior or Senior year to earn academic credit while working in their chosen field. Internship courses are scheduled during the fall and spring semesters and, with special permission from their dean and department chair/director, during the summer. To register for an internship, see the course bulletin and the appropriate department for current offerings. Internship courses are graded on a Pass/Fail basis.

Students who intend to enroll in Summer Internships and receive academic credit for the experience must pre-register in the spring for a summer semester. It is the responsibility of students wishing to take summer internships to identify faculty who are willing to sponsor and are able to supervise their work. Summer internships cannot be added to the schedule once the internship has begun. Up to three credits of a summer internship may be taken at no tuition charge.  Additional credits above the three credit maximum will incur charges at the per credit tuition rate.

Students may not apply more than six internship credits toward their degree requirements, with the exception of students who major in Dance or Theater. For detailed information please see the Internship section of the Art and Design section of this Catalog, and the course descriptions in this catalog.

The University offers minors and concentrations for undergraduate degree candidates who wish to focus on a specific discipline through organized electives. Please refer to the college sections of this catalog for information about offerings, eligibility, prerequisites, and course requirements. You may also contact the departments directly for additional information.

Students wishing to include a minor as part of their undergraduate program should be advised that some major/minor combinations may not be completed, thus it is not always possible to complete a minor, and there are no penalties for starting a minor and not completing it. Students are not permitted to continue pursuit of the minor once all degree requirements have been met. All University minors are governed by the following guidelines:

1. Students must meet eligibility requirements, which may include a satisfactory grade-point average, prerequisites, and departmental portfolio review.
2. An intent to complete a minor is declared by filing the completed Minor Declaration Form with the Office of the Registrar. The forms are available in the Office of the Registrar.
3. A student may not major and minor in the same program, except where indicated.
4. Courses applied to the minor may only be applied towards elective requirements.
5. All minors require a minimum of 15 credits, with the exception of E-Music for Music majors. Generally, no substitutions to the minor requirements are allowed. In exceptional situations where substitutions are granted, they must have the approval of both the major and minor program advisors.
6. The requirements of the minor must be completed prior to graduation.
7. A student pursuing a minor may be required to complete more than the minimum number of credits required to complete the undergraduate degree in order to also complete the minor.
8. Minors are available only to undergraduate students.

The University encourages students to take courses outside their major department and college. To facilitate this goal, the University offers a wide selection of courses that are open without prerequisites. Students may select from introductory electives and non-major courses. In general, upper-level courses will have specific prerequisites, which must be satisfied prior to registration. Students interested in these areas are advised to contact the department chairperson or school director regarding specific course offerings and prerequisite requirements.

1. In courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis, the standard letter grades of “A” to “C” are converted to “OP” by the Registrar. A grade of “C-” to “F” is recorded as “OF.”
2. The Pass/Fail grading option must be selected prior to the end of the Drop/Add period; no change from Pass/Fail to a regular grade or a regular grade to Pass/Fail may be made after that deadline.
3. Grades of “OP” or “OF” are not computed in the grade-point average.
4. The Pass/Fail policy stipulates that the instructor is not to be informed as to who is enrolled on a Pass/Fail basis.
5. Availability of this option is limited to a total of nine credits in Liberal Arts courses or studio electives during the student’s undergraduate career. Pass/Fail courses may not include First Year Writing, Introduction to Modernism, any Independent Study course, or any required discipline history course.

Undergraduate students who wish to enroll in a graduate course must have Junior status (U3), a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and permission of the instructor to enroll in the course.

Private instrumental/vocal lessons for non-majors may be taken for elective credit (1.5 credits, seven hours of instruction per semester) with permission of the Director of the School of Music. An additional fee is required.

Audited courses are an excellent mechanism for students to refresh their skills and/or understanding of a topic without the pressure of pursuing a grade. Audited courses carry no credit and do not satisfy degree requirements. An audited course may not be repeated for credit. Therefore, students may not audit a required course unless the course requirement has already been satisfactorily met as dictated by their degree requirements. Regular tuition rates are charged for audited courses, and they are included in the full-time tuition charge. Audited courses will be indicated on the transcript with a grade of “AU” and may be registered for until the end of the Drop/Add period.

No course, including graduate courses, that has satisfied undergraduate degree requirement  may be counted again for graduate credit.

Study abroad, domestic mobility, and exchange opportunities are available through programs hosted or coordinated through regionally accredited U.S. institutions, or through direct application to a foreign institution whose courses the University has agreed to accept for credit. The selection of a program should be made carefully, as it may have implications for cost, financial aid, transferability of credits, progress in the major, and progress toward completion of degree requirements.

Study abroad options fall into three categories:

§  Exchange programs. The University maintains agreements with a number of international institutions that permit enrollment by a UArts student for a semester or longer while a student from the partner institution enrolls at the University.

§  Direct enrollment options. The University maintains agreements with partner institutions, particularly in the United Kingdom, that permit students to enroll directly for a semester or longer. There is normally an application process specific to the institution and space is not guaranteed.

§  Affiliated programs. The University maintains signed affiliation agreements with a select group of study abroad providers who welcome applications from UArts students.

Students should contact the Study Abroad Coordinator by telephone or email (215-717-6389, studyabroad@uarts.edu)  to learn more about all these options, including application deadlines, procedures, and costs.

The following applies to students who submit  a Petition for Off-Campus Study:

• Students with cumulative grade point averages of less than 2.70 and those on any form of academic warning will not be permitted to study abroad.
  
• Students on judicial or disciplinary probation will not be approved for study abroad.
  
• Students must register for a minimum of twelve credits for each semester abroad.
  
• Approval of a Petition for Off-Campus Study is always contingent on acceptance by an affiliated program or a partner institution. The Study Abroad Coordinator has up-to-date information concerning deadlines for application and application procedures.
  
• Students who normally receive Financial Aid remain eligible for federal, state, institutional, and merit-based aid while engaged in off-campus study and upon their return to UArts, presuming that the student continues to meet the academic requirements of their aid package. Please note that some named institutional scholarships may not be applied toward off-campus study.
  
• The student will be billed for tuition and fees by UArts. UArts will then pay the student’s required tuition and fees at the institution where the student is accepted for study up to $12,000 per semester in 2010-2011. Most affiliated programs approved by the University do not exceed this cost for a semester of study.
  
• Depending on the agreement that the University has made with a partner institution, students may be billed by UArts for the costs of housing or travel, and those payments will then be made on behalf of the student.
  
• The Study Abroad Office always makes clear to students in advance what the full costs of any program will be, including broad advice about living and incidental costs, which can vary greatly by country. Students abroad are normally not permitted to work by the host country, and so need to plan on funding all of their expenses that semester without the benefit of a part-time job.

All petitions for study abroad in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 must be complete (with all relevant approvals) by April 10, 2010. This normally means that students should begin the petition as early as March 15. The Study Abroad Coordinator is available to assist with filling out the petition form correctly and will facilitate the process of gaining approvals.

Students who plan to study abroad should apply for financial aid adhering to normal deadlines and procedures. Additionally, such students will be asked to provide The University of the Arts Office of Student Financial Services with a duly executed power of attorney if documents will require their signature during the study abroad period. In the course of applying to study abroad, a student should meet with his or her assigned Financial Aid counselor to assure that aid is processed before he or she leaves the country. In addition, students studying off campus may not use the extended payment plan (TMS) to pay for tuition and other charges.

The University of the Arts and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) have an exchange program that allows students from both universities to take advantage of their courses and special facilities. The agreement allows students from all three colleges to take one course a semester at the University of the Sciences. Paying regular UArts tuition, students may take up to 18 credits of course work at the University of the Sciences over six semesters, which count in all regards as UArts courses. 

The USP courses that are available cover a broad range of subjects – the sciences, foreign languages, the social sciences, history and political sciences, computer science and mathematics, and business and marketing. In addition, exchange students have full access to the USP library, an athletic center with gym, strength training equipment and a three-lane, 25-yard pool. 

The University of the Sciences students wishing to participate can locate course sections offered at UArts by going to this address.

For more information, contact the Office of the Dean in your college or that of the Director of your program or school.

A student in the final year of the bachelor’s degree program may take a maximum of 6 credits of graduate courses toward a master’s degree, subject to all of the following conditions:

1. The student must have completed the Junior level of the major.
2. The graduate credits must be over and above the credits required for the bachelor’s degree and may not be applied to that degree.
3. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better.
4. Permission is granted by the department chairperson/director and dean of the college.
5. No more than a total of 6 credits, taken either as a UArts undergraduate or non-matriculated student, or taken at another college or university, may be applied to the graduate program.