Undergraduate Degree Requirements

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Understanding the degree requirements is crucial to the smooth progression to graduation. Students, both new Freshman and transfers, are encouraged to consult with their academic advisors regularly to ensure that they are making appropriate progress toward their degree and to consult their advisor and the Office of the Registrar for assistance and clarification of degree requirements. An overview of the degree requirements for the baccalaureate follows. Please refer to the section of the catalog that describes the major programs and to the Division of Liberal Arts section for specific course requirements. Students should also keep in close contact with their academic advisors regarding official departmental and major-specific requirements.

University of the Arts undergraduate degrees normally require from 123 to 131 credits. A full-time student, however, may enroll for as many as 18 credits per semester, resulting in a possible 144 credits over four years. Students who are interested in additional electives, or who wish to fulfill a minor by taking additional electives, are strongly encouraged to consult with their advisor to develop an effective plan for completion of their degree requirements and fulfillment of their personal educational goals.

Art both shapes and is shaped by its society. It lasts; it holds the public mind and imagination, sometimes for generations. Thus, the University holds that student artists must be broadly and well educated in the liberal arts so that they better understand the world their art serves. UArts students will therefore spend a third of their coursework in liberal arts classes developing the skills, knowledge, and intellectual curiosity that will make them active, life-long learners.

Major requirements have been carefully designed by the faculty to provide the student a professional education in his or her chosen field of study. Refer to the appropriate section of the catalog for specific major and departmental requirements.

Free electives play an important role in the University’s mission of providing a dynamic milieu for creative exploration, innovation, and intellectual investigation, extending the practice and understanding of the arts and the arts professions. They give the student the opportunity to explore subjects beyond those offered or required by the major department and encourage educational autonomy on the student’s part.

An elective is defined as any studio or liberal arts course that is neither a requirement for the student’s major nor a requirement for the University’s liberal arts program. Electives are courses that a student can choose freely without restriction. While advisors may make recommendations regarding electives, the final choice for elective courses must rest with the student. Obviously, prerequisites and corequisites apply to any course that a student may elect to take.

Every major undergraduate program at the University contains at least 9 credits of free electives. Please refer to the program requirements for further information on specific department requirements; some programs have as many as 21 credits of electives built into the degree requirements.