Curriculum in Liberal Arts and Sciences

To obtain a bachelor’s degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, curriculum in liberal arts and sciences, an undergraduate student must earn a minimum of 124.5 semester credits including a minimum of 32 semester credits earned in residence at Iowa State University. In addition, the student must meet general education, English proficiency, library proficiency, foreign language, and advanced credit requirements, as well as the requirements of a major. Courses taken on a pass/not pass basis may be counted toward the required total of 124.5 credits, and may be used to meet the advanced credit requirement, if appropriate, but may not be used to satisfy any other graduation requirement. No more than 9 credits of 490 (Independent Study) courses in a single discipline may be counted toward graduation.

			Majors, Minors & Electives
			Planning the Program of Study

General Education Requirements

Students must earn the minimum credits listed in each of the four general education groups in courses outside the department of the first major listed on the degree program. Interdisciplinary courses may be used to satisfy requirements in any group for which they have been approved, but a student may not apply the same course to more than one group.

Credit by Examination Program

Individual departments may use CLEP Subject Tests for testout of specific courses. Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may use CLEP General Test credits as free electives but not toward any of the general education group requirements.

General Education Groups

			Arts and Humanities (minimum 12 credits) The student should develop an understanding of human cultural heritage and history, and an appreciation of reasoning and the aesthetic value of human creativity.*
			Verbal Communication (minimum 2 credits) The student should develop skill in and an understanding of the principles involved in effective communication among people.*
			Natural Sciences and Mathematical Disciplines (minimum 11 credits including 3 in the mathematical disciplines and 8 in the natural sciences). The student should experience science as a rational search for understanding the structure and behavior of the natural world, and should appreciate mathematics as a valuable tool of the sciences and as an intrinsically important way of thinking.*
			Social sciences (minimum 9 credits). The student should develop an appreciation of the principal methods of studying human behavior and an understanding of the structure and functioning of institutions. Courses must be taken in at least two disciplines represented in Group IV.*

*Lists of approved courses are available from advisers or the Office of the Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Other Requirements

English Proficiency

The faculty of Iowa State University believes that its graduates should acquire competence in written communication during their undergraduate careers. All students must earn an average grade of C– or better in required basic composition courses (e.g., Engl 104 and 105). This should be regarded as a minimally acceptable grade standard. Departments may have stricter criteria as appropriate to their disciplines.

The continued development of communication skills following the freshman year is the responsibility of the student’s major department. The department shall promote this development by adopting measures to certify the writing proficiency of its own majors. Certification is to occur a reasonable time before graduation and shall be based upon satisfactory completion of a designated course in the student’s program in which writing is evaluated or an advanced writing course offered in the English department (e.g. Engl 302, 305, or 314).

Library Proficiency

A library minimum proficiency requirement must be met by satisfactory completion of one of the following options:

			Library 160
			A test-out examination for credit to be administered by the library staff, who will control the testing procedure and will determine those students who are eligible to take the examination.

The faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences believes that undergraduate students should acquire elementary practical experience in a second language, should be introduced to the theoretical study of language structure, and should begin to develop an understanding of a second culture through study of that culture’s language. As a means of achieving this objective, a student must satisfy a graduation requirement equivalent to the first year of university-level study in one foreign language (normally, completion of a two-semester sequence in any one foreign language).

The requirement may be met by completion of three or more years of high school study in one foreign language. To make this feasible, prospective students are encouraged to begin foreign language training as early as possible in their academic careers. Students who have a strong foreign language preparation may attempt to acquire college credit by taking the test-out examination administered each semester by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Students who have completed three or more years of high-school  foreign language study are deemed to have completed the LAS Foreign Language requirement. These students may not enroll in or receive credit for 101-102, 110, or 160 in those languages; test-out credit may be obtained by passing an appropriate examination or by completing an advanced sequence (200-level or higher) in that language. 101-102 may not be taken on a remedial basis.

Students who have completed more than one year but less than three years of high-school foreign language study may not enroll in 101 in the same language. These students may satisfy the foreign language requirement by (a) passing the test-out exam at the 101-102 level, (b) receiving a passing grade in a 102 foreign language course, or (c) receiving a passing grade in a foreign language course at the 200-level or higher. (Courses taught in English do not satisfy the foreign language requirement). Certification in American Sign Language is recognized by the University and satisfies the LAS foreign language requirement.

Students with disabilities who need to satisfy the foreign language requirement may direct questions to the Advising Coordinator in the Foreign Language Department and the Disability Resource Office.

Credits applied toward the foreign language requirement cannot be used to satisfy the general education requirements, but students who have fulfilled the foreign language requirement may apply additional courses in foreign languages toward the appropriate general education groups.

Majors in any foreign language are deemed to have fulfilled the college foreign language requirement. International students for whom English is a second language may satisfy the foreign language requirement by completion of Engl 104 and 105 at ISU with an average grade of C– or better. See Foreign Languages and Literatures for additional information on international students.

Advanced Credit Requirements

To obtain a baccalaureate degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, curriculum in liberal arts and sciences, a student must earn at least 45 credits at the 300 level or above taken at a four-year college. Three of the 45 credits must be earned in a group outside of the group of the major.Credits earned in electives taken on a pass/not pass basis or in the major or a minor may be used to meet this requirement.

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