2013–2014 The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

College of Liberal Arts >
Part I. Each course must deal with the same culture.
For purposes of this requirement, a foreign culture
is defined as having non-English speaking origins.
Anglo-American, English, Anglo-Irish, and Anglo-
Australian cultures do not qualify, but Aboriginal
Australian, Celtic, and African-American,
Latino/a, and Asian American, for example, do to
the degree that they are discrete from the Anglo-
American tradition.
At least one of the three culture credits must
focus on the region of origin. For instance, a
student choosing the East Asian and Diasporas
culture area must take at least one course rooted in
East Asia. These non-diasporic classes are noted at
http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ/bulletin/.
Culture courses are regularly updated on the
Bulletin website. Students wishing to submit courses
that are not on this list must petition the Academic
Review Board; forms are available under Student
Forms at http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ.
4) Foreign language courses beyond the third
semester college level may be counted as part of the
culture option, e.g., Spanish 4, French 4, or courses
at higher levels. For example, a student who has
completed four semesters of foreign language study
may choose to complete the foundation requirement
by taking two culture credits in the same
culture area as that of the language studied.
Travel or residence in another country, while
admittedly educational, may not be applied toward
fulfillment of the culture option. Courses accepted
for transfer from other colleges or universities may
be used upon approval of the Academic Review
Board. Policies governing the acceptance of courses
in satisfaction of the language requirement and
culture option are established by the Academic
Review Board.
3. World Civilizations
The world civilizations requirement focuses on an
in-depth study of a non-Western civilization or
civilizations, or the interaction of non-Western and
Western civilizations with equal attention given to
both. The definition of the non-Western world is
considered to include Africa, Asia, the Caribbean,
Latin America, and selected indigenous cultures of
Oceania and North America.
The course taken in fulfillment of the world
civilizations requirement may be used to fulfill the
culture option or that distribution requirement for
which the course would normally be appropriate,
but not both.
For an updated list of courses that have been
approved by the Academic Review Board, visit
http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ/bulletin/. For approval
of courses that do not appear on this list, a petition
form is available under Student Forms at
http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ.
4. Quantitative Reasoning
The quantitative reasoning requirement is designed
to impart basic mathematical skills that students
will need throughout their studies. Students who
receive 560 or above on the mathematics SAT or 23
or above on the mathematics ACT are automatically
exempt from this requirement.
Students with a mathematics SAT score below
560 or a mathematics ACT score below 23 must
take Mathematics 4 in the fall semester of their first
year. Exemptions are granted for students who pass
the placement examination offered by the mathematics
department during orientation, or who
receive an AP calculus credit or an international
diploma mathematics credit, or who receive transfer
credit for a calculus course or a course equivalent to
Mathematics 4.
Students who are required to take Mathematics
4 are also allowed to count it as one of their two
mathematical sciences distribution credits. Those
who receive exactly 560 on the mathematics SAT
or 23 on the mathematics ACT may seek permission
from the mathematics department to count
Mathematics 4 toward the mathematical sciences
distribution requirement. Students who submit
multiple scores, one of which is a mathematics SAT
above 560 or a mathematics ACT above 23, are
considered exempt and not allowed to count
Mathematics 4 toward the mathematical sciences
distribution requirement.
Distribution Requirements
The faculty holds that a student enrolled in any
program leading to a liberal arts degree must
demonstrate a reasonable acquaintance with each of
the following five areas of inquiry: the humanities,
the arts, the social sciences, the natural sciences,
and the mathematical sciences.
• A student must take the equivalent of two
course credits in each area.
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