2008-2009 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

20PLAN OF STUDYPLAN OF STUDYThe EducationalProgramAsound education which prepares students foreffective living must have qualities of breadth,depth, and flexibility.This is an era which requires specialists in manyareas, but the times demand individuals who have theability to understand their disciplines in the context of thewide-ranging needs of a free society and in relation to thefuture. In other words, this is an era which calls for personswho have breadth of understanding and insight. Suchpersons not only are better prepared to meet the needs of arapidly changing society, but are prepared to respondcreatively to numerous opportunities for personalenrichment. The general studies requirements in VirginiaWesleyan’s education program speak particularly to theneed for breadth.A person who is liberally educated has experienced thediscipline of mastering a particular field of knowledge ordiscipline. Virginia Wesleyan’s curriculum offers theadvantage of uniting breadth with depth by combininggeneral studies with intensified studies in a special field. Bythe end of their sophomore year, students select a majorfrom one of numerous fields.A strong liberal arts program has flexibility which allowsstudents to choose courses which add to the dimension ofbreadth provided in general studies, and which may alsosupplement the dimension of depth provided by theirmajor. Approximately one-third of the courses which youwill take are elective. You will also find that you have manychoices in selecting courses which will fulfill general studiesrequirements. You are urged to work closely with yourfaculty adviser in developing your personal educationalgoals and to exercise widely your powers of choice inselecting the courses which will best fulfill these goals.The Baccalaureate DegreeThe liberal arts program at Virginia Wesleyan Collegeoffers a bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of sciencedegree with numerous options for majors in humanities,sciences, and social sciences. Students successfully carryingthe normal course load of 15 semester hours can expect tograduate after eight semesters. The specific requirements forgraduation are listed on the following pages. See the tablebelow for a list of majors and degrees offered:Majors and Degrees BA BSAmerican StudiesArtXBiology X XChemistryXClassical StudiesXCommunicationsXComputer ScienceXCriminal JusticeXEarth and Environmental Sciences X XEnglishXEnvironmental StudiesXForeign Languages and Literatures XFrenchXGermanXHealth and Human ServicesXHistoryXHumanitiesXIndividualizedXInterdivisionalXInternational StudiesXLatinXLiberal Arts Management Program XLiberal StudiesXMathematics X XMusicXNatural Sciences and Mathematics XPhilosophyXPolitical ScienceXPsychologyXRecreation and Leisure StudiesXReligious StudiesXSocial SciencesXSocial StudiesXSociologyXSpanishXTheatreXTheatre and EnglishXWomen’s and Gender StudiesXX