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COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES GENERAL ACADEMIC INFORMATION

ADMISSION TO THE COLLEGE

Admission to the College of Arts and Sciences is open to students who have been accepted to the University of South Florida and who declare a major in a particular field. Liberal Studies, Mass Communications, and Social Work are limited access degree programs and have additional requirements listed under Programs and Curricula.

Undergraduate students must submit a formal application for admission into the College. This usually occurs during Orientation and Advising for New Students. This application is also available in the Arts and Sciences' Office of Academic Affairs (SOC 102) for continuing students. Following admission, students are counseled by an academic adviser in his/her major field. Students preparing for a science or mathematics career must plan their courses carefully because of the sequential nature of the science curricula, and students seeking entrance into a professional school or the medical technology internship program require specialized counseling. Therefore, immediate application for admission into the College is strongly recommended.

Information on admission criteria, departments, majors, programs, counseling and other services of the College may be obtained from the Office of Academic Affairs (SOC 102), College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620.

CASPER

The College of Arts and Sciences Program for Emergency Relief (CASPER) is the ombudsperson program in the college for freshmen. The College of Arts and Sciences CASPER staff is dedicated to assisting freshmen in the college to overcoming academic and personal problems which might contribute to leaving USF during the first year. CASPER also sponsors a social event for freshmen and faculty in the college to allow time for faculty-student interaction in a non-academic setting. For more information call 974-6957 and ask for CASPER.

TRANSFER CREDITS

Transfer credit for MAT 1033 will only be acceptable towards a bachelor's degree in the College of Arts and Sciences if it was earned as part of an Associate of Arts degree awarded by a public community college in the State of Florida or is part of a Florida public community college transcript which explicitly indicates that general education or general distribution requirements have been met.

Students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences must receive prior approval to take courses at another institution to apply toward a degree at USF. However, the College of Arts and Sciences does not permit students to count credits earned at another institution toward a degree from USF while on temporary or permanent academic dismissal from USF.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DEGREES

The College of Arts and Sciences offers three undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Social Work. A minimum of 120 semester hours credit (124 semester hours for Mass Communications) with an overall average of 2.0 or better in all work completed at the University of South Florida must be attained in order to earn the undergraduate degree. The Bachelor of Independent Studies is an external degree program in which the student proceeds at his/her own pace.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MEET GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.

  1. You must complete at least 120 accepted semester hours with an overall gpa of 2.000. Mass Communications requires 124 hours for the 1987-88 catalog and after.
  2. You must have an overall major gpa of 2.000. Note: in Mass Communications you must have a 2.500 gpa in major courses in the 1989 catalog or after, Social Work requires a 2.75 major gpa.
  3. You must complete the Foreign Language Entrance Requirement if you entered USF fall semester, 1987 or later. If you are pursuing a B.A. degree, you must complete the Foreign Language Exit Requirement
  4. If you first enrolled in a college in January, 1983 or after, you must satisfy State Rule 6A10.30 (Gordon Rule) concerning computation and communications. Transfer students who enter the University of South Florida with 60 or more semester hours from a regionally accredited institution are considered to have met the communications portion of the Gordon Rule.
  5. You must satisfy General Education Requirements. - General Education Requirements (36): Six (6) hours credit in English Composition; Six (6) hours credit in Quantitative Methods, Six (6) hours credit in Natural Sciences, Six (6) hours credit in Social Sciences, Six (6) hours credit in Historical Perspectives, Three (3) hours credit in Fine Arts, and Three (3) hours credit in African, Latin American, Middle Eastern, or Asian Perspectives; Exit Requirements (9): Six (6) hours credit in Major Works and Major Issues and Three (3) hours credit in Literature and Writing
  6. Elective Physical Education is limited to 2 semester hours.
  7. ROTC is limited to 9 semester hours.
  8. Maximum of 20 hours of S/U option; none in major courses.
  9. The Audit option is available only during the first 5 days of classes; none permitted later.
  10. You must complete at least 9 semester hours during summer terms if you entered USF with fewer than 60 semester hours.
  11. "D" grades are not acceptable in the major and supporting sciences for all natural sciences majors. "D" grades are not acceptable for the major area in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Mass Communications, English, History, Humanities, and Communication. Only one "D" is allowed in the major for Criminology. (Important! All grades including "D"s and "F"s are used to calculate all Arts and Sciences major gpa.)
  12. You must satisfy all major course requirements.
  13. You must complete a minimum of 40 hours of upper-level courses (numbered 3000 or above). Most of the major hours fit here. Lower-level course work from 2-year or 4-year schools, though equivalent to a 3000-level course at USF, does not meet this requirement.
  14. You must complete 60 semester hours at a bachelor degree-granting college or university. Thirty (30) of the last 60 semester hours must be completed at USF to fulfill the residency requirement. Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Mathematics majors must complete a minimum of 30 hours of course work in natural sciences courses at USF with letter grades. Physics majors must complete a minimum of 12 credits of physics courses at USF applicable to the Physics major. There must be a minimum of 80 hours (90 for Mass Communications) outside of your major department for all majors in arts and letters and social sciences.
  15. You must take and pass the CLAST (College Level Academic Skills Test) exam the semester in which you achieve or pass 45 semester hours or in your first term as an upper level transfer student. Only students with a baccalaureate degree or who have a previous exemption do not have to take the test. (If not passed by 70 hours, remediation will be required. You may still take other courses. If not passed by 96 hours, contact the Office of Evaluation and Testing for further information regarding course work.
  16. A maximum of 14 hours of non-degree seeking hours (special student classification) wiII count for graduation.
  17. All USF degree seeking and non-degree seeking students are bound by the drop policy. From the second through the ninth week of classes (time period is different in summer--check class schedule) and between 0-59 semester hours, 3 drops are allowed and between 60 semester hours and graduation 3 more drops are allowed. Students classified as 5 (usually second degree seekers) are also allowed only 3 drops. Additional drops above these numbers result in an automatic "F" grade. Drops within the first 5 days of classes are not considered. Students can drop classes by telephone or by submitting a drop form to the Registrar's Office. Total withdrawal from all classes in a term is not considered toward the drop limitation. After the ninth week or for additional drops students must petition the Academic Regulations Committee (ARC).
  18. Students must be in attendance the first day each class meets for all classes registered before classes begin. Failure to attend will result in an automatic drop from the class. Do not use this policy as a way to drop classes. Submit a drop slip or drop by telephone. Mandatory First Day Attendance policy is not in effect for any classes for which registration occurs during the first week. Open University courses and certain other categories of courses as indicated in the Schedule of Classes must be dropped with a drop slip or by telephone.
  19. Students are allowed to repeat a course in which a B,C,D or F has been earned and have only the second grade of A, B, C, or D count in the gpa by submitting a Grade Forgiveness Form. A maximum of 3 grade forgiveness are allowed and grade forgiveness may be used for a course only once. Note: All grades (transfer and USF) are considered for honors. Both the original and repeated courses must be taken at USF.
  20. Students are in good academic standing unless the grade point average falls below a 2.000 for USF courses. (Transfer grades are not considered.) The first semester the gpa falls below a 2.000 students are placed on academic probation (AP). If the gpa is not raised to a 2.000 the next term of enrollment, students are temporarily dismissed and may re-enroll after one term. Students in this category (TAD) upon returning to USF must achieve a 2.000 in courses taken during the term and raise the USF gpa to a 2.000 after 2 terms. Failure to achieve a 2.000 after 2 terms will result in a permanent dismissal (PAD). A gpa below 1.000 with 12 or more total hours attempted at USF will result in an immediate permanent dismissal. Students who have documentation to support readmission may petition the Academic Regulations Committee.
  21. Courses taken at another institution while a USF student must be approved in advance (Transient Student/Cross Enrollment Form). No credit will be given for courses taken at another institution while on dismissal from USF.

Turn in your graduation application to SOC 102 during the 1st to the 4th week of the semester in which you plan to graduate. Applications are not accepted late.

The Departmental Minor

In order to help students develop some concentration in elective work taken in conjunction with their chosen major, the College of Arts and Sciences offers minors in the following departments/programs: Africana Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Classics, Communication, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Criminology, Economics, English, Foreign Languages, Geography, Geology, Gerontology, History, Humanities, International Studies, Linguistics, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Women's Studies. In general, these require half as many hours as are required for the major. There are certain restrictions that apply to students earning a minor: (a) students who major and minor in the social sciences and arts and letters may not use courses in the major for the minor or for general distribution requirements; and (b) ISS majors may not earn a minor in any of the social and behavioral sciences incorporated in their contracts. In some departments, S/U grades within the minor curriculum are not countable. Specific requirements for the different minors appear under the departmental summaries listed under Programs and Curricula.

S/U Grades

In the College of Arts and Sciences courses having S/U grading as an option, S/U contracts must be negotiated in writing within the first three (3) weeks of the term.

A maximum of 20 hours of optional S/U credits may be counted towards the 120 hours (124 hours for Mass Communications) needed for the degrees. None of the 20 credits may be taken in the student's major unless S/U is the only grading option. Freshman English may not be taken S/U.

Programs Leading to the Baccalaureate Degree

The departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences are Africana Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Communication, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Criminology, Economics, English, Geography, Geology, Gerontology, Government & International Affairs, History, Humanities, Independent Studies, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences; International Studies, Liberal Studies, Library and Information Science, Marine Science, Mass Communications, Mathematics, Medical Technology, Modern Languages and Linguistics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Rehabilitation Counseling, Religious Studies, Social Work, Sociology, and Women's Studies. The College of Arts and Sciences offers a major in 36 fields as described in the following pages. In addition to the departmental majors, interdisciplinary majors are offered. Economics offers two majors, one in the College of Arts and Sciences and the other in the College of Business Administration.

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Science Degree

Bachelor of Social Work Degree (B.S.W.)

Bachelor of Independent Studies (B.I.S.)

*Offered jointly with the College of Education.

Honors Programs

Faculty and selected students in the college participate in the University Honors Program. In addition, the College of Arts and Sciences offers undergraduate honors programs in Anthropology, Biology, Classics, Communication, English, Geology, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, and Psychology. Students interested in one of these honors programs should consult the appropriate department for further information.

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Send comments to:
Margaret R. Martinroe - webCat@ugs.usf.edu
Publication Date: June 1, 1995

http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/9596/asacainf.htm