Undergraduate Study

Bachelor of Arts Degree

Unless modified in individual cases by administrative action, the following requirements must be fulfilled by all students to qualify for formal recommendation by the faculty for the degree of Bachelor of Arts:

1. Completion of a minimum of 128 units.
2. Attainment of a 2.0 grade point average or better for all courses undertaken at Occidental College and for the student’s entire course of study.
3. Attainment of a 2.0 grade point average or better for all courses undertaken within a departmental major or minor.
4. Satisfaction of the writing proficiency requirement.
5. Completion of the Core Program by the end of the junior year.
6. Demonstration of competence in a foreign language, to be met by an examination given during orientation week in the fall; presentation of an appropriate Scholastic Aptitude Test II score (see language department for the score for your language) or an Advanced Placement score of 4 or 5; or by the satisfactory completion of a second semester language course. (Students will not receive credit for Language 101 if they have more than one year of high school study or one term of college language.) This must be completed in the freshman and sophomore years except in the case of those whose major requirements make necessary postponement to the junior year. (See Advising Handbook for additional information.)
7. Completion of a major or an Independent Pattern of Study. It is possible to have a double major.
8. Passing of a final comprehensive requirement in the senior year in the major subject or area of concentration, or in the case of those studying under an Independent Pattern of Study, as designed by the student’s advisory committee.
9. Fulfillment of all degree requirements, other than the comprehensive examination and work in progress in the final semester, at least six weeks prior to graduation.
10. No Incomplete grades, NR grades, or CIP grades on the student’s transcript at the time of graduation.

A minimum of 64 units (exclusive of Occidental-sponsored study-abroad programs) of the required number of units for graduation must be taken by the student at Occidental College to receive the Bachelor of Arts degree. Sixteen units of the last 32 units must be Occidental College courses taken in residence on the home campus.

The degree of Bachelor of Arts is conferred at the May Commencement upon all candidates who have satisfied degree requirements at any time since the last Commencement.

The Honors Program

The Honors Program at Occidental is designed to allow the superior student’s attention to be focused on an independent investigation for a sustained period of time. It is expected that students admitted to the College Honors Program will have established themselves as outstanding prospects for individualized work in the department of their major and also will have established themselves as submitting work of very high quality in all that they have undertaken at Occidental. Student admission to the College Honors Program will be by formal action of the faculty in the student’s major department. Ordinarily no student will be admitted to the College Honors Program who does not have an overall grade point average of 3.25. No student will, under any circumstances, receive honors who has not maintained this grade point average by the end of spring semester of the senior year. Individual departments may set a higher minimum grade point average, both overall and within the major.

Students accepted for the College Honors Program are exempt from the eight-unit limit in Independent Study and may take Advanced Research (499) courses on an independent study basis. The purpose of such research is to prepare a special project to be submitted to the major department for evaluation no later than the 10th week of the spring semester of the student’s senior year. Evaluation of the completed project will be made by a committee of department faculty and may include readers from outside the department or College. Students wishing to be considered for participation in the Honors Program should contact the chair of the appropriate department during the spring semester of their sophomore year and, in any event, will be admitted to the program no later than the second week of the fall semester of their senior year.

It should be stressed that completion of an Honors project does not in itself guarantee the conferring of College Honors.

See also honors in an “Independent Pattern of Study.”

Honors at Graduation

Summa cum Laude: a grade point average of 3.90 or above. Magna cum Laude: a grade point average of 3.75 or above. Cum Laude: a grade point average of 3.50 or above. Grade point averages for Honors are based on work done at Occidental College only.

Major Concentration

A student is encouraged to declare a major at any point during the freshman year, and is required to do so not later than registration at the end of the sophomore year. Only under exceptional circumstances may a major be changed after the end of the junior year and only by special petition to the Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee. Students are expected to complete those major requirements in effect in the year they declare the major.

Unless different regulations are specified under the departmental requirements for graduation, a student who fails to attain a 2.0 grade point average in introductory and intermediate courses within the major will not be accepted by that department as a major.

The minimum number of units for a major is prescribed by the individual departments. The maximum number of units that may be required by a department in courses taken within that department is 48, but a student who wishes to do so may take more than the required number of units in the major subject. At least 64 units of coursework counting toward the A.B. degree, however, must be taken outside of the major department. In any single semester, students are strongly discouraged from taking more than 12 units in a single department.

Each department requires of its major students in the senior year a comprehensive examination, the evaluation of which becomes a part of each student’s permanent record.

Double Major—A student completes all requirements for the major in each of two separate departments. Students must complete a minimum of 32 units for each major (none of which may overlap) as well as separate comprehensive examinations. The same course cannot be used for both majors.

Minor Concentration

A student is allowed to declare an academic minor, consisting of at least 20 units chosen from a list determined by each department. Students who wish to declare minors must do so no later than the fall semester of the senior year. (Students may not use any of the same courses for minors as for majors and emphases.) Students should consult the appropriate department for a list of courses acceptable for the minor.

Departmental Majors and Minors

Art History and the Visual Arts
Asian Studies
Biology
Chemistry
Chinese (minor only)
Critical Theory and Social Justice
Economics
Education (minor only)
English and Comparative Literary Studies
French Literary Studies
Geology
German Studies (minor only)
Group Language (major only)
History
Japanese (minor only)
Linguistics (minor only)
Mathematics
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Politics
Psychology
Religious Studies
Russian (minor only)
Sociology
Spanish Literary Studies
Theater

Interdepartmental Majors:

American Studies
Biochemistry (major only)
Chevalier Program in Diplomacy and World Affairs (major only)
Cognitive Science
Kinesiology
Psychobiology (major only)
Urban and Environmental Policy

Interdepartmental Programs:

Classical Studies (minor only)
Latin American Studies (minor only)

Interinstitutional Programs:

3/2 and 4/2 Combined Plan Programs in Liberal Arts and Engineering with California Institute of Technology and Columbia University
Cooperative arrangement with Columbia University School of Law
Cooperative arrangement with the Keck Graduate Institute
Exchanges with Art Center College of Design and California Institute of Technology

Independent Pattern of Study

Occidental offers students, with the consultation of faculty members, the opportunity to design an Independent Pattern of Study (IPS) in lieu of a major program. An Independent Pattern of Study is appropriate when a student has a strong and well developed motivation to pursue interdisciplinary study in areas where the College does not have a defined program. Such a program is particularly appropriate in newly emerging areas of study. It must, however, be one which is feasible for both the College and the student. The student must demonstrate to the faculty involved a record of success in completing previous work in courses, independent study, and other programs.

A proposal for an IPS should include (1) a statement of academic purpose; (2) a program of at least 48 units, including 32 numbered 300 or greater; (3) a proposal for the comprehensive project; (4) plans for faculty involvement including regular meetings with the entire committee and (5) an overall GPA of 3.25 or better at the time the IPS proposal is submitted for approval. The program of study must be endorsed by an IPS Committee composed of three members of the faculty, with no more than two faculty from the same department.

The procedure for proposing an IPS begins with the submission of a proposal to the Student Progress Committee no later than six weeks before the end of the sophomore year. (Appropriate forms are available in the Registrar’s Office.) The proposal, after any necessary revisions, will be presented by the student to the assembled IPS committee in preparation for final submission. Final proposals for IPS must be approved no later than the end of the sophomore year.

The student’s transcript will have “Independent Pattern of Study” listed under the heading of “Major.” The title chosen for the IPS will be identified on the transcript as an emphasis in the major.

Honors in an Independent Pattern of Study

College Honors may be awarded to graduating seniors who demonstrate excellence in Independent Pattern of Study course work and in an honors thesis/project. To be eligible, students must have a 3.5 or better grade point average in courses taken for their IPS and an overall 3.25 grade point average.

Qualified students who wish to pursue honors must consult with their IPS committee during their junior year and submit a proposal for honors thesis/project no later than mid-term of the second semester of their junior year.

Pre-Professional Courses

The plan of undergraduate study at Occidental emphasizes a liberal education of the type that is generally recognized as desirable preparation for professional or vocational fields. Opportunity is afforded, however, for flexibility in developing programs suited to students’ individual needs and in providing for the subjects which are specified by many professional schools as a basis for graduate study. Suggestions concerning adaptation of majors to preparation for various vocational and professional fields are included in departmental announcements in this catalog. Students are encouraged, beginning in the freshman year, to utilize the services of the Career Development Center, where detailed information concerning vocational opportunities and preparation may be obtained (see page 369). The Career Development Center offers counseling to help students become aware of their potential and how that potential may be used productively during and after the college experience.