College of Liberal Arts

Admission Policies

Admission to the College

Students may designate the College of Liberal Arts upon admission to the university. Some degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts have additional admission requirements: BFA in Art, BA in International Studies, BA in Music, BM in Music, BA in Public Policy Leadership, and BFA in Theatre Arts. These additional requirements are listed in the departmental major and minor requirements in this section.

Academic Regulations

Program Completion Requirements

Total Hours Required

At least 120 semester hours with passing grades must be completed for any liberal arts degree. Departmental requirements may exceed this number.

Advanced Work Requirement

At least one-third of the hours applied toward a degree must be at the 300-, 400-, or 500-level. For example, a student qualifying for a degree with 120 semester hours must show at least 40 hours of work at the 300 level or above.

Total Grade Points

A student must attain at least 2.00 grade points for all ABCDF-graded credit hours attempted. Z- and P-graded credit hours are not included in this calculation. Thus, a student qualifying for a degree with 114 ABCDF-graded hours and 6 Z-graded hours would need 228 grade points to meet the requirement, whereas the same student would need 240 grade points if all 120 hours were ABCDF-graded.

Exercise and Leisure Activity Courses

While exercise and leisure activity (EL) courses are not required, a maximum of 6 hours of these courses may be counted toward a liberal arts degree. These courses are taken only on a pass-fail grading basis.

Electives in the Professional Schools

A maximum of 30 hours of electives or work applied toward a minor may be taken in the professional schools at the University of Mississippi and applied to a liberal arts degree. All of this work may be done in one school or may be divided among several of the schools.

Final Examinations

It is the University and College of Liberal Arts policy that instructors must give a final examination unless an exception has been approved by the appropriate department chair and the dean. In addition, instructors must receive prior approval from the department chair and the dean in order to give a final examination at a time other than the time scheduled by the University.

If an individual student has a reason of such importance as to justify taking the examination at another time, the instructor, at his or her discretion, and with the permission of the department chair, may administer the final examination for that individual student at some other time within the examination period. Please be aware that instructors are not required to arrange alternative examination times. The one exception is when a student has three examinations in one day. In these cases, the noon or the 7:30 pm examination will be moved to a mutually satisfactory date/time. In these individual student situations, the permission of the Dean's office is not required.

Degree Application

Each senior must apply for a degree by returning a completed Degree Application Form to the dean's office in the semester preceding the semester in which the student expects to graduate. The dean's office sets the application deadlines and notifies students of their specified deadlines by letter, e-mail, and e-newsletter. This deadline will allow the student time to make any schedule changes required to complete all degree equirements and should guard against the disappointment of having graduation delayed. After obtaining the form from the dean's office, the student lists the courses he or she plans to submit for graduation, and then takes the form to his or her academic adviser and major department chair to review and sign. A double major requires the signatures of both department chairs. The student then returns the form to the dean's office for final certification that the courses listed on the application qualify the student for graduation. The degree application should not be confused with the diploma application, which is filed only after the degree application has been approved by the dean. The diploma application is an online form that must be filed during the semester of anticipated graduation.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Listed in the table below are the general education courses that the college requires for all B.A. degree programs. Details of the requirements are described following the table. This B.A. required curriculum includes all university core courses. AP, CLEP and IB credit can be used toward fulfilling these requirements. Students should note that some majors and minors require specific courses within the following categories.

First Year Composition

The requirement consists of 6 hours of first year composition. The standard composition sequence consists of 1) either Writ 100 or Writ 101 and 2) either Writ 102 or Liberal Arts (Liba) 102.

English Literature Survey

The literature survey courses that satisfy this requirement are 6 hours of Eng 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, and 22x. (Eng 103 and 299 do not satisfy this requirement.) Eng courses at the 300, 400, or 500 level may not be used to satisfy this requirement.

Modern Or Ancient Language

The university offers courses in American Sign Language, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Students must complete 6 hours at the 200 level or above in one modern or ancient language to fulfill this requirement in the College of Liberal Arts.With approval from the Department of Modern Languages, students may use languages other than those above to satisfy the requirement.

Students may elect to continue the language begun in high school or may choose to begin another language. They should enroll in their first course at the university according to placement guidelines provided by the Department of Modern Languages or Classics. Once the language sequence has been entered, the student must successfully complete each course prior to beginning the next in the sequence. After having successfully completed a course in a sequence, no student may enroll in an earlier course in that sequence. Students who complete 100 and 200 level courses through study abroad may not take equivalent courses on campus.

Speakers of languages other than English may present evidence of this to the Department of Modern Languages and thus have the language requirement waived. If these students wish to enroll in classes in their native language, they must begin at or beyond the 300 level.

Science

Courses may be chosen from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, Liba 205, 205L, 150, 151, and physics. Two semesters of course work in one subject and one semester in a subject from another department are required. Each course must be a minimum of 3 credit hours. At least two of the courses taken must include laboratories. For some classes, the required laboratory will be an additional 1-hour course. For example, a student might take two 3-hour lecture courses in chemistry along with the two associated 1-hour laboratory courses, and one 3-hour course in biology without laboratory. As a second example, a student might take two 4-hour lecture/laboratory courses in geology and one 3-hour course in astronomy. As a third example, a student might take two chemistry courses, one with lab and one without, and a geology course with lab. Note that a student taking the required 6 hours of one subject (astronomy or physics) from the Department of Physics and Astronomy must take the remaining 3 hours from another department. Astronomy 101 and 102 do not include laboratory work; Astronomy 103 and 104 include laboratory work and satisfy the requirements for lab-based science credits. A student may not receive credit for taking Astr 101 or 102 with either Astr 103 or 104.

History

Students who prefer to satisfy the requirement at the 300 level must wait until their sophomore year because freshmen are not allowed in those courses. However, the history department strongly recommends that students complete 6 hours of lower-division history courses before enrolling in a 300-level course. The permission of the chair of the Department of History is required to use 400-level courses to meet the requirement.

Mathematics

Courses that meet the mathematics requirement are mathematics courses at the 100-level or above except for Math 245 and Math 246.

Social Science

Courses may be chosen from anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, and Liba 203.

Additional Humanities

The course may be chosen from African American studies; classical civilization; environmental studies 101, gender studies (G St 201, 301, 333, 350); Liba 202; philosophy; religion; Southern studies (S St 101, 102). In addition, gender studies courses that are cross-listed with African American studies, classical civilization, English, modern languages, philosophy, or religion courses will satisfy this requirement.

Fine Or Performing Arts

The course may be chosen from art history, music, dance, and theatre arts. Studio and workshop courses cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. Courses that satisfy this requirement are any Art History (AH); Liba 204, 130, Mus 101, 102, 103, 104, 105; Danc 200; Thea 201, 202. Students who have completed 30 semester hours of undergraduate course work may fulfill the requirement with a 300- or 400-level art history course.

College Specific and Collegewide Degree Requirements

Major

The purpose of the major in the B.A. degree is to afford students the opportunity to study one subject area in depth. In some cases, the major in the B.A. prepares the student for a profession or for advanced study in graduate or professional degree programs. Each student must complete a major course of study of at least 24 hours in one department. An exception to this rule is the B.A. in liberal studies, which requires a student to complete three minors, as well as to fulfill other requirements. Requirements for each department are listed in the departmental major and minor requirements in this section. An overall GPA of C (2.00) or higher is required in all work applied toward the major. Students must earn at least 12 hours of their major courses in residence, and must achieve a 2.00 GPA or higher in all major courses taken in residence. A student may not count a course toward both major and minor requirements. Double majors and majors earned for double degrees may not count a course toward both majors. In some majors, a minimum grade of C is required for each course applied toward the major.

Minor

The purpose of the minor requirement is to afford the student diversity in learning and intellectual development. Except for the B.A. in international studies and B.A. in Southern studies, students who complete the B.A. degree in the College of Liberal Arts must complete a minor course of study (or a second major). In a department that offers multiple areas of study, a student may complete the minor course of study (or complete a second major) in the same department as the one in which the student takes his or her major, with the exception of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Unless otherwise specified, a minor consists of 18 hours. Requirements for each department are listed in the departmental major and minor requirements in this section.

An overall GPA of 2.00 or higher is required in all work applied toward the minor. Some departments require a minimum grade of C in each course applied toward the minor. Students must earn at least 6 hours of their minor courses in residence and must achieve a 2.00 average or higher in all minor courses taken in residence. A course may not be counted toward both major and minor requirements.

A minor may be taken in any liberal arts department or center. Interdisciplinary minors are available in cinema, digital media studies, East Asian studies, environmental studies, gender studies, international studies, neuroscience, medieval studies, and society and health. Minors also may be chosen in certain disciplines in the professional schools: accountancy, business administration, computer science, education, engineering, geology, intelligence and security studies, journalism, legal studies, and recreation administration.

Students may declare a minor at any time by completing the proper notification in the dean's office, but they must declare a minor when they complete their degree application (see Degree Requirements section).

Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A)

See the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Art and the B.F.A. in Theatre Arts listings for curriculum tables outlining the general education requirements.

College Specific And Collegewide Degree Requirements

B.F.A. degrees, which are in art and theatre, do not require a minor. All other specific requirements are shown under the art and theatre arts sections of the departmental major and minor section.

Bachelor of Music (B.M.)

See the Department of Music section and the Bachelor of Music (B.M.) listing for curriculum tables outlining the general education requirements for the B.M. degree.

College Specific And Collegewide Degree Requirements

The B.M. degree does not require a minor. All other specific requirements for this degree program are shown under the music portion of the departmental major and minor section.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

B.S. Degrees in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Bachelor of Science students with majors in biological science, chemistry, forensic chemistry, mathematics, or physics must follow the curriculum below. Details of the requirements are described below the table.

See the B.A. general education requirements section for a definition of courses that satisfy the first year composition, English literature, modern or ancient language, and fine or performing arts requirements.

Social Science And Humanities

The courses may be chosen from African American studies, anthropology, classical civilization, economics, gender studies, history, Liba 202, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, and Southern studies. At least 6 hours must be chosen from among the social sciences, which consists of anthropology, economics, Liba 203, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Related Subjects

Acceptable related subjects for each major are given in the following table.

An overall GPA of 2.00 or higher is required in the 18 hours of related subjects. Transfer students must take at least 6 of these hours in residence. Students should note that the university core curriculum requires two laboratory science courses. Students who do not fulfill this requirement with their major and related subjects courses will have to earn additional science credits. Optional Minor: Students pursuing the B.S. degree are allowed to complete a minor course of study. Required hours completed in the related subjects can be counted as hours toward a minor. See the "B.A. College Specific and Collegewide Degree Requirements" section for information on completing a minor.

College Specific and Collegewide Degree Requirements

A B.S. degree requires a major and 18 hours in related subjects. The requirements for the major are given in the individual degree program sections. A GPA of 2.00 or higher is required in all work applied toward the major. Students must earn at least 18 hours of their major courses in residence, and must achieve a 2.00 or higher GPA in all courses taken in residence and applied towards the major.

Advising

Each student who is admitted to the College of Liberal Arts is assigned an academic adviser. A student who has declared a major will be assigned an adviser from that department. A student who has not declared a major will be assigned to an academic adviser in the Academic Support Center. All of the advising for the pre-health majors is done through the Health Professions Advising Office. The adviser's primary role is to assist a student during registration periods in selecting courses appropriate for his or her degree program. In addition, the academic adviser is available throughout the student's entire course of study to discuss future plans or possible academic difficulties. Students are reminded that the faculty member's role is only to give advice. The ultimate responsibility for meeting all degree requirements belongs to the student.

Selecting and Changing Majors

Declaring a Major

A student may declare a major upon admission to the college. This declaration is not binding but allows the college to assign the student an academic adviser in the student's field of interest. An undecided student will be assigned an adviser in the Academic Support Center. Undecided students must inform the dean's office to declare a major.

Change of Major

Students who change their majors during the course of their studies must notify the dean's office so that a new adviser can be assigned. The college does not discourage changing the major, but the student should bear in mind that changes may delay graduation. Changing one's major is not sufficient reason for allowing a student to withdraw from a course after the course withdrawal deadline.