Catalog 2017-18 > Programs of Study and Degree Requirements > General Distribution and Course Requirements

General Distribution and Course Requirements

The required minimum of 120 credits must be appropriately distributed among five areas of study. The table below gives the minimum credits required in each area.

A credit corresponds to an average of three hours of student work each week throughout an academic semester. Therefore, a four-credit course (the most common course size at Olin) generally requires students to spend 12 hours each week attending classes, completing homework, participating in laboratory activities, and fulfilling all other course responsibilities.

The course catalog lists, for each course, the number of credits earned and their area. Most courses provide credit in only one area. Some courses distribute their credits across more than one area. Students must register for at least 12 credits but no more than 20 credits each semester. Students typically register for 16 credits per semester. First year students are limited to 18 credits in the first semester. Some activities, like Passionate Pursuits and a few classes, provide non-degree credit, which appears on the transcript, but do not count toward minimum credit requirements. Non-degree credit counts toward the maximum credits per semester, but not toward the minimum.

General Course Requirements

All Olin students, regardless of degree or concentration, must satisfy the following course requirements. The table includes one or more current classes that satisfy each requirement. We strongly encourage students to complete all required 1000 level courses prior to the start of their junior year.

Math and Science

Probability and Statistics - One of

Biology Foundation - One of:

The Biology Foundation is satisfied by one of five course topics at the 1000 level or by an intermediate or advanced biology course under the following circumstances:

1. Students who took an AP biology class in High School and received a score of 4 or 5 are automatically eligible to place into an intermediate or advanced biology class.
2. Students who took an AP biology class in High School and received a score of 3, or IB HL and received a comparable score have the option to take an oral assessment to determine whether they are eligible to place into an advanced biology class. Interested students who meet these criteria should contact biology faculty to set up an appointment for the exam.

Chemistry/Materials Science - One of:

Physics - One of:

Engineering

Engineering Capstone - One of:

The student’s decision to enroll in either SCOPE or ADE is required a month following the Spring semester SCOPE Summit. This deadline is strictly enforced in an effort to ensure appropriateness of projects based on the composition of student teams.

Both options are a two consecutive semester course requirement, totaling 8 credits.  

Design

Design Depth Course - One of:

The approved design depth courses listed below adhere to four criteria: 1) focus on a major theme in design thinking covered at an advanced level, 2) involve substantial theoretical consideration of design principles, processes or methods, 3) present the theme and theoretical consideration at an interdisciplinary level covering material that is relevant and accessible to multiple disciplines, and 4) provide substantial project experience that aims to create a system, component or process to meet needs.

AHS and Entrepreneurship

Students complete an AHS foundation, an Entrepreneurship foundation and either a concentration in AHS or a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

AHS Foundation - One of:

Entrepreneurship Foundation - One of:

AHS or Entrepreneurship Concentration

Students choose to concentrate in either AHS or Entrepreneurship. A concentration is a 12 credit sequence of approved courses in the chosen discipline.  

Olin Self Study

The Olin Self Study (OSS) Requirement is a graduation requirement that all Olin students must fulfill with 4 credits of approved advanced work. All activities give students experience in identifying areas and questions of interest; developing and following a plan of study in pursuit of understanding important concepts in the proposed area or in pursuit of an answer to the proposed question; and communicating the knowledge they gain, apply, analyze, synthesize, and/or evaluate through the investigation.

All OSS activities must explicitly achieve the following:

• Develop students’ skills in working independently to learn challenging material and to tackle challenging problems.
• Develop students’ skills in communication relevant to the field and project.
• Hone students’ skills and attitudes enabling life-long learning.
• Still have questions? Consult the complete User's Guide to Self Study @ Olin.

Approval varies depending on the type of project:

• If fulfilling the OSS requirement with an AHS or E! capstone project, approval of the project will go through those program committees.
• If fulfilling the OSS requirement with research, the research must be a second semester of research with the same faculty member to insure advanced level work at a 3000 or 4000 level. The research must also include a significant self-study component, receive a grade, and allow the student to contribute on an intellectual level to a field, and produce a relevant deliverable such as a literature review or work towards a research paper appropriate for submission.
• If fulfilling the OSS requirement with an Independent Study, the work must be sufficiently advanced to be considered equivalent to a 3000 or 4000 level course, an Olin faculty member must be the primary point of contact for the activity, and the project must receive a grade. 

The Olin Self Study Requirement form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by the semester add deadline. Signatures of the student, project adviser and disciplinary adviser (if appropriate) are required, as well as documentation that the proposal meets the standards set out above.

Note: If fulfilling the OSS requirement with an ARB approved course, the student must take the class for a grade. Courses can only be submitted for qualification to the ARB by faculty members. If a student believes they are taking a course that should fulfill the OSS requirement they should discuss this with the faculty member.