/Institutions/Simmons-College/json/2024-2025/Undergraduate-Course-Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Simmons-College/json/2024-2025/Undergraduate-Course-Catalog.json

Graduation Requirements for CompleteDegree Students

PLAN Requirements, Purpose,
and Double Counting (for CompleteDegree Students) 

	Plan Requirement	Purpose	Double Counting
	CNCT 101, 3 credits LDR 201, 4 credits	Communication essential capability Engagement with Simmons Communities; academic skill-building Leadership, teamwork
	CDA 201, 6 credits CNCT 201, 1 credit	Interdisciplinary and integrative learning Post-graduation support/ planning; careers, graduate school Academic skill-building; 3D planning
	3D (Design Across Diverse Disciplines)	Interdisciplinary and integrative learning 3 courses that are topically connected;	Each 3D course may count as a KCA. One 3D course may count in each major/minor course of study. 3D courses must be drawn from different disciplines. Two 3D courses may have been taken during the first or second year.
	Capstone	Expertise in student’s field of study	The Capstone is in the major.
Any year	Key Content Areas (4 courses) Social/Historical Artistic, Literary Aesthetic Scientific	Exposure to content across disciplines	Each KCA may be fulfilled in a major/ minor course of study (if applicable).
	Quantitative Literacy (1 course)	Critical thinking and problem solving; literacy in numeric systems	The QL requirement may be fulfilled through a course in a student's major/minor course of study (if applicable).
	Language and Culture Requirement (2 additional GC KCA courses)	Cultural skill development

Math Competency Requirement

Students will be required to demonstrate competency in mathematics in one of the following ways before they are able to take a Quantitative Literacy course:

Pass the mathematics competency exam administered by the Office of Undergraduate Advising no later than the end of their first term at Simmons;

Successfully complete MATH 101 or a higher level mathematics course at Simmons;

Present evidence of satisfactory completion at another accredited college of a mathematics course at the level of MATH 101 or above to the Registrar’s office.

Students must satisfy the math competency requirement during their first semester at Simmons. Students who do not pass the mathematics competency exam by orientation or who do not meet the math competency requirement in one of the other ways described above, must take MATH 101 in the first semester it is available.

Language and Culture Requirement (QL)

Complete Degree students must take two additional Global/Cultural KCA courses to satisfy this PLAN requirement.

Quantitative Literacy Requirement (QL)

Quantitative Literacy (QL) is a “habit of mind,” competency, and comfort in working with numerical data. Courses in this area will develop a student’s ability to reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. QL courses will develop the skills necessary to understand and create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence, and to clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate).

Key Content Area (KCA) Requirements

The key content areas pertain to phenomena as objects of study across the disciplines, rather than modes of inquiry defined by a particular discipline or set of disciplines.
Indeed, these categories describe areas of knowledge from multidisciplinary perspectives. The phenomena included under each of the four areas listed below thus admit of a wide variety of ways of knowing or disciplinary approaches. Students must complete one course from each of the following areas:

1] Aesthetic, Literary, and Artistic (ALA)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in art and literature as well as ways of knowing or creating original works or aesthetic approaches to these phenomena. This requirement can be met by courses in any of the creative and performing arts as well as in any course in the study of literature, art, and music. Courses in other disciplines that provide perspectives of aesthetic, literary, and artistic phenomena as defined above also meet this requirement. For example, a course that studies the digital or computational aspects of artistic creation would meet this requirement.

2] Global Cultural (GC)

The term “global cultural” is broadly construed; it includes all cultures, past and present, within and beyond the U. S., and in their multiple forms of manifestation. Courses in this area offer our students the opportunity to understand and learn to appreciate cultural differences as they have made themselves manifest in humankind. This requirement can be met by courses in any discipline—from the liberal arts to the sciences and the professions—that provide a multicultural perspective of the world. For example, courses that focus on cross-cultural practices, or on minority cultures in the U. S., or on non-European cultures, or that provide world surveys of cultures would all meet this requirement.

3] Scientific Inquiry (SCI)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in the natural and physical world and on ways of knowing these phenomena, particularly through experimental approaches. This requirement is primarily met by courses in the sciences and psychology; the requirement may also be met by courses in other disciplines providing perspectives on scientific phenomena. All courses meeting this requirement include a “hands on” component providing students the opportunity to understand and appreciate the scientific method.

4] Social and Historical (SH)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in society and history as well as ways of knowing these phenomena. This requirement can be met by courses in the social sciences, including economics, political science, sociology, social psychology, social work, and history. Courses in other disciplines that provide perspectives of social and historical phenomena as defined above also meet this requirement. For example, a course that focuses on the social applications of management principles would provide such perspectives.

 

List of CompleteDegree courses with KCA designations