Florida State University 2007-2008 General Bulletin Undergraduate Edition
College of Arts and Sciences
Dean: Joseph Travis; Associate Deans: Lois Hawkes, Sam Huckaba, Joseph McElrath, Joseph F. Owens III.
A university education, properly realized, must be built upon an intellectually broadening program of study in the liberal arts. As critic Mark Van Doren has observed, "Liberal education makes the person competent—not merely to know or do, but also, and indeed chiefly, to be." The essential curriculum of a college education, Van Doren explained, teaches students to learn progressively the arts of investigation, discovery, criticism, and communication. Florida State University's liberal studies curriculum, which is grounded firmly in courses offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, helps to develop these crucial intellectual values and critical skills in all undergraduate students. Majors in the College of Arts and Sciences, furthermore, enjoy the privileges and benefits of developing a richer appreciation of the humanities and the sciences—an appreciation that enhances the quality of students' lives morally, intellectually, and professionally.
The oldest college at the University, the College of Arts and Sciences has provided generations of undergraduate students instruction in the liberal arts disciplines that are essential for intellectual development and personal growth: English and mathematics, history, the humanities, and the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences. At the graduate level, too, the contributions of the College of Arts and Sciences have been integral with the growth of the University. The first recorded master's degree at the Florida State College for Women was awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences in 1911, and the first doctorate at Florida State University was awarded in chemistry in 1952.
Over the decades, various professional schools have been established at the University, and several colleges and schools have separated from the College of Arts and Sciences to become individual administrative entities. Today, 75 percent of the Liberal Studies Program and over 40 percent of University instruction, generally, are offered by the College of Arts and Sciences. Furthermore, the college conducts a large percentage of the sponsored research at the University. Currently, the College of Arts and Sciences annually awards the largest number of doctoral degrees at the University.
College of Arts and Sciences faculty have earned national and international recognition for research, teaching, and distinguished service to the profession. In addition to awarding bachelor of science (BS), bachelor of arts (BA), master of science (MS), master of arts (MA), and doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees, and heavily supporting the Liberal Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences offers an extensive array of foundation courses for preprofessional and professional programs.
Facilities
The College of Arts and Sciences is housed in 21 buildings on the main campus and at off-campus field stations. Arts and sciences research activities are conducted at various locations around the world—from an archaeological site in Cetamura, Italy, to the Antarctic. Special facilities of the college include the Van de Graaf Nuclear Accelerator, the Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission Laboratory, the Statistical Consulting Center, and the Marine Laboratory on Apalachicola Bay. In addition, the National Park Service's Southeast Archaeological Center is a major repository of artifacts heavily used by anthropology majors. The college also staffs a large number of other specialized research and teaching laboratories: computer laboratories, radioisotope laboratories, a nuclear magnetic resonance lab, fluid dynamics and ocean modeling labs, language and writing labs, and other facilities. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Innovation Park also provides superb research experiences for faculty and students. Many departments maintain their own libraries of journals, books, and reference materials.
Opportunities
Departments in the College of Arts and Sciences work with various programs, schools, and colleges to offer cooperative and interdisciplinary degree programs. For example, majors in the college may pursue bachelor of arts (BA) degrees in English or modern languages with an emphasis in business, and they may apply for the one-year joint baccalaureate/MBA program. Editing internships in the Department of English offer excellent preprofessional experience; the secondary science and/or mathematics teaching major certifies students to teach in two discipline areas; and several science departments provide hands-on research opportunities for undergraduates. Humanities, American studies, and Latin American and Caribbean studies majors are taught by faculty from several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. An arts and sciences major may minor in journalism through the cooperative program offered with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Students in arts and sciences help to edit and publish two campus literary magazines and often work on the staff of campus newspapers. Additionally, administrators, faculty, and students in arts and sciences are major participants in the Florence and London overseas study programs.
Unique Residential Halls
The College of Arts and Sciences helps to sponsor two residence-based learning communities, the Bryan Hall Learning Community and a program for Women in Math, Science, and Engineering (WIMSE). These programs are available to students residing in Bryan Hall and Jennie Murphree Hall, respectively. The Bryan Hall experience, available to first-year undergraduate students regardless of intended major, integrates residential life and academic life in a way that is unique on the University campus. The WIMSE program provides support for undergraduate women in the specified academic areas by offering role models, guest speakers, panel discussions, tutoring, opportunities for field trips, etc. Students seeking more information about either of these two programs should inquire of the University Housing Office.
Scholarships and Awards
Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible for various types of scholarships and grants administered centrally by the University. The College of Arts and Sciences also gives an award to every major elected as a junior to Phi Beta Kappa. All departments in the college administer undergraduate scholarship and award programs; most scholarships are awarded via nominations from departments within the college.
Requirements
All students must meet the University-wide baccalaureate degree requirements summarized in the "Undergraduate Degree Requirements" chapter of this General Bulletin. In addition, all students receiving a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences must satisfy the requirements listed in the following paragraphs.
In order to enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences, an undergraduate must be certified by the Division of Undergraduate Studies or be a transfer student with fifty-two (52) or more semester hours of accepted credit. Successful completion of CLAST also is required. Admission to the College of Arts and Sciences requires at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) in prior academic work and that the student be in good standing with the University. Since individual departments may stipulate higher admission standards, students should consult the appropriate chapters of this General Bulletin for specific requirements.
Students who wish to pursue graduate study in the College of Arts and Sciences must apply through the Office of Admissions and must be accepted for graduate study by the intended department or program. Those interested in graduate work in the college should therefore consult the "College of Arts and Sciences" entry and departmental or program chapters of the Graduate Bulletin.
Students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences may concurrently prepare for, and become certified in, various professional programs. This is made possible by the cooperation of professional schools within the University with various College of Arts and Sciences departments that have established programs with special emphasis in certain professional areas.
Requirements for Baccalaureate Degrees
Liberal Studies. All areas of liberal studies must be satisfactorily completed. Students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.0 in their liberal studies courses. Students who entered the upper division after summer 1983 must have a "C–" or better in each course in Areas I, II, and IV.
Note: All transfer students must have completed at least six (6) semester hours of English composition, three (3) semester hours of mathematics, three (3) semester hours of history, six (6) semester hours of humanities, and six (6) semester hours of natural sciences in order to satisfy College of Arts and Sciences requirements. Students who did not complete these courses at their previous institution will need to do so at the University.
Foreign Language. The College of Arts and Sciences requires that bachelor of arts and bachelor of science students be proficient at the intermediate level in one language other than English. Students may satisfy the requirement by completing course work through the 2000 level (2200 or equivalent course) of a classical or modern foreign language. Those with a 2.5 GPA may take these courses on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis, so long as they meet the University deadline for declaring this intention. A student taking course work to fulfill the college's foreign language requirement must earn at least a "C–." Hours used to fulfill the foreign language requirement may not be counted toward a major or a minor. For exceptions to this policy, students should contact the College of Arts and Sciences. Native speakers of another language and other students who wish to demonstrate proficiency by means other than course work should consult the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics.
Please note that the college's classical or modern foreign language requirement is more extensive than the University's foreign language admissions requirement. It is important to understand that, although completion of two years of high school foreign language courses or two semesters of postsecondary foreign language will satisfy the University's admissions requirement, these courses do not satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences' foreign language graduation requirements for BA and BS students. Please consult the "Admissions" section of this General Bulletin for more information.
Beginning Fall 2002, all students who intend to continue study of a modern foreign language at Florida State University in which they have previous experience (such as high school study or study abroad) must be placed into the appropriate course by the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Students in French, German, and Spanish who continue with the same language must take the placement test before they enroll in a course in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Students in other languages must consult the department for the appropriate placement procedures before enrolling.
Florida State University does not currently offer modern foreign language or classical language instruction at the Panama City campus. Therefore, students pursuing BA or BS degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences at the Panama City campus may count as part of their sixty (60) semester hours of senior institution work a maximum of twelve (12) semester hours of courses taken at Gulf Coast Community College, Pensacola Junior College, Okaloosa-Walton Community College, or Chipola Junior College to satisfy the language requirement. These hours will count toward the sixty (60) semester hours only if they are taken subsequent to the students' upper-division enrollment at the Panama City campus.
Summer Requirement. Students who enter one of the ten state universities with fewer than sixty (60) semester hours of transfer credit must complete nine (9) semester hours of course work during the summer at any of the ten institutions of the State of Florida, Division of Colleges and Universities. Effective Summer 2002, entering freshmen will be exempt from the summer term requirement if they have earned at least nine (9) semester hours of credit through approved acceleration mechanisms. Requests for waivers of the summer requirement (normally for reasons of regular summer employment) must be approved in the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences and by the Dean of the Faculties.
Upper-Level Course Work. Students must complete at least forty (40) semester hours of 3000/4000 level courses to receive their degree. Courses transferred from another school may count toward this requirement if the equivalent Florida State University course was numbered 3000 or above at the time the course was taken.
Senior Institution Hours. At least sixty (60) semester hours of course work must be completed at a senior institution (i.e., not a community college).
Repeated Courses. Credit can only be given one time per course. If, for example, a student receives a "D" grade in a course and then repeats it, the student will not receive duplicate credit. This will most frequently affect a student's total hours and/or upper-level hours.
Physical Activity and Other Activity Courses. The University will allow a maximum of two (2) semester hours of physical activity courses to count toward a degree (e.g., tennis, sailing). Students who attended a community college and received an AA may have already taken two (2) or more semester hours in this area. The University will not take away any hours from an AA; however, any additional courses taken in this area after the AA may not count toward the total hours needed to graduate from Florida State University. No more than eight (8) semester hours can be taken in applied music, physical activity, or office skills courses, combined.
Minor. Most majors in the College of Arts and Sciences also require a completed minor. Exceptions include secondary science/math teaching, humanities, foreign language/business, English/business majors, Middle Eastern studies, and certain science programs with collateral minors. Students completing a double major do not have to complete a minor. Students pursuing two degrees (dual certificate or a second baccalaureate degree) must have a separate minor for each degree that is awarded by this college. If one of the degrees is to be awarded by another college in the University, that dean's office will specify any minor requirements. While many minors require only twelve (12) semester hours, others require as many as eighteen (18) semester hours. No courses used for satisfying liberal studies requirements or a major may also be counted toward the minor. Normally, the student's minor will be in a different department than the major. In a few cases it may be possible to take the minor in a different program, but within the same department as the major. Students wanting to pursue that possibility must consult with their departmental adviser.
Grade Point Average. The University requires students to have a GPA of at least 2.0 in order to receive a bachelor's degree. Certain programs have established required exit GPAs that are above the 2.0 level; please consult the individual departmental listings.
Residency. A student's final thirty (30) semester hours must be completed in residence at Florida State University. Petitions for waivers of this requirement must document extenuating circumstances and be submitted through the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences prior to a review by the Dean of the Faculties. Students taking courses at another senior institution or by correspondence must request that a final official copy of their grades immediately be sent to the University. These grades must be added to the University transcript before the degree can be posted.
Incomplete Grades. "I" grades completed after the degree is posted will not be recorded. The "I" will simply remain an "I."
CLAST. Unless students are exempt, they must show passing scores on all sections of the College Level Academic Skills Test. For exceptions, students should contact the College of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean.
Community College Course Work. Please note that students cannot earn transfer credit for community college courses after they have been awarded an AA degree from a community college. Also, even if students have not already earned the AA, they still may not earn transfer credit for any community college courses taken during their final thirty (30) semester hours at Florida State University. See the "Foreign Language" section above for exceptions to this policy for students at the Panama City campus.
Requirements for the Major. Each candidate for the baccalaureate degree must complete major requirements in one of the following departmental or interdepartmental fields. The major normally consists of approximately thirty (30) semester hours, depending on the department in question. See departmental entries for specific requirements.
If courses from the major department are used to meet the liberal studies requirements, no more than four (4) semester hours of these liberal studies courses may also be counted toward the major requirements.
Exit Interviews or Surveys. Each department in the College of Arts and Sciences is required to conduct appropriate exit interviews or surveys of graduating students. In some departments, eligibility for graduation may be based on completion of the exit interview or survey.
Departmental Majors
| Humanities Area | Science Area |
| American Studies | Anthropology |
| Classics | Biological Sciences |
| English | Chemistry |
| History | Computer Science |
| Humanities | Geological Sciences |
| Modern Languages | Mathematics |
| Philosophy | Meteorology |
| Religion | Oceanography |
| Women's Studies | Physics |
| Psychology | |
| Secondary Science and/or Mathematics Teaching | |
| Statistics |
Research Facilities and Special Programs
Center for Materials Research and Technology
Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute
Institute for Molecular Biophysics
Program in Neuroscience
Office of Science Teaching Activities
Requirements for the Second Baccalaureate Degree or Dual Certificate
A student completing a second bachelor's degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete at least thirty (30) semester hours, and a minor, at Florida State University, in addition to the required hours for the first degree. The student must complete a new major and a new minor (with no overlap between these and the first major and minor), the Arts and Sciences Liberal Studies requirements, and demonstrate satisfaction of the College of Arts and Sciences foreign language requirement.
Note: To distinguish between second baccalaureates and second majors, see the appropriate paragraph under "Undergraduate Degree Requirements" in this General Bulletin.
Honors Program
The College of Arts and Sciences offers honors in the major in all departmental and interdepartmental programs. For requirements and other information, see the "University Honors Office and Honor Societies" chapter of this General Bulletin.