THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
ACADEMIC STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY
The academic and instructional program at Southwestern University is
organized through The Brown College of Arts and Sciences and The Sarofim School
of Fine Arts.
The Brown College of Arts and Sciences
The Brown College of Arts and Sciences was named in 1975 to honor the George
R. and Herman Brown families of Houston for their generosity. The Brown family
has maintained a strong commitment to educational opportunity and a continuing
interest in the institutions that have shaped their own lives, including
Southwestern University. The Brown Challenge was a gift providing resources of
truly transformative scale to Southwestern’s general endowment. Over the
years, gifts from The Brown Foundation and Brown family have also recognized and
promoted the potential of Southwestern’s faculty and students. The Brown
legacy at Southwestern is also present on campus today through the Shilling
Lecture Series, in the exemplary teaching and scholarship carried out by Brown
Chairs and Fellows, and in the presence on campus of the Brown Scholars,
recipients of Southwestern’s highest academic award. The Brown College
of Arts and Sciences is made up of the Division of Humanities, the Division of
Natural Sciences, and the Division of Social Sciences. Fields of study available
in the Brown College include 15 academic departments and one area. The Brown
College is also the primary home of 7 interdisciplinary programs. Division of
Humanities Classics Area
Communication
Studies
English
History
Modern Languages and
Literatures
Religion and Philosophy Division of Social
Sciences Economics and Business
Education
Kinesiology (see
Kinesiology Department)
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
and Anthropology Division of Natural Sciences Biology
Chemistry and
Biochemistry
Kinesiology (see Kinesiology Department)
Mathematics and
Computer Science
Physics
The Sarofim School of Fine Arts
The Sarofim School of Fine Arts has its roots in the University’s
original School of Music, which was established in 1888. In 1941, the Art
Department was merged with the School of Music, and the School of Fine Arts
offered its first courses with Dr. Henry Edwin Meyer as the first dean. In 1956,
the Drama and Speech Department was incorporated into the school. In 1999, it
became the Theatre Department, and The Sarofim School of Fine Arts evolved into
its present configuration. The purposes of The Sarofim School of Fine Arts are
to prepare students for professions in the fields of studio art, art history,
music and theatre, including the teaching of those subjects; to provide them
with a base of liberal arts subjects to afford them breadth and intellectual
solidity; to provide opportunities for all University students to participate in
studio, class and ensemble activities; and to function as an aesthetic and
cultural force for the University and the community. Housed in the Alma Thomas
Fine Arts Center and the Rufus Franklin Edwards Studio Arts Building, The
Sarofim School of Fine Arts makes available courses leading to the Bachelor of
Fine Arts degree in theatre, the Bachelor of Music degree, and the Bachelor of
Arts in art, art history, music and theatre. The Sarofim School of Fine
Arts Art and Art History
Music
Theatre
Interdisciplinary Programs
In addition, the University supports a series of team-taught,
interdisciplinary courses including fields represented both by The Brown College
of Arts and Sciences and The Sarofim School of Fine Arts. Interdisciplinary
Programs American Studies
Animal Behavior
Environmental
Studies
Feminist Studies
International Studies
Latin American
Studies
Physical Science
SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM
Rationale
At Southwestern University, we believe that the liberal arts must extend
beyond a prescribed set of courses and experiences to include all we do. In
structuring the academic curriculum, Southwestern University believes that
general education, the major, the minor and electives all contribute in a vital
way to a liberal arts education. A liberal arts approach to teaching and
learning requires that faculty in all disciplines provide courses that cause
students to challenge their own assumptions about the world and to become
individuals who are capable of self reflection and critical analysis and who are
passionate about continued learning throughout their lives. A liberal arts
approach requires that individual courses be placed in the context of the
discipline, in relationship to other disciplines, and in relation to the liberal
arts in general, such that students come to understand the essentially
interdisciplinary nature of the liberal arts. Students who experience such a
liberal arts education should become literate, informed and critical persons
capable of making the world more humane and civilized. Such students must
acquire the skills of communication: they must learn to read and think
critically, to write and speak cogently. They must develop mathematical
reasoning ability. Because cumulative learning develops their powers of
reasoning and analysis, they must achieve depth in some field of knowledge. At
the same time, they need to acquire breadth by becoming familiar with the
different specialized modes of acquiring knowledge of themselves and of their
social and natural environments. They must come to understand the complexity and
diversity of their own cultural heritage, both in historical context and in
relation to the international context of the 21st century. They must develop
religious and aesthetic awareness that will help them to make informed and
discriminating decisions.
Objectives
The Southwestern University curriculum is designed: To develop in students
a set of basic academic skills which are the marks of an educated person and are
fundamental to the successful completion of any program of study,
namely: Fluency in written and spoken English. Competence in analytical and
critical thinking. The ability to perform mathematical operations, carry out
quantitative analysis and/or practice mathematical reasoning. The ability to
access and evaluate bibliographic and other systems of stored data and
information, including electronic resources. Proficiency in a classical or
modern language other than English at the fourth-semester level. To allow
students to encounter the various perspectives on knowledge and modes of
reasoning, thinking and acquiring knowledge that are fundamental for
understanding personal existence, human community, and the natural environment
and that are necessary for continued self-education in the modern world,
namely: An understanding of other cultural traditions in order to expand
students’ cultural experience and provide fresh perspectives on their own
cultural assumptions and traditions. An understanding of the impact of
religious ideas and traditions on human experience. An understanding of how
knowledge of the natural world is acquired by the use of scientific methods of
inquiry and application of experimental techniques. An understanding of the
creative dimension of human existence and of aesthetic experience as a
distinctive mode of perceiving the world. An understanding of the relationship
between the individual and the social environment and of the ways in which that
relationship can be understood. An understanding of human experiences and
cultures through close reading and critical analysis of our histories,
literatures, languages, ideas and values. To develop proficiencies in students
based on systematic and rigorous study of a particular field. Students may
choose to focus their study on a discipline located within a particular academic
department or on an interdisciplinary program.
Structure of the Curriculum
The Southwestern University curriculum consists of three areas, each of which
contributes an essential component to the student’s educational
experience. Area One specifies courses common to all programs of study; Area Two
provides parameters within which students may choose courses that support their
work in Area One and Area Three; Area Three describes the general requirements
for an area of study in depth (the major).
I. Area One
First-Year Seminar or Advanced Entry Seminar (one course)
The purpose of
the First-Year Seminar and the Advanced Entry Seminar is to provide an
introduction to the Southwestern University liberal arts learning environment.
It involves investigation of a special topic in a mentoring relationship with a
faculty member that begins during Orientation week and continues into the first
part of a student’s first regular semester at Southwestern. Seminars are
special topic courses that provide stimulating and challenging academic
experiences to help prepare incoming students to be successful in a rigorous
liberal arts college environment. In particular, seminars focus on developing
the student’s abilities in the following areas: reading, writing, critical
thinking, research, informed discussion and creativity. Additional academic
socialization components prepare students for the challenging intellectual
demands of college-level course work. Must be completed in the first
semester. College Writing (one course)
Writing is a significant form of
thinking, a process of discovering and communicating ideas. This course is
designed to involve students directly in this process of writing as thinking, to
stimulate them to develop their ideas, and to increase their facility with the
English language and the use of bibliographic sources. Readings expose students
to effective writing and encourage them to respond accurately and intelligently
to the language and ideas of others, but the emphasis of this course is on the
students’ own writing of expository prose, including the research paper.
Should be completed in the first year. Mathematics (one course)
The
mathematics requirement is designed to insure that students have an appropriate
mastery of computational skills as well as an appreciation of the nature of
mathematical reasoning. Any three or four credit-hour mathematics or computer
science course taught at Southwestern University (excluding CSC54-143
Introduction to Programming) satisfies this requirement. Should be completed in
the first year. This course may not also fulfill an
Area Two Division requirement. Language (up to four
semesters)
Southwestern University students ordinarily must demonstrate
proficiency at the fourth-semester level in order to fulfill the foreign
language requirement. Incoming students have the opportunity to demonstrate
proficiency by achieving advanced placement on the regularly scheduled placement
examinations. Through the sustained study of literature or other forms of
cultural expression in the target language, students gain a foundational
understanding of communities and heritages other than their own. Students
thereby become conversant in an increasingly interconnected global environment
where proficiency in foreign languages provides access to intellectual inquiry
(including cultural and literary expression) otherwise inaccessible in a
monolingual setting. With permission of the Modern Languages and Literatures
Department, the foreign language requirement may be fulfilled by demonstrating
proficiency at the equivalent of the fourth-semester level in a language not
offered at Southwestern University. The student wishing to fulfill
Southwestern’s foreign language requirement in this manner is responsible
for supplying pertinent documentation to the Modern Languages and Literatures
Department and to the Registrar’s Office, including official transcripts
and/or expert verification of fourth semester or equivalent proficiency in the
target language, once the course of study is completed. Fitness and
Recreational Activity (two courses)
The objective of the Fitness and
Recreational Activity program is to develop knowledge, skills and physical
abilities that contribute to the enjoyment of various sports and leisure-time
activities throughout life, as well as to acquire techniques in developing and
maintaining personal physical fitness. Students are encouraged to develop and
practice a lifestyle that promotes wellness and physical fitness, and that
incorporates recreational activities on a regular basis. Students who complete a
season of participation in intercollegiate athletics may satisfy one FRA course
requirement for such participation. Repeat courses are not allowed in the
attainment of the two required FRA courses. Intercultural Perspectives (one
course)
The goal of this requirement is to help students understand and
interrogate their relation to the world. Students develop awareness of their own
and others’ worldviews by encountering and analyzing how the interaction
between material conditions and cultural beliefs and practices shapes everyday
life differently for different people in different social, global and historical
contexts. Courses fulfilling this requirement consider similarities and
differences in physical and cultural environments, institutions, practices,
values, beliefs, worldviews and/or identities. Among Area One requirements, only
the Intercultural Perspectives requirement may be satisfied by designated
courses taken in Area Two. Courses that satisfy this requirement are marked in
the catalog with (IP) following their descriptions. A student wishing to satisfy
the Intercultural Perspectives requirement with a course taken while on an
approved study abroad program must complete a petition process through the
Office of Intercultural Learning (IL). Students may obtain the proposal form
from IL, and should submit the form no later than five weeks prior to the end of
the semester preceding the study abroad period. The director of IL, as the
convener of the Intercultural Perspectives Committee (IPC), will review the
proposal and make recommendations to the committee, which has final authority to
approve study abroad courses as satisfying the IP requirement. Students will be
notified of the status of the IP request within two weeks of submitting the IP
proposal form. Religion (one course)
Courses satisfying this requirement
introduce students to reflections on the meaning of human existence, community
and the universe from the perspectives of the major religious traditions of
humankind. Specific courses may focus upon a segment of religious and
philosophical tradition or on several religious traditions in comparison. These
courses show how religious tradition shapes human consciousness and provides
individuals with self-definition and meaning. Courses that satisfy this
requirement are marked in the catalog with (R) following their descriptions.
This course may not also fulfill an Area Two
Division requirement.
II. Area Two
Courses selected within Area Two are designed to ensure breadth of study
across the range of academic disciplines included in the liberal arts, and to
foster the student’s agency in shaping a program of study. At least two
courses totaling at least six hours from the Division of Humanities
These
courses develop an understanding of human experiences and cultures through close
reading and critical analysis of histories, literatures, languages, ideas and
values. Courses that satisfy this requirement are marked in the catalog with (H)
following their descriptions. At least two courses totaling at least six hours
from the Division of Natural Sciences
These courses develop an
understanding of how knowledge of the natural world is acquired by use of
scientific methods of inquiry, experimental techniques, or by
mathematical/computational models and methods. Courses must be from two
different departments, and at least one course must have a semester-long
experimental lab. Courses that satisfy this requirement are marked in the
catalog with (NS) or (NSL) following their descriptions. At least two courses
totaling at least six hours from the Division of Social Sciences
These
courses develop an understanding of the relationship between the individual and
the social environment and of the ways in which that relationship can be
understood. Courses must be from two different departments or programs. Courses
that satisfy this requirement are marked in the catalog with (ScS) following
their descriptions. At least two courses totaling at least six hours from The
Sarofim School of Fine Arts
These courses develop an understanding of the
creative dimension of human existence and of aesthetic experience as a
distinctive mode of perceiving the world. At least three credit hours must be in
classroom/lecture format, and at least three credit hours must be in
performance/production format. Courses that satisfy this requirement are marked
in the catalog with (FAL) or (FAP) following their descriptions. Free
Electives (hours vary depending on degree program and choice of
major)
These unrestricted courses give students the opportunity to pursue
topics of personal interest that complement courses taken in Area One and Area
Three.
III. Area Three
The Major
All majors require at least 30 semester hours (60 percent
above the introductory level); some require considerably more hours. No course
may satisfy hour requirements in more than one major, except in the case of
paired majors (see Paired Majors). All students must have a major in their
academic program. The Minor
A minor requires at least 18 semester hours
in a subject field (12 above the introductory level). Some minors may require
more than 18 hours. Students are not required to have a minor in their academic
program. Continued Writing Experience
Students must not only learn how to
write cogently but must also practice and refine writing skills as they progress
through their various courses of study. Different disciplines or fields of
knowledge have different writing styles and requirements, and graduates should
be able to communicate effectively in their chosen fields. Capstone
Experience
Each department and major program shall design its major(s) to
include an appropriate capstone experience. This may be a special course, a
project in which students are expected to bring together and apply what they
have learned, a comprehensive written and/or oral exam, or other experience
appropriate for the area of specialization.
Majors and Minors Available at Southwestern
Majors Accounting 71 American Studies (Interdisciplinary) 33 Animal
Behavior (Interdisciplinary) 35 Anthropology 169 Art (Studio) 39 Art
History 39 Biochemistry 55 Biology 48 Business 71 Chemistry 55 Classics 60 Communication
Studies 64 Composite Science (teaching field) 81 Composite Social Studies
(teaching field) 81 Computational Mathematics 118 Computer
Science 118 Economics 70 Education 80 English 91 Environmental Studies
(Interdisciplinary) 95 Feminist Studies
(Interdisciplinary) 97 French 124 German 124 Greek 60 History 101 International
Studies (Interdisciplinary) 108 Kinesiology 111 Latin 60 Latin American
Studies
(Interdisciplinary) 117 Mathematics 118 Music 137 Philosophy 161 Physical
Science (dual-degree program) 146 Physics 146 Political
Science 149 Psychology 154 Religion 161 Sociology 169 Spanish 132 Theatre 175 Minors Animal
Behavior 35 Anthropology 169 Architecture and Design Studies 38 Art
(Studio) 39 Art
History 39 Biology 48 Business 71 Chemistry 55 Chinese 64 Communication
Studies 64 Computer
Science 118 Dance 176 Economics 70 Education 80 English 91 Environmental
Studies 95 Feminist Studies 97 French 124 Generic Special
Education 82 German 124 Greek 60 History 101 Kinesiology 111 Latin 60 Latin
American Studies 117 Mathematics 118 Music 137 Performance
Studies 176 Philosophy 161 Physics 146 Political
Science 149 Psychology 154 Religion 161 Sociology 169 Spanish 132 Theatre 175
Paired Majors
Certain departments and programs have agreed to “pair” majors,
which allow up to eight hours of specified courses to count in both majors.
Contact the chairs of the applicable departments or programs for details about
these paired majors. The approved majors are: Communication Studies/Feminist
Studies
Economics/Accounting
Economics/Business
English/Feminist
Studies
History/Feminist Studies
International
Studies/French
International Studies/German
International
Studies/Spanish
Philosophy/Feminist
Studies
Psychology/Education
Religion/Feminist
Studies
Sociology/Anthropology
Sociology/Feminist
Studies
Theatre/Feminist Studies
The Independent Major (Area of Concentration)
The independent major (area of concentration) within the Bachelor of Arts
degree is an alternative to a regularly offered major and minor. It gives
students greater freedom to design an interdisciplinary course of study focusing
on a theme or career plan. It must consist of no fewer than 48 semester hours,
chosen in accordance with an overall plan that gives unity and coherence to the
integrated course of study: 1) 24 semester hours from one subject area (defined
as one group of courses sharing a numerical prefix, e.g. 70-XXX-Studio Art), 18
of which must be above the introductory level; and 2) 24 additional semester
hours from other subject areas, 18 of which must be above the introductory
level. Students’ programs must be designed in consultation with the chairs
of the Division/School and the departments involved and must be approved by the
Division/School in which the first 24-hour block falls. The capstone experience
is dictated by the requirements of the subject area in the first 24-hour
block.
|
1001 E. University Avenue, Georgetown, TX 78626
(512) 863-6511