1997-98 University Bulletin Entry for:

University Studies Program

Objectives and Structure

University Studies is the heart of the liberal arts curriculum at Brandeis. For students entering Brandeis between the fall of 1989 and the spring of 1994, University Studies consists of programs in six areas: Creative Arts, Historical Studies, Humanities, Non-Western and Comparative Studies, Science and Mathematics, and Social Analysis. Courses in these programs explore the forces that shaped the civilizations, cultures, and societies of modern times; introduce the great works of art, music, and drama that are central to our cultural heritage; afford an insight into the fundamentals of human behavior, institutions, and the organization of society; and encourage critical and quantitative reasoning about the complex issues of the natural world. They play a crucial role in students' intellectual development by offering a broad range of encounters with significant ideas, methods, and forms of learning and serving as the foundation not only for formal studies at Brandeis but also for lifelong learning.

In addition, students governed by University Studies must satisfy requirements in physical education, a field of concentration, English composition, and a foreign language as described below.

English Composition

In the first year an entering student is required to satisfy the English composition requirement. This requirement may be met in a variety of ways: by exemption upon arrival based upon high school record, College Entrance Examination Board verbal aptitude, and English achievement scores; by successfully completing a Foundational Writing Seminar at Brandeis; or by completing work elsewhere deemed to be the equivalent of our Foundational Writing Seminar. Upon arrival, some students may be required to take a placement test on campus to determine their level of writing proficiency; upon evaluation, some students may be assigned to Composition in preparation for the Foundational Writing Seminar. Some students whose native language is not English may be required to take the Diagnostic English Proficiency Examination in addition to the English Placement Examination. On the basis of this evaluation they may be assigned to a non-credit individual or group tutorial in English as a second language to supplement other writing courses.

Foreign Language

The material at the front of this Bulletin describing the sequencing and the placement and credit procedures for the foreign language requirement applies to continuing students as well as to new students. Students who entered Brandeis in the fall of 1994 and thereafter satisfy an augmented three course sequence. Students who entered Brandeis prior to the fall of 1994 and have not yet completed the foreign language requirement will be governed by these transition guidelines. Students who have completed successfully:

a foreign language will satisfy the requirement with

course numbered

L =

11 a course numbered 20 and then a 30-level course

12 a 30-level course

13 a 40-level course; or in those language areas in which there is no appropriate 40-level course, a 30-level course.

Questions should be directed to the appropriate foreign language coordinator.

S = University Studies Requirement

The following requirements apply to students who entered Brandeis between the fall of 1989 and the spring of 1994:

A. Two semester courses from the Program in Humanities, one from Step I and one from Step II, normally in that order.

B. Satisfaction of one of the following three options in the Program in Science and Mathematics:

Option 1

Two semester courses in biology (BIOL), chemistry (CHEM), physics (PHYS), or biochemistry (BCHM), including either two courses in one department, or one course in each of two departments; or

Option 2

1. One semester course in physical science (PHSC) or chemical science (CHSC); and

2. One semester course in biological science (BISC) or biochemical science (BCSC). In this option, a one semester course in chemistry or physics may be substituted for a PHSC or CHSC course, or a one semester course in biology or biochemistry for a BISC or BCSC course; or

Option 3

1. One semester course in mathematics (most courses designated MATH) or computer science (COSI) and

2. One semester course from any of the offerings listed in Options 1 and 2.

C. One semester course from the Creative Arts Program.

D. One semester course from two of the following three programs:

1. Historical Studies

2. Social Analysis

3. Non-Western and Comparative Studies

Note: Occasionally a single course is listed as appropriate for more than one area of the University Studies Program, but in an individual student's program such a course may satisfy only one requirement.

Note: No courses in University Studies in Humanities will be offered in the academic year 1995-96 and beyond. Individual problems that may arise as a consequence of that decision should be referred to the Office of the University Registrar.