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.