Graduation Requirements

A student graduates from Albion College after meeting a series of requirements including course work, satisfactory grade point average, a major, residency and others as outlined under specific degree requirements stated below. Students generally graduate after eight semesters.

Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.)

The degree of bachelor of arts (B.A.) is conferred upon students who have met all of the following requirements for graduation:

Minimum Units—Students must complete a minimum of 32 units (128 semester hours) of course work to graduate. An Albion unit is equivalent to four semester hours. Included in the total are the core requirement described earlier, courses leading to the major(s) and minor(s), and elective courses which make up one-half to one-third of each student's total courses. There are limits on the number of wellness activity courses, music ensembles and internships that may count toward graduation. Normally students complete degree requirements within eight semesters. If students have not completed graduation requirements within eight graded semesters, they must petition the Committee on Academic Status and Petitions for permission to continue enrollment for each additional semester needed to complete requirements.

Grade Point Average—To qualify for the bachelor of arts degree, a student must have a 2.0 grade point average in all course work. A minimum 2.0 grade point average in one major field is also required for graduation. Students should note that to earn the designation of a second major, a 2.0 grade point average also must be achieved in that major. A department also may require additional demonstration of competence (minimum course grade requirements, comprehensive examination, senior recital or the like) to complete a major. Graduating students (2006 and after) earning a 3.5 cumulative grade point average or higher qualify for graduation recognition as described under the Academic Honors and Activities section.

Core Requirement—Graduating students must have completed the core requirement.

Writing Competence Requirement—Students must pass the Writing Competence Examination to graduate.

Majors and Minors—Students must declare at least one major but no more than two majors prior to graduation. Although students may declare a major as early as the freshman year, this is generally done during the sophomore year. Students may fulfill the major requirement in one of three ways: departmental major, interdepartmental major and individually designed major. The maximum number of units required for a departmental major is 10 units in that department and an additional four units in other departments. No more than 16 units in any one department may be counted toward graduation. (A language major in the Foreign Languages Department means that no more than 10 units are required in the specific language declared as the major.) Further information on interdepartmental and departmental majors may be found in the Programs of Study section of this catalog, while the individually designed major is described in the Academics at Albion section. Students also have the option to declare a minor. Further information appears in the Academic Programs section and in the Programs of Study section.

Residence Requirement—To be a candidate for an Albion College degree, a student must complete eight of the last 12 units at Albion College. Residence is defined as academic work completed on campus, in combined course programs, approved internships, or through approved off-campus programs.

Application for Degree—Graduating students must file an Application for Degree in the Registrar's Office the year prior to graduation.

Application for Second Degree—If a student who has already earned a baccalaureate degree from a college or university applies to earn a second degree from Albion College, the student will be required to meet the resident requirements for all transfer students.

Participation in Commencement Exercises—Students who have attained at least 25 units may participate in commencement exercises. Students may only participate once.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (B.F.A.)

Bachelor of fine arts students must complete a minimum of 34 units (136 semester hours) of course work to graduate. To qualify for the bachelor of fine arts degree, a student must have a 2.0 grade point average in all course work. Included in this total are the core requirement and at least 16 but not more than 21 units in visual arts. In addition, B.F.A. candidates must fulfill the writing competence requirement and the requirements on grade point average, residence and application for degree described in the preceding section on the bachelor of arts degree.

Students who are within three units of the minimum graduation requirement for the B.F.A. degree may petition for permission to participate in commencement exercises.

For more specific requirements, refer to the Department of Art and Art History section of the catalog.