Prescribed Courses: Specific courses which must be taken with no choice allowed.
Additional Courses: Lists of courses from which the student must choose a specified number.
Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Areas from which the student is required to develop supplemental knowledge or competencies but in which considerable choice is permitted.
Electives: Credits reserved for the student's unrestricted choice of any baccalaureate degree course. Free electives allow students to select any course in which they have fulfilled the stated prerequisites.
Option: A specialization within a major that involve at least one-third of the course credits required for the major but need not be more than 18 credits.
C-Required Courses: Courses designated by the major as requiring a grade of C or better in order to fulfill degree requirements. Per Faculty Senate Policy 82-44, baccalaureate degree programs must include at least 15 credits of C-required courses, and associate degree programs must include at least 7 credits of C-required courses. Please note, at Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital College, there must be at least 9 credits of C-required courses during the third and fourth years of the program.
Common Requirements for the Major (All Options): For programs with options, the total prescribed, additional, and supporting course requirements that all students must complete regardless of option choice. Common Requirements must comprise at least one-fourth of the total required course credits for the major.
Requirements for the Option: The total number of prescribed, additional, and supporting course credits that are specific to an option.
Requirements for the Major: The total number of prescribed, additional, and supporting course credits required for the program. If the program has options, this includes the common requirements for the major plus the minimum and maximum total number of prescribed, additional, and supporting course credits required for the options. Requirements for the Major does not include General Education credits or elective credits.
Minimum Credits Required for Degree Completion: The minimum total number of credits a student must complete in order to receive a degree in the program. Per Faculty Senate Policy 82-20, the minimum number of credits required for a baccalaureate degree is 120 and the minimum number of credits required for an associate's degree is 60.
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Arts programs require 9-24 credits distributed among three categories: World Language (0-12 credits), B.A. Fields (9 credits), World Cultures (0-3 credits).
General Education Requirements: Baccalaureate degrees must include 45 credits that are distributed among four General Education components: foundations courses in writing, speaking and quantification (15 credits), knowledge domains in the Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Health and Wellness (15 credits), Integrative Studies bridging commonality and intersections in learning (6 credits), and exploration within General Education (9 credits). Associate degrees must include 21 credits that are distributed among three General Education components: foundations courses in writing, speaking and quantification (6 credits), knowledge domains in the Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences (15 credits), and exploration within General Education (3 credits).
General Education Double Count: Designated General Education courses included in the curriculum that also satisfy General Education requirements may count toward both the minimum credits required for the major and the General Education credit requirements. In essence, the credits earned for these courses double count toward the minimum credits required for degree completion.
General Education Firewall: Students may not meet the General Education Breadth in Knowledge Domains and Exploration components by taking courses in the department or program identical to that of the academic major. For example, a student enrolled in the History major may not use history courses to satisfy the humanities or social and behavioral sciences General Education requirements. The Integrative Studies requirement is not subject to this policy.
