Academic Degree and Graduation Requirements

At Saint Mary’s College, undergraduate students become liberally educated women with the breadth of knowledge to understand the cultural, social, spiritual, and natural worlds in which we all exist. This breadth of vision enables each student to ground her specific major area of study in this larger context.

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Every candidate for a Bachelor of Arts degree must select a major field in which she wishes to do intensive work. The major consists of a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit as determined by the department. The following majors and concentrations may be chosen:

  • art
    • art history concentration
    • studio art concentration
    • applied arts and design and art history double concentration
    • applied arts and design concentration
    • studio art emphasis in design concentration
    • studio art and art history double concentration
    • design concentration
    • design and art history double concentration
  • communication studies
  • computing and applied mathematics
  • economics
  • elementary education
  • English literature
  • English literature and creative writing
  • creative writing
  • environmental studies 
    • environment STEM concentration
    • global environmental policy concentration
    • nature, culture, arts concentration
    • spiritual, justice ethics concentration
  • gender and women’s studies
  • global studies 
    • anthropology concentration
    • global business administration concentration
    • global economics concentration
    • global justice and human rights concentration
    • intercultural studies concentration
    • international development concentration
  • history
    • women’s history concentration
  • humanistic studies
  • interdisciplinary self-designed
  • mathematics
    • teacher concentration
  • music
  • neuroscience
    • cognitive science concentration
  • philosophy
    • law, ethics and politics concentration
  • physics
  • physics and applied mathematics
  • political science
  • psychology
  • religious studies
  • secondary education
  • sociology
    • criminology concentration
  • Spanish
  • speech language and pathology
  • statistics and actuarial mathematics
  • theatre

Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)

The Bachelor of Business Administration degree is offered to students primarily seeking entry-level career positions. Students seeking this degree take a common core of twelve courses in economics, business, mathematics and computer science. Business Administration majors must complete at least twelve semester hours of upper level coursework in one of the five concentrations (accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, or marketing). Concentrations are optional for Accounting majors. The following majors and concentrations may be chosen:

  • accounting
    • finance concentration
    • international business concentration
    • management concentration
    • management information systems concentration
    • marketing concentration
  • business administration
    • accounting concentration
    • finance concentration
    • international business concentration
    • management concentration
    • management information systems concentration
    • marketing concentration
  • marketing
    • accounting concentration
    • finance concentration
    • international business concentration
    • management concentration
    • management information systems concentration

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

A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is offered for students who are especially talented in art and who wish to emphasize studio art. The B.F.A. degree requires 78 hours of art and related courses. To obtain this degree, students must have the recommendation of the art department. A portfolio of work is required for admission to the department. (Work from the first semester may be used for the portfolio review). 

  • art
    • applied arts and design concentration
    • design concentration
    • studio art concentration

Bachelor of Music (B.M.)

A Bachelor of Music degree may be earned in music education.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Bachelor of Science programs involve significant use of courses from more than one department. To receive this degree, a student must earn at least 60 hours in science, all areas combined. These 60 hours include the course requirements in the major as prescribed by each major department, any required supporting courses, and if neces­sary, additional courses to reach the total of 60. The following majors and concentrations may be chosen:

  • biology
    • cellular/molecular biology concentration
    • ecology, evolution, and environmental biology concentration
    • integrative biology concentration
  • chemistry
  • computing and applied mathematics
  • mathematics
    • teacher concentration
  • neuroscience
    • neurobiology concentration
    • neuropsychology concentration
  • physics
  • physics and applied mathematics
  • statistics and actuarial mathematics

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)

A Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is offered for students pursuing a major in nursing.

Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)

A Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree is offered for students pursuing a major in social work.

Second Degree

A student who has received one bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College may receive a second, different bachelor’s degree provided that all requirements for the second degree are met. The additional program of study completed must include at least 30 semester hours of course work taken at Saint Mary’s College that were not applied toward the first degree.

Dual Degree Engineering Program

Saint Mary’s College has established a dual degree engineering program with the University of Notre Dame. The combination of a liberal arts pre-engineering program with the highly technical courses of study required for engineering careers is an ideal education for engineers who are called upon to combine values with the technical skills of their field. This program, when successfully completed, culminates in a B.A. or B.S. from Saint Mary’s, and a B.S. in engineering from Notre Dame. (See also: Engineering)

College Requirements for All Undergraduate Degrees

Students in all degree programs must attain/complete the following:

• a minimum of 128 semester hours of credit.

• a 2.0 minimum cumulative grade point average.

• Sophia Program and major requirements as outlined in the following pages.

A minimum of 60 semester hours of credit and at least one-half of the major course work must be completed on Saint Mary’s campus.

Time Limit for Completing a Bachelor's Degree

When a student has been out for more than two semesters (inactive student status), they must complete an Application for Readmission. In addition to updating the standard personal contact information, the form asks why the student left, what the student has done while being away (including any other colleges attended), and the reason for their planned return. The application is reviewed by Academic Advising for academics, the Dean of Students for conduct, and Student Accounts for any outstanding balance. Any other existing holds need to be resolved before a student can return.

Students will have up to seven years after their original expected graduation date to complete their degree under the requirements which they matriculated. There are two circumstances under which students may not have this full period. Those are:

1) the student is pursuing a degree in education, nursing, social work or speech language pathology, or other professional degrees that have accreditation or licensing requirements and, therefore, could require additional or different requirements for degree conferral,

OR

2) the student’s original major is no longer offered or the original major curriculum has changed substantially, so that the original required courses are no longer offered at the college. In these circumstances, the current requirements at the time of return will need to be completed.

Students who return after seven years from their original expected graduation date will be required to complete their degree under the current general education (i.e., Sophia), major, and minor requirements. Completed coursework will be reviewed and used toward degree completion wherever possible.