Academic Information
This section of the handbook contains information you will need as you decide on the courses you would like to take in your first semester. As you look through these pages of academic information and the descriptions of departments and programs, do remember some of the goals and purposes of your education, broadly conceived. To quote the Vassar mission statement once again, the college aims "to educate our students, both broadly and deeply, in the liberal disciplines; to stimulate integrative thinking both within and across the disciplines; to strengthen and refine the powers of reason, imagination, and expression; through curricular offerings to promote gender and racial equality and a global perspective; and to nurture not only pleasure in learning but also an informed and active concern for the well-being of society."
At the end of this section you will find the instructions for registration, but before you go to register, please read what follows, and look at the Vassar catalogue if you have any further questions.
There are four Vassar graduation requirements, beyond those in your major:
Freshman Writing Seminars
Every freshman is required to elect at least one Freshman Writing Seminar. The Freshman Writing Seminars provide entering students the opportunity to develop particular abilities in a small class setting along with fellow freshmen who are making the transition to college work. These courses have a maximum enrollment of 17 freshmen and are offered in a variety of disciplines; in general, they serve as introductions to those disciplines. Particular attention is given to the effective expression of ideas in both written and oral work. Please consult the section on Freshman Writing Seminars in this handbook for the 2008/09 offerings.
The Quantitative Analysis Requirement
Today's society demands that citizens be able to understand and use mathematics and statistics in order to make informed decisions. Numerical literacy and the associated analytic skills are integral parts of a liberal education. Accordingly, all Vassar students are required before beginning their third year to complete a full-unit course that includes a significant amount of quantitative analysis. Exemption from this requirement is limited to students who have completed comparable work at another college or university as certified by the dean of studies. Courses that fulfill the quantitative requirement are marked in the schedule of classes with a QA. See the list of courses for Fall 2008 in the section on Registration.
Foreign Language Proficiency
Recognizing the special relevance of the study of foreign languages to undergraduate education, the Vassar curriculum provides for both study of and concentration in Ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. In addition, students may learn American Sign Language, Hebrew and—through the Self-Instructional Language Program—Hindi, Irish/Gaelic, Korean, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, and Yiddish.
All students whose first language is English are required before graduation to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. Departmental proficiency examinations will be given in the afternoon on the first day of classes in the fall semester; the exact time and locations will be listed in the New Student Orientation schedule. The methods by which you may meet this requirement are listed in the section on Registration.
Distribution Requirements
All Vassar students are expected to reflect depth (a major field of concentration) and breadth in their course selection. Breadth is demonstrated by taking courses in each of the four curricular divisions: arts, foreign languages and literatures, social sciences, and natural sciences (see Concentration in a Department section of the catalogue). In order to graduate, you will be required to elect at least 25% of your work outside the division in which you major. For example, a history major must complete at least 8.5 of the 34 units in courses not in the social sciences. You should also be aware that all candidates for Phi Beta Kappa must demonstrate breadth and substance of course work outside the major, in addition to overall academic excellence. You should not take two courses in a single department in the same semester in your first year. As you consider your course selections for your first two years, you should be sure to include introductory work in any department or program in which you might major. All students must declare a major by the end of their fourth semester; applicants for junior year abroad must declare by December of their sophomore year.
Credit for College Work Done Prior to Matriculation at Vassar
Vassar may award a maximum of 4 units of credit towards graduation to incoming freshmen for college-level work done at accredited institutions. Credit is contingent upon a grade of C or above and the approval of the chair of the appropriate department. To apply for credit you must present:
- A catalogue description of the course(s);
- An official transcript sent from the registrar of the institution to the dean of studies, Vassar College; and
- A request to the Committee on Leaves and Privileges (the form is available in the Office of the Dean of Studies), approved by the appropriate department chair.
Although many colleges and secondary schools offer programs in which students may earn credit toward a college degree, not all these programs meet Vassar's criteria for transfer. College courses taken while a student is still attending secondary school must be taught on a college or university campus with other undergraduate students. Credits for these courses cannot be transferred if used to fulfill any high school graduation requirements. Programs in which college instructors teach the course at the secondary school will not be considered for transfer credit. The amount of transfer credit for a qualifying college course will be determined by the department in which the course is classified at Vassar.
Any questions about pre-matriculation credit should be directed to the Office of the Dean of Studies, extension 7553.
Entering freshmen who have taken "A" level examinations, received the French Baccalaureate, or taken International Baccalaureate examinations should consult the Office of the Dean of Studies in September to discuss the possibility of transfer credit.
Advanced Placement
If you have taken CEEB Advanced Placement examinations, you may be eligible for college credit and/or permission to elect an intermediate-level course. Your advanced placement score(s) must be sent directly to the Office of the Dean of Freshmen from Advanced Placement Services, Box 6671, Princeton, N.J. 08541-6671 (telephone 609-771-7300). All scores should be sent within the first month of your freshman year.
You will automatically receive 1 unit of college credit for each examination score of 4 or 5 (with a maximum limit of 4 units). A grade of 4 or 5 may qualify you to elect an intermediate-level course in the field. Each department decides how much, if any, advanced standing a student with an eligible AP score will receive. Special advanced placement advising sessions have been scheduled in the academic departments for Thursday, August 28. Students who fail to attend the advising sessions forfeit their right to placement in intermediate courses.
If you have not taken an AP exam but feel you might be eligible for advanced placement in a particular department, you should consult the chair of the department. The following departments have indicated that examinations will be given for placement or credit or both: chemistry, Italian, mathematics, and Russian. All examinations are offered in the first month of the fall term and may be taken in the freshman year only.
Art: Students who received 4 or 5 on the AP examinations in either art history or studio art will receive 1 unit of college credit.
Biology: If you have received a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) biology exam and reported the score to Vassar College, you will receive one unit of 100-level biology credit toward graduation, you may elect 200-level biology courses once you have completed BIOL 106, and BIOL 105 will not be a requirement for your biology major. If you have questions, please contact the Biology Department chair.
Chemistry: The Chemistry Department will offer a written examination to incoming freshmen interested in applying for advanced placement. Students who satisfactorily complete this examination may then elect organic chemistry. Consult the department for further information.
Chinese and Japanese: During Orientation, a placement test is given for students who have previously studied Chinese or Japanese. Based on the test, the student may be placed at a higher level than other freshmen. On the first day of classes in the fall semester, students can take a proficiency test to determine whether Vassar's foreign language requirement has been fulfilled.
English: Students who received a 4 or 5 on the AP examination in English language and composition or English composition and literature will automatically receive 1 unit of college credit. These students nevertheless are encouraged to elect English 101 or 170 for credit. AP students wishing to seek placement in a 200-level course must consult with and secure the permission of the associate chair before attempting to enroll in an advanced course. Those who have taken 101 in the fall semester and who wish to continue in English are advised to elect English 170 in the spring semester or, with the permission of the associate chair, a 200-level course. AP students may also elect English 170 in the fall semester and continue to intermediate-level work in the spring. No student scoring lower than 4 will be eligible for college credit or placement in an advanced course.
French and Francophone: An AP score of 4 or 5 can count as 1 unit toward the major.
Geography: Students who received a 4 or 5 on the AP examinations in human geography will automatically obtain 1 unit of college credit.
German: Students who received a score of 4 or 5 on the AP examination in German language or German literature will automatically receive 1 unit of college credit. Those students interested in continuing their study of German at Vassar should register for either German 210 or German 230, and should consult with the department's faculty members during New Student Orientation. Rather than a placement test, the department meets individually with students to help place them in the proper course. The department does not offer an examination for credit, but does offer a proficiency exam for students who wish to test out of Vassar's language requirement. Students with prior experience in German are encouraged to enroll in one German course above the 100 level—German 210, 211, or higher—which automatically fulfills the college's foreign language requirement.
Hispanic Studies: Students who received a score of 4 or 5 on the AP examination in Spanish language or Spanish literature will automatically receive 1 unit of college credit. The department does not offer an examination for credit. Students who wish to continue their study of Spanish should choose the course appropriate to their previous training. Please consult the guidelines for placement included in the Hispanic studies description later in this handbook. Additional departmental placement advising is available during New Student Orientation.
History: Students who received a score of 4 or 5 on the AP examination in American or European history may elect, at the discretion of the professor teaching the course, certain 200-level history courses. The department very strongly encourages freshmen, especially those who think they might wish to major in history, to begin at the 100 level. Almost all first-year students find that Vassar's 100-level history courses are new and challenging, not only in their historical approaches and content but also in the nature of the classroom experience. No more than one unit of AP credit will be accepted toward the 11 units required of majors. AP credits cannot be used to fulfill the department's distribution requirements.
Italian: The Italian Department will offer advanced placement on the basis of an interview and an oral examination. A written examination will be used to decide whether credit is to be given.
Mathematics: The maximum amount of advanced placement credit a student may receive for any combination of AP Calculus exams is one unit of transfer credit. One unit of advanced placement credit is given to any student who received a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC Advanced Placement examination. Such students should elect Mathematics 221 if they wish to continue the study of mathematics. Students who earn a 3 on the BC examination should consult with the department during the advanced placement advising session prior to registration.
One unit of advanced placement credit is given to any student who receives a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus AB Advanced Placement examination. Students with a 5 on the AB examination generally are advised to elect Math 221 after conferring with the department during the advanced placement advising session. Students with a 4 on the AB examination ordinarily are advised to enroll in Math 125, but should consult with the department also.
Students with a year of calculus who did not take the examination or received a score of less than 4 should consult with the department during the advanced placement advising session to discuss course selection.
Any student who elects Math 125 or 221 without 1 unit of advanced placement credit can still receive 1 unit of credit by performing well enough on a written Calculus Credit Examination given in early September. The time and place of the Calculus Credit Examination will be posted on the mathematics bulletin board in Rockefeller Hall and announced in classes. The first part of the examination covers limits, differentiation and its applications, graphs, the definite integral and area, and polar coordinates. The second part covers exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions and their inverses; techniques of integration; volume and arc length; indeterminate forms; and simple differential equations.
Music: The Music Department offers a written test to those students who have had some previous work in basic harmony, to determine whether they can be excused from Music 105. A student may receive 1 unit of college credit if appropriate proficiency is demonstrated by this test. Students interested in taking this test should consult the administrative assistant to the Music Department as soon as possible after arrival.
Physics: Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on the Physics B exam receive 1 unit of advanced placement credit and will not be permitted to enroll in Physics 113 or 114. Students may, at their discretion, opt out of the AP credit and instead enroll in 113/114 if they prefer. Normally, students considering further studies in physics with 1 unit of AP credit will enroll in Physics 115/116; these are six-week 0.5 credit classes taught in the fall semester, one after the other. Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on the Physics C Mechanics may receive 0.5 unit of advanced placement credit and upon doing so will not be permitted to enroll in Physics 113, but may take Physics 116 in the fall and then enroll in Physics 114 in the spring. Students who, in addition to having received a 4 or 5 on the Physics C Mechanics, also received a 4 or 5 on the Physics C E & M exam, may receive a total of 1 unit of advanced placement credit and upon doing so will not be permitted to enroll in Physics 113 or 114. Normally, such a student would be placed in Physics 115/116. Please consult the chair of physics and astronomy for clarification of these and other matters. No student shall receive AP credit for BOTH the B and C exams.
Special note to pre-medical students: The department recommends that students seeking admission to medical school enroll in Physics 113/114 at Vassar or an equivalent calculus-based physics course at another institution. Note that in order to do this you cannot receive AP B credit on your transcript. If you want to retain your AP B credit, you must discuss other options with the chair of physics and astronomy and the director of Fellowships and Pre-professional Advising.
Psychology: No examination will be given; advanced placement is available only to those students who have taken an introductory course in psychology at another college. In addition, no examination will be given for statistics; advanced placement is available only to those students who have taken a statistics course at another college. Please consult the listing for the Psychology Department elsewhere in this handbook for further information.
Russian Studies: The Russian Studies Department gives a short oral and written examination to place students in the appropriate course. The department will recommend 2 units of credit for freshmen who pass the Russian proficiency examination with a grade of B+ or above.
If you wish to take an intermediate course without the introductory course and/or wish to take any of the credit exams listed above, be sure to attend the departmental and advanced placement advising sessions on Thursday, August 28.
If you have any questions for specific departments prior to your arrival on campus, we recommend that you write to the appropriate department chairs rather than try to call them, as most academic department offices are closed for the summer.
Preparation for Teacher Certification
Through Vassar's Department of Education, it is possible to obtain an initial teaching certificate for teaching at the elementary and secondary levels. Preparation for teaching is centered in the liberal arts and the sciences, and appropriate courses of a professional nature are offered for the fulfillment of the New York State Teacher Certification requirements. (This certification is honored reciprocally in most states.) Professional course work is designed to fulfill the requirements of a standards-based program of preparation. Students planning to work toward a teaching certificate should begin the program in the freshman year, and consult the department in the early part of the first semester.
Students pursuing certification in childhood education are certified to teach grades 1–6. Students interested in certification in adolescent education (grades 7–12) may work for certification in English, foreign languages, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and social studies. During registration, students should consult not only advisors in their major field of interest, but also Chris Bjork, Chair of the Education Department.
Vassar also offers a correlate in Educational Studies. Under the supervision of a member of the department, students undertaking the correlate design a sequence of courses that address a central topic or theme related to education.
In addition, there are opportunities for independent work in education at both the elementary and secondary levels as well as field work. Vassar College, in cooperation with University College, Galway, offers a one-semester internship in the primary and secondary schools of Clifden, Ireland, in the junior year.
Vassar College also offers the Urban Education Semester (UES), a collaborative program of Bank Street College of Education and the Venture Consortium. The UES is a one-semester interdisciplinary and academic immersion program that introduces students to urban public education. Students take courses at Bank Street College while interning at New York City public schools.
For a full statement of the certification requirements and recommended sequences of study, please see the Department of Education section of the catalogue. Enrollment in the courses listed is not limited to those seeking certification.
Preparation for Law School
As indicated in the section of the catalogue titled Preparation for Graduate Study, law schools, unlike medical schools, do not require a specific course of study for entry. Accordingly, the function of the pre-law advisor is primarily that of providing general information about law school preparation and assisting juniors and seniors in such decisions as how and where to apply. A pre-law informational meeting will be held on Thursday, August 28.
Preparation for Medical School
The basic requirements for medical schools and other health professional schools include one year of the following subjects: English, biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Introductory science courses must have a laboratory component. A year of mathematics, usually calculus, is also strongly recommended and sometimes required. For some schools additional course work in biology and/or chemistry may be required as well. Pre-med students are therefore advised to elect an English course in their first year, as well as a science sequence of some sort.
Many students who plan to apply to health professional schools choose to major in one of the sciences. Students who are considering a science concentration should consult the individual departments and programs and read To Prospective Science Majors in the Registration for Courses section. For more specific advice on planning their first-year program, they should also refer to the Medicine section of Preparation for Graduate Study in the catalogue. At the same time, it is important to know that preparation for many of the health professions may or may not demand a natural science major. Most often, the best advice we can offer is that students select the major field of study that most interests them; not only will they be happier because of that choice, but the probability of better academic performance is increased.
If you are considering a career in the health professions (medical, dental, veterinary, public health), you should plan to attend the meeting held by the pre-medical advisors on Thursday, August 28. Because students vary widely in their preparation in science and mathematics, careful planning of the freshman year program is essential. Students are encouraged to contact a member of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee if they cannot attend the meeting and feel that they need additional guidance before making a final selection of courses for the freshman year.
Members of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee may be contacted through the Office of Pre-Professional Advising, Main, N-162, or call 437-5263. Lisa Kooperman is the director of the Office of Fellowship and Pre-Professional Advising.
Preparation for Study Abroad
If you are considering spending a term or your entire junior year studying abroad you should give serious consideration to your course selections starting in your freshman year. If you are considering a non-English-speaking country, foreign language study is of the utmost importance and should be considered early in your academic career. Students must also demonstrate on their application to the Committee on Leaves and Privileges that they have acquired sufficient area studies course work to support their academic proposals for foreign study programs.
Vassar College study abroad is based on a home tuition policy. Further information on financing and planning study abroad can be found in the Office of International Programs (OIP), located in Main, N-173, or by making an appointment with the director of the Office of International Programs, Susan Correll, at extension 5260. Students will also find information on approved programs as well as copies of Fundamentals of Study Abroad in the OIP and on the OIP website.