Degrees Awarded
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Science
- Master of Arts in Education
Major and Minor Requirements
Students may declare a major/minor at any time. However, it’s suggested that students declare during their sophomore year. Students are required to declare a major once 60 credit hours have been earned. Failure to declare a major before this time will result in the student being locked out of the Portal. The Catalog lists the majors and minors offered by each department, and the degrees conferred, under the department headings; it also presents specific requirements for each major and minor. Questions pertaining to major or minor requirements should be directed to the department chair of the relevant department.
Note: Courses in which the student earns a grade below “C” do not count toward the major or minor requirements (including required allied courses). Departments have the discretion to decide whether such a course can satisfy prerequisite requirements (but not major/minor requirements).
Majors
To provide depth of study, each student must complete at least one major, which must include at least 12 semester hours in courses numbered 300 or above. If a student wishes to transfer substantial credit toward the major from another college, the chair of the department involved shall evaluate the student’s previous coursework in terms of the Georgetown College major requirements. The chair will also determine what courses are needed at the College to validate the major, generally including at least six semester hours within the major.
Minors
The minor requirement ensures that students pursue some advanced study in more than one discipline. Students may satisfy this requirement by any of the following options:
- completing one or more minors
- completing a second major
- completing an interdisciplinary major (which satisfies both major and minor requirements)
If a student wishes to transfer substantial credit toward the minor from another college, the chair of the department involved shall evaluate the student’s previous coursework in terms of the Georgetown College minor requirements. The chair will also determine what courses are needed at the College to validate the minor, generally including at least three semester hours within the minor.
Corollary Majors
Some majors are designed as corollary majors. A corollary major cannot count as a student’s major area for the purposes of satisfying requirements for a degree. A corollary major may be considered as a second major for the student, provided that the student earns another major that is not designated as corollary. Students who complete a corollary major are not required to complete a minor. A corollary major requires a minimum of 24 credit hours with at least 12 of those hours being upper-level credits.
Area Majors and Minors
When a student’s educational objectives can best be met outside of existing departmental programs, an area major or minor may be proposed. Area majors and minors are intended to bridge gaps between disciplines and can only be approved in those areas in which the College has a full-time faculty member with a terminal degree.
The area major proposal is initiated by the student, who identifies a full-time faculty member who can serve as the ongoing advisor for the major program. Together, the student and advisor will complete the area major/minor proposal form, which is available on the Registrar's department page in the portal. After consultation with the advisor, a program of study is proposed to the chairs of the departments in which coursework will be pursued. Final approval rests with the Academic Policy Committee. A student must have attained a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.8 and must complete the approval process by the beginning of the second term of the junior year; exceptions are at the discretion of the Academic Policy Committee.
For Area Majors, a proposal for an area major must include:
- a statement providing the rationale for the proposed curriculum
- a program of study including 50-60 hours
- two or more disciplines represented
- a concentration of at least 24 hours in one discipline
- at least 50 percent of the proposed coursework at or above the 300-level
- identification of the faculty advisor responsible for overseeing the major and coordinating the comprehensive examination.
For Area Minors, a proposal for an area minor must include:
- a statement providing the rationale for the proposed curriculum
- a program of study including 21-27 hours
- usually two disciplines represented
- a concentration of at least 12 hours in one discipline
- at least six hours at or above the 300-level
- at least 15 hours that the student does not count toward the major or another minor (exclusive of allied requirements)
- at least 12 hours outside the major field.
Interdisciplinary majors and minors
An interdisciplinary major or minor follows the same guidelines as an area major or minor. Students who complete an interdisciplinary major are not required to complete a minor.
Requirements for the interdisciplinary major:
- a program of study including 50-60 hours
- two or more disciplines represented
- a concentration of at least 24 hours in one discipline
- at least 50 percent of the proposed coursework at or above the 300-level
Requirements for the interdisciplinary minor:
- a program of study including 21-27 hours
- at least two disciplines represented
- a concentration of at least 12 hours in one discipline
- at least six hours at or above the 300-level
Note: Courses in which the student earns a grade below "C" do not count toward the interdisciplinary major or minor requirements (including required allied courses). Departments have the discretion to decide whether such a course can satisfy prerequisite requirements (but not major/minor requirements).
Using Credits Towards More than One Major/Minor
All minors must include at least nine (9) unique credit hours. All majors must include at least fifteen (15) unique credit hours.
All majors/minors in the same department require the approval of the Department Chair. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Provost. The Provost may consult the Academic Policy Committee as needed.
Unique hours are defined as hours that do not count towards another major or minor. Such hours may count towards a major/minor and the Foundations and Core. The Liberal Arts minor requires all hours to be unique to the minor – no overlap between the Liberal Arts minor and a major is allowed.
Completion of Second Degree
Georgetown College recognizes that superior academic achievement may result in levels of scholarship that exceed customary academic expectations. In appropriate circumstances, the College may choose to award two separate degrees to a student upon graduation, if the student so desires. Minimum criteria for such would include two majors (one being a BA program of study and the other being a BS program of study) and two minors or three majors; a total of 160 semester hours; and at least 25% of each degree’s coursework earned at Georgetown College. An interdisciplinary major will count as one major and one minor toward the completion of a second bachelor's degree. A student with a degree from another institution may be awarded a degree by meeting the same minimum criteria (with the exception that none of the hours for the first degree need be earned at Georgetown College); all Georgetown College Foundations & Core program and Nexus requirements must be met, as well as the residency requirement (30 of the last 36 hours). Students who meet the above criteria and are interested in receiving two degrees should submit an appeal to the Provost.
Concentration Policy
A concentration appears on the official transcript and should have at least 12 hours of unique work to define the concentration.
Degree Limits
For a Bachelor of Arts degree, a department may require no fewer than 24 hours nor more than 36 in the major field, with a maximum total requirement of 42 hours if allied courses are also required for that major. A student may apply no more than 48 semester hours from one department toward a Bachelor of Arts degree. For a Bachelor of Science degree, a department may require no fewer than 30 hours nor more than 42 hours (or no more than 51 hours including allied courses) for a department major (exclusive of accounting). A student may apply no more than 57 hours from one department toward a Bachelor of Science degree. (For a minor, no fewer than 15 hours nor more than 21 hours, exclusive of applied music, may be required.) Degree requirements and limits for the Master of Arts in Education degrees may be found in the Graduate Catalog.
Comprehensive Examination
Each senior is required to pass a comprehensive examination in the major field of study. This special examination will be held during the final year of the candidate’s residence at least 30 days prior to the end of the final term. The comprehensive examination will be given under the direction of the chair of the department; it may be oral, written, and/or part of a capstone course, as the faculty of the department may require.