Requirements for a Degree

Rhodes College offers a four-year program of study in the liberal arts and sciences leading to the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree. Candidates for either degree must complete the Foundation Requirements. Students majoring in a science may earn the Bachelor of Science degree. Rhodes also offers a Master of Science degree in Accounting.

THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE

The Bachelor’s degree is granted to students who have completed the required 128 credits and the appropriate degree requirements. The degree requirements under the Foundations Curriculum include at least thirteen courses (52 credits) and as many as sixteen courses (64 credits) as described below. Although 52 total credits are required, several of these credits will be satisfied by courses taken in a particular major. Moreover, the total number of credits required to satisfy the writing and language requirements may vary because the foreign language requirement may be satisfied by successful completion of a proficiency exam. In addition, some courses satisfy more than one foundation requirement, effectively decreasing the number of required courses. Thus, the number of credits available for electives is dependent upon several factors: the major, whether the degree is the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science, how many courses a student must take to satisfy the writing and language requirements, and how many courses outside the major a student must take to satisfy the foundation requirements.

Once the degree is conferred, no additional course work may be taken and applied to that degree. Additional course work may be applied toward a second degree or taken in a non-degree seeking status, however.

Bachelor of Arts. The Bachelor of Arts degree is awarded to those students who complete the degree requirements as stated above and more fully described below, including the completion of the requirements for a major as outlined in the appropriate section of this catalog.

Bachelor of Science. The Bachelor of Science degree may be earned by students who complete the appropriate requirements for a degree with a major in Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, or Physics.

Although the College, through various advising methods, assists a student in planning and following a program of study which will lead to a degree, the student is ultimately responsible for keeping track of progress toward a degree, for knowing and fulfilling all degree and major requirements, and for arranging a course of study accordingly.

TOTAL CREDITS FOR THE DEGREE

A total of 128 credits are required for the Bachelor’s degree. A student must earn at least 50 percent of these credits at Rhodes. The senior year, defined as 32 credits or the last 25 percent of the total credits required, must be spent in residence. No more than eight (8) of these credits may be transfer credits.

A student must earn a cumulative grade point average of no less than 2.000 (C) to qualify for the degree. A student may apply toward a degree a maximum of eight (8) credits in internships.

A maximum combined total of credits equaling 25 percent of the degree requirement may be earned through Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations. A student earning both transfer credits and Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate credits may apply those credits to a Rhodes degree up to a maximum combined total of fifty percent of the total credits required for a degree.