Description
This resource provides information for the general credit requirements students must satisfy before they receive their degrees.
Policy Statement
All CLA bachelor’s degrees require a minimum of 120 semester credits accepted by the College. (Exception: Students pursuing two different bachelor’s degrees in CLA must complete a minimum of 150 credits.)
This includes a minimum of 48 upper level credits from 3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx level coursework. (Exception: Bachelor of individualized studies requires 50 upper level credits. Those pursuing a Bachelor of financial arts in studio arts may be permitted to graduate with fewer than 48 upper level credits.)
Credits-outside-of-major requirement
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree candidates must complete a minimum of 18 credits in upper level (3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx) coursework outside their majors. This requirement is intended to provide students with additional breadth in their studies. However, there are some stipulations and exceptions to this requirement:
- B.A. candidates with the following interdepartmental majors are exempt:
- African-American and African studies
- American studies
- Classical civilization
- Global studies
- Individually designed interdepartmental major (IDIM)
- Jewish studies
- Studies in cinema and media culture
- Urban studies
- Psychology and child psychology majors cannot use upper level courses in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAPy), educational psychology (Epsy), and child psychology (CPsy) courses to satisfy the outside-of-major requirement.
Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree candidates are required to take eight upper level credits outside of the major. However, this requirement is waived for those in voice performance major.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), double majors, Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or Bachelor of Individualized Studies (B.I.S.) degree candidates are exempt from this requirement.
Maximum number of credits counted toward CLA degree in certain subject areas
- 6 credits total in physical education, study skills, and applied music courses
- 3 extra credits per course (extra credit registration- formerly X registration, See 5.5 for more detail).
Grade-related policies
- Students must earn grades of A, B, C, or D in at least 75% of their University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMTC) residency credits applied toward their degrees. Up to 25% of their UMTC residency credits may be graded S. New high school (NHS) students without transfer credits must complete 90 credits with A-D grades (75% of 120 total credits). New advanced standing (NAS) and NHS students with transfer credits must complete 75% of their UMNTC credits with A-D grades. (See also UMTC residency requirement and CLA residency requirement below).
- S grades are generally not accepted for major requirement courses.
- Students must have a minimum of 2.0 GPA overall and in their major courses. A grade of C- or above is required for all major courses. (See D grades in the major/Balancing of D grades, Section 6.3.2 for more information about the college policy concerning D grades)
- Some students who began under quarter system and will graduate under semester system may be limited to 8 semester credits of D toward the above credit minimums. (See 6.3.2.)
University of Minnesota Twin Cities residency requirement
Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMTC) campus to establish their residency. For those who complete only the minimum requirement (30 credits), no more than 8 credits (25% of 30 credits) may be taken with S grades and at least 22 credits (75% of 30 credits) must be taken with A-D grades.
Credits earned by special examination are not counted toward the minimum 30 semester credits required to meet the UMTC residency requirement (See Special Credit, Section 5.6 for more detail).
CLA residency requirement
A minimum of 24 credits must be completed in CLA courses beginning with the term of admission to CLA. At least 22 of the 24 credits must be with A A-D grades. Students pursuing dual degrees from other colleges also have to satisfy this requirement.
Definition of “CLA courses”
- Courses offered by CLA departments
- Courses offered by departments of other colleges in which CLA offers majors (architecture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, child psychology, computer science, geology, mathematics, microbiology, physics, and physiology)
- Courses offered by other colleges that have been approved to meet the Diversified Core, Designated Theme requirements, or the second language requirements. (Courses that are Writing Intensive only from non-CLA departments do not count for CLA residency requirement.)
Senior year residency rule
CLA requires that 15 of the last 30 degree credits be earned at the UMTC campus. Advisers, however, may consider granting exceptions to the senior year residency rule to students who meet certain criteria. Requests to use non-UMTC coursework toward remaining degree requirements are favorably considered, providing students are in a good academic standing and have completed the following:
- A major/ senior project, when required
- Minor requirements (optional)
- Writing, second language, and liberal education requirements
- 32 upper level (3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx) semester credits
- The minimum UMTC and CLA residency requirements
Procedures
Students responsibilities:
Students are responsible for knowing the credit requirements and consulting regularly with a CLA adviser in order to plan effectively for completing the requirements.
CLASS staff responsibilities:
When meeting with students, it is important to clarify the credit requirements to which they are held, and to help them develop effective strategies for completing their requirements.
Related Policies/Information
Use of D-graded credits
Credits with “D” grades may count toward graduation. However, students must have a minimum of 2.0 cumulative GPA in order to graduate. (See also D grades in the major/Balancing of D grades, Section 6.3.2)
Independent and directed study registration, Section 5.5
History
Credit requirements under quarter system
All CLA bachelor’s degrees required a minimum of 180 quarter-credits acceptable to the college, including a minimum of 72 upper level credits. (Exception: B.I.S. required 75 upper level credits.) All credits earned with grades of A, B, or C and a restricted number earned with grades of S or D were acceptable.
B.A. degree candidates had to complete a minimum of 28 credits in upper level coursework outside their majors. The following established and individualized interdepartmental majors were exempt from this requirement: IDIM, African studies, American Studies, Classical Civilization, East Asian Studies, European Studies, International Relations, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, South Asian and
Middle Eastern Area Studies, Russian Area Studies, Urban Studies, and Women’s Studies. B.S., double majors, and B.I.S. degree candidates were also exempt from this requirement.
(See “CLA Bulletin” for more detail)
CLA residency requirement through spring 1999
For students admitted between fall 1974 and spring 1999, CLA required that 50% of the total University of Minnesota quarter credits, never fewer than 45, be CLA credits earned with grades of A, B, or C. (Only 12 credits of D were counted towards the credit totals.) Credits earned from independent and distance-learning courses were allowed. However, credits earned by special examination did not count toward the minimum residency requirement.
In the case of transfer students (those from other colleges at the University of Minnesota and NAS students), the following policy applied:
- If they had 90 or more transfer credits (quarter), they were required to complete 45 CLA quarter credits with grades of A, B or C.
- If their transfer credits (quarter) were fewer than 90, one-half of their University of Minnesota credits had be CLA credits with grades of A, B, or C.
