The Academic Program: An Overview

Introduction

Guilford stresses breadth and rigor in its academic program. As a Quaker-founded college, it offers an educational experience that emphasizes the study of human values and the inter-relatedness of the world's knowledge and cultures.

The curriculum prescribes for all students a basic framework from which they choose courses. This framework consists of a set of general education requirements and 38 major fields in which students can pursue studies in depth.

Guilford also supports students in creating individualized programs and in selecting studies which will best contribute to their own development and interests. Faculty advisors readily assist students in exploring their interests and abilities and in relating their courses of study to future plans.

Students with varied talents and aims may profit from different methods of instruction. Guilford deliberately offers a selection of educational experiences: courses combining lectures with discussion or laboratory; seminars demanding more direct participation by the student; and opportunities for independent study.

The college encourages off-campus learning and foreign study, and advisors help students design internships in the community as a way of relating study and work experiences.

The Five Academic Principles

These principles govern all courses and other educational experiences at the college:

  • Innovative, student-centered learning
    Guilford embraces effective and adventurous pedagogy. Learning formats are chosen to promote dynamic exchange among students and between students and faculty.

    Throughout, Guilford places the individual student at the core of its educational mission. In an environment committed to the value of interdependence, each student is encouraged to develop an individual viewpoint through the sharing of ideas with other members of the college's intentionally diverse community.

  • Challenge to engage in creative and critical thinking
    Guilford emphasizes these activities: identifying and solving problems; delving below the surface of things to understand phenomena in their complexity; considering how frameworks and perspectives affect observations and analyses; appreciating the interplay of believing and doubting; and combining intuition, imagination, and the aesthetic sense with reasoning, quantitative analyses, and factual knowledge.

    Students learn not only to develop and synthesize ideas but also to articulate them clearly via the spoken and written word and other forms of creative expression. In particular, Guilford emphasizes writing as a mode of both learning and communicating, and thus students write intensively throughout their years here. Guilford especially values courses that connect different ways of knowing: hence the college's interdisciplinary emphasis.

  • Cultural and global perspectives
    Guilford strives to prepare students to be citizens of the world. Thus the curriculum is designed to encourage students and faculty to respect and learn from people of other cultures and also to foster an understanding of ecological relationships within the natural environment. By interacting with people from different cultures and gaining sensitivity to other ways of life, students deepen their academic investigation of Western and other traditions. In the process, students are challenged to envision better societies and to work collectively with others toward mutual benefit.
  • Values and the ethical dimension of knowledge
    The Quaker ethos deeply influences the academic program as it does all other aspects of college life. In particular, the curriculum nurtures the spiritual dimension of wonder, the pursuit of meaning in life, and sensitivity to the sacred. It also promotes consciousness of those values necessary to successful inquiry: honesty, simplicity, equality, tolerance.

    The college's courses explore the ethical dimension of knowledge. This often requires close attention to such issues as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social justice, and socioeconomics in historical and contemporary contexts.

  • Focus on practical application: vocation and service to the larger community
    Noting Quaker founder George Fox's call for schools to teach "things civil and useful," Guilford's teachers help their students choose majors and sequences of supporting courses that fit their interests and aptitudes and lead to work and service possibilities that will bring personal fulfillment and challenge. The college also upholds each individual's obligation to the larger community: thus its commitment to personal responsibility, social justice, world peace, service, and ethical behavior. Rooted in the Society of Friends' social testimonies, the college aims to help its graduates learn to evaluate the effects of their actions and the implications of their decisions.

The Curriculum

The curriculum consists of five tiers: Foundations, Explorations, Major, Concentration, and Capstone.

Each student normally completes 12 general education requirements (Foundations, Explorations, Capstone), eight courses for the major, and four for the concentration. Often, courses for the major and concentration will double-count with Foundations, Explorations, and Capstone courses, meaning that ordinarily a student will have to take fewer than 12 separate courses to satisfy the general education requirements.

The remaining courses that a student takes in order to accumulate a minimum of 128 credits for graduation are electives, although s/he may also choose to use these courses to establish a second major or concentration.

Students who expect to study abroad or who plan to spend a semester off campus in an internship program should plan carefully to fulfill requirements.

** General Education Requirements **

 

I. Foundations

These four required skills and perspectives courses provide solid grounding in Guilford's five academic principles. They also provide a platform for subsequent work in each of the College's areas of study.

The First Year Experience (FYE). This seminar introduces the Guilford curriculum and engages students in significant interactive and values-based inquiry. With a focus on speaking, listening and experiential learning, each FYE course explores an interdisciplinary content area. FYE also aids in the academic and social transition to college life. The seminar stresses learning strategies, time management, computing, choice of career and major, library use, and the honor code and academic honesty. The instructor for the course serves as the student's academic advisor until the student declares a major. CCE students are exempt from this requirement.

College Reading and Writing: Many Voices. This course provides a main site for identifying and working on the reading and writing skills that students need as members of the Guilford community. Course emphases include invention, arrangement, style, revision, and editing, as well as college-level reading strategies.

Embracing the value of multicultural issues and perspectives in our society, the theme of the course is "Many Voices." Readings celebrate a range of diverse populations that collectively define the American landscape, groups including Native Americans and Americans of African, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, and Arab descent.

Students needing to enhance their basic writing skills (as determined by verbal SAT/ACT and/or placement essays) first enroll in English 101 (Writing Seminar). Assuming that they earn a grade of at least C- in English 101, they then take English 102 (College Reading and Writing: Many Voices) second semester and Historical Perspectives the first semester of their sophomore year.

Students wishing to hone their writing skills after first-year English are encouraged to take one of the English Department's advanced courses or the writing-intensive courses offered throughout the curriculum.

Historical Perspectives. This course focuses on historical change and how individuals and groups both initiate change and respond to social, economic, and political forces. Taught by professors from across the college, Historical Perspectives courses link with College Reading and Writing in a two-semester first-year writing sequence. Course focuses include critical and research writing and responsible use of the Internet.

Foreign Language. This innovative one-semester course provides an intensive, interactive experience in learning a foreign language and culture that prepares students to continue to be lifelong learners of languages and cultures. All incoming students without relevant transfer credit take a language placement exam designed by the foreign languages department; those who score below the minimum (see below) take the course. Courses are offered in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

In order for the foreign language requirement to be waived, a Guilford student must qualify for learning disability as defined by the state of North Carolina. If the foreign language waiver is granted, the student must substitute a course with an international or intercultural emphasis.

Foreign students whose native language is not English will be exempted from the foreign language requirement. No credit will be awarded for their native language unless they wish to enroll in an advanced-level course.

Spanish Placement Exam
SCORE SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 286 Spanish 101
286-374 Spanish 102
375-440 Spanish 201
above 440 Spanish 220

German Placement Exam
SCORE SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 328 German 101
328-416 German 102
417-548 German 201
above 548 German 202

French Placement Exam
SCORE SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 280 French 101
280-357 French 102
358-392 French 201
above 392 French 202

There is no placement exam for Japanese.

Quantitative Literacy.  All incoming students whose math SAT score is below 650 will take a quantitative literacy test. Students who score above 15 have the option to retake the test or take a two-credit course that focuses on quantitative literacy (e.g., working with numbers; interpreting graphs and tables; working with measurement; understanding surveys and experiments). Students can also satisfy the requirement by passing any mathematics course offered at Guilford or a transfer course equivalent.

II. Explorations

Students take specially designated breadth courses in each of the college's five areas of study. The following list identifies the areas of study as well as the academic departments belonging to each (interdisciplinary programs like African American Studies and Environmental Studies span the areas of study but are not primarily located in any one of them):

Additionally, each student must complete three specially designated critical perspective courses. These three courses can double-count with either the breadth courses, the historical perspectives course, the major and concentration courses, or the capstone course. The three categories are:

  1. Intercultural, which focuses on an approved course on Africa, Asia, Latin America, or Middle East
  2. Social Justice/Environmental Responsibility, which focuses on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or the environment
  3. Diversity in the U.S., which explores sub-cultures within the United States.

III. The Major

In addition to completing the Foundations and Explorations courses required by Guilford College, each student selects, in consultation with the advisor, a major field of specialization, and a concentration. It is expected that students will declare a major no later than the end of their sophomore year. Exceptions must be discussed with and approved by the Associate Academic Dean.

Guilford offers majors in 38 academic fields. Students may pursue options outlined below, including disciplinary majors, double majors, joint majors, or interdisciplinary majors. A minimum of 32 credits (8 courses) is required for a major. All courses required for the major must be passed with a C or better.

** Degrees/Majors Offered **

Departmental Majors
Majors in some specialized fields (such as art, education studies, business management, music, and theatre studies) require more than the minimum eight courses.

Degree programs in accounting, business, community and justice studies, computer information systems, criminal justice, education studies, forensic biology, history, justice and policy studies, management, political science, and psychology may be completed through either daytime or evening classes.

Double Majors
A double major is a major in two different departments or curricular areas. A student who, with the consent of an advisor, desires to complete a double major will complete all requirements for each of the two majors. No concentration is required. If the majors offer different degrees (A.B., B.S., B.F.A.), only one degree may be received. Both majors will be listed on the student's permanent transcript.

If a student returns to Guilford College following graduation to complete a second major, the designation of the original major will not be changed, but a notation will be made that the requirements for the second major have been met.

Students wishing to have more than one major must take a minimum of eight discrete courses for each major.

Joint Majors
A student may choose to petition for a joint major in two departments, involving a waiver of the 32-credit requirement for a major, subject to the following limitations:

  • the total number of credits earned for the combination of the two majors cannot be fewer than 56 and for either one of the majors cannot be fewer than 24
  • both departments involved in the joint major must approve of the joint major, and either department may prescribe any or all courses which must be completed satisfactorily
  • the Associate Academic Dean must approve the joint major
  • interdisciplinary majors cannot be used as one of the two majors.

Any student designing a joint major with fewer than 32 credits in one or both of the majors should submit a petition to each of the departments involved at least a semester in advance of the intended graduation date. After both departments approve the petition, listing all prescribed courses, the student then takes the petition to the Associate Academic Dean for final approval.

There are normally two types of joint majors"

  1. Students may joint-major in two closely related fields, such as mathematics and physics, taking some courses that are appropriate for both. Or a student wishing to major in psychology and in sociology and anthropology might petition for a joint major utilizing the course in Class, Race, Gender for both.
  2. Students may, with the advice and consent of two departments, wish to focus upon two very different areas, perhaps on one of the traditional arts and sciences and on one of the preprofessional fields. Such a student might petition for a joint major, for example, in art and business management.

Interdisciplinary majors
A student selecting an interdisciplinary major completes at least eight courses (32 credits) in that field as specified by the program. With the exception of Integrative Studies, all interdisciplinary majors require that students double-major with a disciplinary major. Both majors must be completed at Guilford.

IV. Concentrations

In addition to the major course work, each student takes a focused collection of a minimum of four courses, which either provide a second, mini-depth area or involve study related to the major. Students are free to take any concentration as long as it does not have the same name as the major: thus an English major would not be able to use an English concentration to satisfy the concentration requirement. Concentrations may be either disciplinary or interdisciplinary. A minimum of 16 credits (4 courses) is erquired for a concentration. All courses for the concentration must be passed with a grade of D- or better.

Students declare a concentration no later than the end of the fourth semester of college study or, for part-time or continuing education students, before completion of 32 credits. Junior transfers should complete this planning on or shortly after entering Guilford.

** Additional Information on Concentrations **

V. Capstone (IDS 400)

Each student who has senior status (a minimum of 88 credits completed) during his or her senior year at Guilford must take an Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) course with a 400-level prefix (e.g., IDS 412: Nature, Culture, Religion). The course will allow students to draw upon the knowledge and skills gained from previous college work and explore issues that cross traditional disciplinary lines. Cross-disciplinary writing will be a principal focus.

Throughout their time at Guilford, students will develop skill competencies in the following specific areas:

  • Writing
  • Oral Communication
  • Research
  • Information Technology
  • Quantitative Reasoning

The platform for these competencies occurs in the Foundations courses; students then continue to develop these competencies during their course of studies. The IDS 400 course represents the completion of this development at Guilford.

 

VI. Electives

Sufficient electives are needed to fill out the minimum of 128 credits needed for graduation. Electives may be taken in any department or field to supplement the student's interests.

Accreditation & Affiliation

Guilford College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30330-4097; Telephone number (404) 679-4501; www.sacscoc.org] to award baccalaureate degrees. It is also affiliated with the Council on Post-secondary Education.

Guilford is on the list of colleges and universities approved by the American Medical Association, and the teacher education program is accredited by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Credits earned at Guilford are accepted at face value in admission to graduate and professional schools and in certification of teaching.

Guilford College holds membership in a number of organizations formed by colleges and universities: the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the North Carolina Adult Education Association, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the North Carolina Honors Association, the National Collegiate Honors Council, the Friends Association for Higher Education, The College Board, the Southern University Conference, and the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities.

It is listed in the Baccalaureate Colleges-Liberal Arts category by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.