Bachelor Degree Requirements

Bachelor Degree Graduates

In keeping with Catholic tradition and the aspirations of the Sisters of Providence, the University of Providence forms the whole person, preparing our graduates to lead with integrity and serve with compassion while advancing the common good. Committed to fostering intellectual, affective, physical, and spiritual excellence, the University provides a liberal arts education that invites students to engage in ongoing dialogue between faith and reason. UProvidence graduates will be able to richly pursue the answers to the following questions: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to participate in intellectual inquiry? What does it mean to “make a living” and to live as a productive human being? What does it mean to participate in the spiritual and religious dimensions of life?

Bachelor Degree Requirements

All graduates will:

  1. Cultivate intellectual skills and dispositions necessary for the pursuit of truth and common good;
  2. Communicate effectively through active listening and excellent command of oral, written, and technological skills maintaining the dignity of all;
  3. Learn and engage with the living Catholic Intellectual Tradition;
  4. Engage with diverse cultures and consider the inherent value in all creation;
  5. Demonstrate familiarity with major moral and ethical theories in order to act with sound ethical judgement in contemporary contexts;
  6. Reflect, learn, and live lives of integrity and compassion.

Core Curriculum - Bachelor Degree

The Core Curriculum prepares students for living and making a living, forming their whole person and preparing them to master the work of their chosen majors. In a rapidly changing world, our students can expect to assume many different roles during their careers and to encounter employers who require adaptable critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. In developing versatile, well-rounded students, the Core Curriculum prepares them to excel in the face of such professional demands. At the same time, the Core Curriculum recognizes the critical importance of shaping informed, reflective, and compassionate citizens for the 21st century. By inviting students to engage with the liberal arts and living Catholic Intellectual Tradition, the Core Curriculum at UProvidence challenges all students to discern how they might best achieve their own good and the good of their communities.

Core Curriculum (Competency) Objectives

All students will:

  1. Explain and apply the methods of inquiry in the disciplines of the liberal arts (fine arts, sciences, and social sciences);
  2. Demonstrate proficiency in active listening and communication to include oral, written, and technology;
  3. Understand how Judeo-Christian thought develops through dialogue with a variety of cultures and philosophies;
  4. Actively and respectfully engage with other persons, disciplines, cultures, religions and the environment;
  5. Identify, evaluate, and apply knowledge of major moral and ethical theories;
  6. Display skills and dispositions of “servant leadership.”

To earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Providence, a student must:

  1. Complete a minimum of 120 credits.
  2. Maintain a cumulative University of Providence grade point average of 2.00 or higher.
  3. Complete the University of Providence Core Curriculum.
  4. Complete a major. All courses used to complete the requirements of a major, minor, or concentration must have a grade of C or better. Some majors may require completion of a minor or concentration.
  5. Complete thirty of the last forty semester hours of coursework at the University of Providence.
  6. Complete an upper division Writing Intensive Course (WIC). All students must take an upper division WIC Course (300/400 level) to meet degree requirements. WIC Writing requirement may be fulfilled as a WIC designated course or an ENG 300-319 course at the University of Providence.
  7. Complete a minimum of 40% or 15 credits of their major (whichever is greater) and a minimum of 40% of their minor in residency at the University of Providence. Completion of credits within a concentration will not count toward residency in the major. This requirement does not apply to those completing an approved major or minor in University Studies.
  8. Complete at least thirty-two credits in upper division coursework (courses numbered 300 or higher), at least sixteen of which must be from the University of Providence. (Students should complete at least twelve of these thirty-two credits in coursework outside the student’s major, minor or concentration.)
  9. Apply for graduation in accordance with the prescribed deadlines.
  10. Comply with all University policies, rules, and regulations.
  11. Pay all indebtedness to the University.

Corps of Discovery Experience

A course designed to assist students in discovering themselves and the world around them as well as fostering professional, emotional, spiritual and intellectual growth.

COD 100CORPS OF DISCOVERY 13
Total Credits Required:3
1

Required of all first year, full time, on campus students. Part time students, distance students and students transferring in with 30 or more credits are exempt.

Foundation Skills

These courses provide students with minimum competencies needed for higher education, expose them to essential subject areas and their methodologies, and introduces them to the practice of critical thinking and creative expression.

ENG 117WRITING ESSAYS 13
ENG 215INTRO TO LITERARY STUDIES3
Select one of the following:1
ESSENTIALS OF SPREADSHEETS
ESSENTIALS OF WORD PROCESSING
ESSENTIALS OF PRESENTATIONS
CPS 215INFORMATION LITERACY1
Select one of the following (depending on major): 23-4
CONTEMPORARY MATHEMATICS
ELEMENTARY STATISTICS
PRECALCULUS I
CALCULUS I
Total Credits Required:11-12
1

UProvidence requires ENG 099 COLLEGE WRITING SKILLS for students with a score below the following: 17 on the English section of the ACT or a 520 on the Writing section of the SAT.
Transfer students with equivalent ENG 117 WRITING ESSAYS credit may be encouraged to repeat ENG 117 WRITING ESSAYS prior to enrolling in a 300+ level writing course.
 

2

UProvidence requires MTH 090 ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA for students with a score below the following: 18 on the Math section of the ACT, a 450 in the Math section of the SAT, unless the student has received a grade of B or higher in a high school Algebra class.
UProvidence requires MTH 095 INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA for students with a score below the following: 21 on the Math section of the ACT, 510 in the Math section of the SAT, unless the student has received a grade of B or higher in a high school Algebra class or Pre-calculus.

Arts and Science

History Array3
Social Sciences Array3
Fine Arts Array3
Experimental Science Array4
Total Credits Required:13

History Array

Courses in this category study human history and events.

Select 3 credits from the following:3
GLOBAL HISTORY II
UNITED STATES HISTORY I
UNITED STATES HISTORY II
Total Credits Required:3

Social Sciences Array

Courses in this category study human society and individual relationships within society as well as provide students with the cognitive and intellectual skills to succeed in the modern world. Students must complete one of the following:

Select 3 credits from the following:3
INTRO TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYST
SOC JSTC & CIVIC ENGMT IN AMER
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
WE THE PEOPLE: INTRO POL SCI
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
CONTEMP ISSUES IN HISTORY
THE REAL WORLD: INTRO TO SOC
MACROECONOMICS
MICROECONOMICS
WELLNESS PERSPECTIVES
Total Credits Required:3

Fine Arts Array

Courses in this category both enhance students’ aesthetic appreciation and allow students to explore the creative process as it relates to visual, literary, and performing arts. Students must complete one of the following:

Select 3 credits from the following:3
INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
STUDIO ART PRACTICE
DRAWING I
PAINTING I
CERAMICS I
PHOTOGRAPHY I
INTRO TO TECHNICAL THEATER
INTRODUCTION TO ACTING
MUS 1XX - 2XX
Any Music Designated Course level 100 - 200
Total Credits Required:3

Experimental Science Array

Courses in this category must include an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that allows students to engage in the scientific method by designing experiments, recording their data, analyzing their results, and discussing their findings. Students must complete one of the following:

Select 4 credits from the following:4
STRUCT & FUNC OF HUMAN BODY
THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL ECOLOGY
GENERAL BIOLOGY I
ESSENTIALS OF INORGANIC CHEM
CHEMISTRY IN CONTEXT
GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
Total Credits Required:4

Ethics, Theology, and Integrated Learning Communities

Lower Division Philosophy Array

Select 3 credits from the following:3
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN
INTRO TO WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
THINKING LOGICALLY
CONTEMPORARY ETHICAL ISSUES
PHILOSOPHY OF LAW
AESTHETICS
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY
Total Credits Required:3

Lower Division Theology Array

Select 3 credits from the following:3
THE HUMAN PERSON
CHRISTIANITY & WORLD RELIGIONS
CHURCH HISTORY I: 33AD TO 1054
CHURCH HISTORY II: 1054-1965
INTRO TO CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALTY
INTRODUCTION TO THEOLOGY
FORMATION - CHRIST CONSCIENCE
READING THE OLD TESTAMENT
READING THE NEW TESTAMENT
FUNDAMENTALS-CHRISTIAN MNSTRY
SPCL TPC IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY
Total Credits Required:3

Ethics Array

Select 3 credits from the following: 33
ETHICS
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
ETHICAL DEC-MAKING & SPIRITUAL
NURSING ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY
Total Credits Required:3

Integrated Learning Community Course

ILC 350WHAT IS THE COMMON GOOD 34
Total Credits Required:4
3

BLOCK TRANSFER EXCEPTION: Students with a previously earned Associate of Arts of Associate of Science degree who are completing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Providence, are waived from completing all lower division credits within the University Bachelor’s Degree Core Curriculum.

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