Curriculum FAQs

Where can a student go to view progress toward graduation, how many requirements she/he has fulfilled, and what’s left to fulfill? 

Students can review all this information by consulting their Academic Plan on Self-Service. Log on to MyArcadia and use the Self Service link in the tools bar.

How does a student select a major? 

Declaration of a Major and Minor forms are available on the Registrar’s Forms page and from the Registrar’s Office in Taylor Hall.

What undergraduate majors are offered? 

Use the Program Finder to search for undergraduate majors and minors.

If a student is “undeclared,” who is the student’s faculty advisor and where can she/he get help trying to decide on a major? 

An undeclared student is assigned an advisor from the Office of Undergraduate Studies, and that advisor, the student’s professors, and all department chairpersons can be consulted when considering what major to declare.

How does a student go about changing a major and determining the effect it will have on her/his path toward graduation? 

Change of Major forms are available on the Registrar’s Forms web page and in the Registrar’s Office in Taylor Hall. A student should consult his or her existing advisor and the chairperson of the intended new major to consider how changing majors will affect one’s path toward graduation.

What’s the difference between a First-Year Seminar and a Learning Community? 

The First-Year Seminar course forms the basis of your Learning Community. As part of the course, students also participate in experiences that connect them to the Arcadia University campus, other students, faculty and the surrounding community. Through the coursework and the experiences, we all form a “community of learners.”

What types of activities will a Learning Community do? Are the activities required, and are there any costs involved?

Learning Community activities differ depending in the subject of the First-Year Seminar, but they often involve activities around campus and around the metropolitan Philadelphia area. Individual instructors determine which Learning Community activities are required and which are optional. Typically students are responsible for no or very minor costs relating to Learning Community activities.

Are the spring break Preview programs required as part of the First-Year Experience?

Previews are not a required part of the First-Year Experience.

Can a University seminar also fulfill a major requirement?

Yes. University Seminars sometimes also fulfill a major requirement at the discretion of the individual department.

Are the same University Seminars offered each semester?

No. The University Seminar program offers a rotating and evolving set of seminars each semester. Many University Seminars are often offered on a regular basis (for instance one a year or once every other year), but new University Seminars are frequently added to the offering and University Seminars offered in the past will not necessarily be offered again.

When should a student take University Seminars?

University Seminars should be taken any time after the completion of the First-Year Seminar and before beginning on one’s Senior Capstone Experience.

How can a student fulfill the Global Connections Experience requirement?

The Global Connections experience can be fulfilled in the following different ways:

• by studying abroad in a foreign country
• by studying away at a pre-approved American university with which Arcadia has an exchange program
• by taking a special designated Glenside-based course that provides a sustained cross-cultural experience
• through a “hybrid” experience that combines short-term international experiences and semester-long local or online experiences
• through an individualized experience

What’s the difference between a Global Connections Experience and a Global Connections Reflection? 

The Global Connections Reflection is typically a 2-credit online course in which the student must enroll during their Global Connections Experience. The Global Connections Reflection asks the student to document and analyze the Global Connections Experience.

What’s the difference between the Curricular Experience called “Global Connections Experience” and the Intellectual Practice called “Crossing Boundaries”?

A Global Connections Experience (whether done by studying internationally, studying away domestically, or by participating in a Glenside-based course with this designation) focuses on students immersing themselves in a sustained cross-cultural experience.

Courses designated with the Crossing Boundaries Intellectual Practice explore critical themes including those related to the interdependence, interconnectedness and inequality among and within nations, thereby preparing for their Global Connections Experience when taken before and/or following up on and further exploring those themes when taken afterward. In addition, some Preview and ID courses have added a local or online cross-cultural experience that goes across the semester and can count as a GCE. Moreover, individual students may propose adding a local experience to a Preview/ID course by submitting a proposal for a Hybrid Individualized Global Connections Experience form to the Director of Global Connections.

Does the Senior Capstone Project have to be taken within the student’s major?

Yes. The Senior Capstone Project is the culminating experience within a student’s major.

If a student is a double major, does she/he have to do two Senior Capstone Projects?

In most cases, yes; however sometimes students may work out arrangements with the chairpersons of the two major departments in which a single, combined Capstone project integrates the academic content of both majors and therefore is permitted to count in both majors.

Where do I find a list of courses offered each semester that fulfill specific Areas of Inquiry and Intellectual Practices requirements?

A search function is available in Self-Service.