Bryn Mawr College

College-Wide Degree Requirements

Thirty-two units of credit are required for the A.B. degree, of which twenty-four must ordinarily be completed in residence. Each student is also required to complete a set of college-wide distribution requirements and to complete a major.  

 

Each student must meet the distribution requirements in place when she matriculated at the College. The official requirements and the relevant rules may be found in the Catalog from the student's first year at Bryn Mawr. The 2012-13 Catalog includes information for students who matriculated under the "old requirements" (prior to Fall 2011) and those under the "new requirements" (after Fall 2011).  Regardless of whether you are bound by the old or new requirements, only courses in which you have attained a grade of 2.0 or higher may be used to satisfy these requirements

 

Remember that it is your responsibility as a student to make sure you are fulfilling these requirements. For members of the Class of 2013 and the Class of 2014, the Requirements Report available through the Student Services Center of Virtual Bryn Mawr helps a student keep track of how many credits she has earned, what requirements she has met, etc. Members of the Class of 2015 and 2016 should not use the Requirements Report. These two classes will instead use the Academic Requirements Report. The downloadable checklists are provided here as a supplemental resource.  In using any of these resources, consult your dean if you have questions.

 

Note: Transfers and McBrides are bound by the requirements in place when they matriculated regardless of their graduation date. Transfers admitted in Fall 2004 and after are exempt from the Emily Balch Seminar requirement. McBrides must complete a designated Emily Balch Seminar.

For students who entered Fall 2012, with expected graduation of 2016.

For students who entered Fall 2011, with expected graduation of 2015

For students who entered Fall 2010, with expected graduation of 2014

For students who entered Fall 2009, with expected graduation of 2013

In order to monitor her completion of her major, a student should keep her copy of the major work plan that she fills out with her major adviser in the spring of her sophomore year. This plan should constitute a checklist of major requirements. Students should consult with their major advisers before preregistering for courses each semester and must have their major advisers sign their preregistration print-outs.

Residency Requirement

Each student is expected to complete six full-time semesters and earn a minimum of 24 academic units while in residence at Bryn Mawr. These may include courses taken at Haverford, Swarthmore, and Penn during the academic year. They also include Bryn Mawr summer courses, taken at Bryn Mawr. The senior year must be spent in residence. Seven of the last 16 units must be earned in residence.

For transfer students admitted with junior class standing, the residency requirement is correspondingly adjusted from twenty-four to sixteen units.

Note: "Residency" refers to being registered at Bryn Mawr for a given semester. Courses taken at Haverford, Swarthmore or the University of Pennsylvania during that semester do count towards the residency requirement.  For the purposes of the residency requirement, a student may live off-campus.

 

Exceptions

All requests for exceptions to the above regulations are presented to the Special Cases Committee for approval. If you think a case can be made for an exception, consult your dean.