Requirements

A. General Education Requirements

Education in the Division of Liberal Arts (DLA) provides artists with the tools they need to forge meaningful lives and careers in a diverse and changing world. Study in the Division of Liberal Arts contributes to the development of critical and creative problem solving, curiosity, communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration, which enable our graduates to assert the power of the arts to confront complex issues and transform our world for the better. To achieve this mission, the DLA provides [the majority of] UNCSA’s General Education courses in a curriculum designed to support students’ personal, intellectual, and artistic growth in interaction with other emerging artists. Coursework in the DLA makes the connections between the students, the subjects they study, and the world beyond the classroom explicit. Small student-teacher ratios make highly effective project-based and responsive pedagogies possible. The faculty of the DLA are active scholars in their disciplines, committed to teaching in the Liberal Arts and Sciences with pedagogical methods tailored to a conservatory environment. We strive to build classroom environments open to multiple perspectives and experiences as the most effective means to achieve our mission. Our ability as a community to bring this mission to life is built on a shared commitment to uphold these fundamental values:

• We practice openness to multiple perspectives.
• We cultivate many ways of knowing.
• We embrace differences and work for equity.
• We attend to one another and to the well-being of our community.
• We study the past to imagine the future.
• We benefit from interdisciplinary engagement.
• We feed curiosity and inquiry.

Students are urged to complete most of their academic coursework within the first three years of study at UNCSA. During each semester of the academic year, the usual academic program of the college student consists of two courses, each course usually carrying three semester hours of credit. The student will thus have earned up to 12 semester hours toward their general education course work at the end of each year.

Students who complete the Division of Liberal Arts requirements should be able to:

• Read analytically and critically;
• Write clearly and persuasively at the college level, using the skills of critical thinking;
• Interpret and produce content and communications in a variety of digital media;
• Make informed comparisons of different cultures, worldviews, and social practices;
• Critically appreciate different concepts of art from a variety of world traditions;
• Understand scientific concepts and methodology and/or the principles of quantitative reasoning;
• Articulate their own perspective regarding the interrelationship between the liberal arts and sciences and the fine and performing arts.

B. Continuation Requirements

Students are expected to maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA in their General Education requirements to graduate with a B.F.A. or B.M. degree. Students who fail to achieve this average by the end of their fourth semester may be placed on probation. Please view the Institutional Policies on Student Probation & Continuation for more information.

C. Core General Education Courses Required for all BFA and BM Students

Each arts area and concentration, in cooperation with the Division of Liberal Arts, may set more specific, sometimes additional non-applied requirements appropriate to the particular field of study. See the descriptions of degree requirements in each arts area for further information. * This includes courses offered by the Division of Liberal Arts, and with specific permission by the Dean of Liberal Arts, can include courses offered by one of the Art Schools, provided that the course is outside the student’s major area of concentration (Dance, Design and Production, Drama, Film, or Music).

Total of 30 General Education Credit Hours

D. Academic Grade Replacement Policy for students matriculated Fall 2018 and after

Students currently enrolled may repeat certain required Core General Education courses in which a D or F was earned. Core General Education courses are defined by major and area of concentration, as listed in the following chart:

The student may request to have only the higher of the two grades count in their Grade Point Average (GPA) calculation. The academic transcript will reflect all course grades; however the replaced grade will not be used in calculating the cumulative grade point average. Grades cannot be replaced for courses offered within the art schools.

There are a number of restrictions to this policy; students are advised to consult with their academic advisor prior to making any decision.

• a grade can only be replaced for a course once;
• grades can be replaced for up to twelve credit hours;
• courses must be taken at UNCSA;
• student will only earn the credit hours once;
• the policy cannot be used in instances prohibited by the UNCSA Academic Integrity Policy;
• students who have graduated with the arts diploma or undergraduate arts certificate prior to AY2011 are no longer eligible.

Students who decide to take advantage of the grade replacement policy are required to submit the Grade Replacement Form (obtained from the Office of the Registrar) to the Dean or Assistant Dean of the Division of Liberal Arts prior to the last day of exams during the semester in which the course is being repeated. This policy was made effective as of Fall 2010 term. * Grade replacement for HUM 2101 only available through the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. 

E. Core General Education Courses Required for all BFA and BM Students matriculated prior to Fall 2018

Each arts area and concentration, in cooperation with the Division of Liberal Arts, sets more specific, sometimes additional non-applied requirements appropriate to the particular field of study. These additional requirements can total between 9 to 15 credit hours. See the descriptions of degree requirements in each arts area for further information. * Voice students check program requirements.

Total of 36-42 General Education Credit Hours

F. Academic Grade Replacement Policy for Students who matriculated prior to Fall 2018

Students currently enrolled may repeat certain required Core General Education courses in which a D or F was earned. Core General Education courses are defined by major and area of concentration, as listed in the following chart:

 

G. Students Returning to UNCSA to Complete a BFA or BM:

A student with a UNCSA GPA of 2.0 or higher in Liberal Arts courses who is seeking to complete a BFA or BM within seven years of his or her last enrollment may transfer in the remaining required credits, provided that the student received a grade of C or higher in each transferable course from an accredited college or university.

A student who has completed the Arts Diploma or Arts Certificate and satisfactorily completed all general education requirements with a GPA of 2.0 or higher, but was unable to graduate with a BFA or BM due to low SAT or ACT test scores, outstanding high school minimum course requirements, or unreported test scores may apply for readmission once the student reaches the age of 24. In these cases, the student must enroll at UNCSA for a minimum of 6 credit hours of coursework in Liberal Arts courses and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in these courses from the date of readmission.

H. Forgiveness Policy

The UNCSA Forgiveness Policy is a mechanism through which a student who has completed all arts course requirements was awarded the Arts Diploma or Arts Certificate but has not satisfactorily completed the general education requirements toward a BFA or BM with a GPA of 2.0 or higher can return to UNCSA to complete their degree. The Forgiveness Policy defines pertinent parameters and procedures, including the situations in which such completion can be undertaken, the work that must be accomplished, and the minimum standards of achievement. In order to use the forgiveness policy a returning student must meet the following criteria:

• The student may not have been enrolled at UNCSA within the last 24 consecutive months.

• The student must contact the Dean of the Division of Liberal Arts to discuss the terms of his or her return. As part of this discussion, the student must present a “course enrollment plan” that details how the remaining degree requirements will be realistically fulfilled. This course enrollment plan will become part of the Application for Readmission submitted through the Office of Admissions.

• A student who has been enrolled at another accredited college or university since his or her last enrollment at UNCSA must submit official transcripts to the Office of Admissions along with the Application for Readmission indicating that a minimum cumulative 2.0 average has been earned in all courses attempted.

• The student will re-enter UNCSA as degree- seeking, but will be placed on probation with continuation in the program conditional on maintaining a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA in Liberal Arts courses taken after the date of readmission.

• The student will follow the Liberal Arts course requirements for the degree that are in place at the time of readmission and not when the student was last enrolled.

• A student who returns to UNCSA under the Forgiveness Policy will not be permitted to take Arts courses.

• The student must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours at UNCSA, which may be taken over a maximum period of two semesters. The student must take a minimum of 6 credit hours each semester and maintain a 2.5 average over the 12 credits to be eligible to graduate.

• In some cases, the student may have more than 12 credit hours remaining to complete the general education requirements for the degree. In these cases the student may take the remaining required credit hours at UNCSA, and must maintain a 2.5 GPA to graduate. Alternately, the student may request the Dean of Liberal Arts review credits in which a C or better was earned at an accredited college or university for possible transfer toward the UNCSA degree requirements.

• Applicable transfer credit will be applied only after the student has reached a cumulative GPA of 2.5 in required Liberal Arts courses upon his or her return to UNCSA.

• Upon establishing the requisite cumulative 2.5 GPA over the minimum 12 credits, any Liberal Arts courses taken at UNCSA prior to readmission in which the student earned below a C- will be excluded from the UNCSA cumulative GPA calculation (the GPA that includes all arts and liberal arts classes taken at UNCSA). While these courses will be excluded for GPA calculation purposes, they will nonetheless remain on the student’s transcript, as they are part of the calculation of attempted hours. The student will retain credit for those courses in which a passing grade was earned.

• Finally, before the degree can be granted, the student’s UNCSA cumulative GPA must meet the current graduation minimum for the appropriate Art School as published in the Bulletin under which the student re-enrolls at UNCSA.

• A student may only use the Forgiveness Policy to reapply once. Failure to achieve and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 GPA in Liberal Arts courses completed after the date of return will result in dismissal.

• A student who returns to UNCSA under the Forgiveness Policy may be eligible for financial aid if their prior coursework at UNCSA meets the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy currently in force. A student interested in pursuing financial aid should provide the Financial Aid Office with a “course enrollment plan” showing that they can complete the program within the maximum time-frame allowed by SAP.