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Bulletin & Course Catalog 2015-16 Mount Holyoke College Catalog 2015-2016 Bulletin & Course Catalog 2015-16 1 Mount Holyoke College Catalog 2015-2016 Contents 61 Arabic 4 2015-2016 Academic Calendar 62 Architectural Studies 5 About Mount Holyoke College 64 Art History 7 The Bachelor of Arts Degree and College Requirements 70 Art Studio 11 Other Degree and Certificate Programs 74 Asian/Pacific/American Studies 11 Dual-Degree Programs 75 Asian Studies 11 The Second Bachelor’s Degree 82 Astronomy 12 Graduate Degree Programs 85 Biochemistry 12 Certificate and Licensure Programs 87 Biological Sciences 13 Special Programs and Resources 94 Buddhist Studies 13 The Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership 95 Chemistry 14 The Dorothy R. and Norman E. McCulloch Center for Global 100 Chinese Initiatives 102 Classics 15 Foreign Languages at Mount Holyoke College 104 Coastal and Marine Sciences 15 The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Center for the 105 Cognitive Neuroscience Environment 106 College Courses 16 Library, Information, and Technology Services 107 Complex Organizations 16 Internships 109 Computer Science 17 Exchanges and Semester Programs 113 Conceptual Foundations of Science 17 Intersession 114 Critical Social Thought 17 Independent Study 118 Culture, Health, and Science 18 Honors Thesis 119 Curricular Support Courses 18 Access and Inclusion 120 Dance 19 The Five College Consortium 127 Development Studies 21 Academic Regulations 128 East Asian Studies 28 Academic and Career Advising 130 Economics 30 Admission 134 Educational Policy and Practice 30 Undergraduate Admission 135 Educational Studies 31 The Frances Perkins Program 137 Engineering 32 Graduate Admission 138 English 32 Other Undergraduate Degree and Certificate Programs 151 Environmental Studies 34 Fellowships for Mount Holyoke Alumnae and Graduating Seniors 157 Ethnomusicology 36 Tuition and Fees 158 Film Studies 40 Financial Aid 165 First-Year Seminars 47 Key to Course Descriptions/Special Courses 171 French Areas of Study 176 Gender Studies 48 Departmental and Interdisciplinary Majors 184 Geography 49 Minors, Nexus, and Five College Certificates 187 Geology 51 African Studies 190 German Studies 52 Africana Studies 197 Global Business 56 Ancient Studies 198 Greek 57 Anthropology 200 History 2 Mount Holyoke College Catalog 2015-2016 213 International Relations 218 Italian 221 Japanese 222 Jewish Studies 225 Journalism, Media, and Public Discourse 226 Latin 229 Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies 230 Latin American Studies 233 Latina/o Studies 236 Law, Public Policy, and Human Rights 237 Logic 238 Mathematics 242 Medieval Studies 243 Middle Eastern Studies 245 Music 260 Native American and Indigenous Studies 261 Neuroscience and Behavior 263 Nonprofit Organizations 264 Philosophy 269 Physical Education and Athletics 279 Physics 284 Politics 293 Psychology 300 Psychology and Education 305 Public History, Archives, and Museums 306 Queer and Sexuality Studies 307 Religion 313 Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice 314 Romance Languages and Cultures 316 Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies 317 Russian and Eurasian Studies 322 Sociology 325 South Asian Studies 327 Spanish - Hispanophone Studies 331 Statistics 333 Sustainability Studies 334 Theatre Arts 341 Professional and Graduate Education 357 Appendix 3 Mount Holyoke College Catalog 2015-2016 2015–2016 Academic Calendar International Student Orientation Begins Monday, August 31 Online registration opens Wednesday, September 2 New Student Orientation Wednesday, September 2 Returning students arrive Sunday, September 6 Convocation Tuesday, September 8 Fall-semester classes begin Wednesday, September 9 Last day to add classes Tuesday, September 22 Last day to withdraw from a class Tuesday, September 29 without “W” grade recorded Midsemester break Saturday, October 10–Tuesday, October 13 Family and Friends Weekend Friday, October 23–Sunday, October 25 Academic advising period Monday, November 2–Friday, November 6 Founder’s Day November 8, 1837 Online MHC and Five College spring Monday, November 9–Friday, November 20 registration Last day to withdraw from a class with Thursday, November 19 “W” grade recorded Last day to declare ungraded option Thursday, November 19 Thanksgiving recess Wednesday, November 25–Sunday, November 29 Last day of classes Tuesday, December 15 Reading days Wednesday, December 16–Friday December 18, 7 pm Examinations Friday, December 18, 7 pm–Tuesday, December 22, noon December recess Tuesday, December 22, noon–Sunday, January 3 Intersession Monday, January 4–Friday, January 15 Online registration opens Wednesday, January 13 January recess Saturday, January 16–Monday, January 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, January 18 (no classes) Spring-semester classes begin Tuesday, January 19 Last day to add classes Monday, February 1 Last day to withdraw from a class Monday, February 8 without “W” grade recorded Midsemester break Saturday, March 12–Sunday, March 20 Academic advising period Monday, March 28–Friday, April 1 Online Five College fall registration Monday, April 4–Friday, April 15 Online MHC fall registration Monday, April 4–Friday, April 22 Last day to withdraw from a class Monday, April 4 with “W” grade recorded Last day to declare ungraded option Monday, April 4 Last day of classes Monday, April 25 Reading days Tuesday, April 26–Thursday, April 28, 7 pm Examinations Thursday, April 28, 7 pm–Monday, May 2, noon Reunion I Friday, May 13–Sunday, May 15 Baccalaureate service Saturday, May 14 Commencement Sunday, May 15 Reunion II Friday, May 20–Sunday, May 22 Academic Calendar 1 4 Mount Holyoke College Catalog 2015-2016 About Mount Holyoke College Chemist and educator Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke College (then called Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1837, nearly a century before women gained the right to vote. The first of the Seven Sisters—the female equivalent of the once predominantly male Ivy League—Mount Holyoke offered a rigorous program of study at a time when higher education for women was a revolutionary idea. The school quickly became synonymous with academic excellence and brilliant teaching and became a model for many other women’s colleges. In 1893, the seminary curriculum was phased out and the institution’s name was changed to Mount Holyoke College. Today, Mount Holyoke is a highly selective, nondenominational, residential, research liberal arts college for women located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts. The College’s 2,250 students hail from 48 states and 74 countries. Its 234 full-time and part-time instructional faculty are devoted to undergraduate teaching and cutting-edge research. A little over half of the faculty are women; a fifth are individuals of color; and over 30 percent were born abroad. With a student-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 and with most classes averaging 10–19 students, faculty and students collaborate closely on academic course work and research. The College operates on a semester calendar, with an optional January Intersession offering opportunities for research, independent study, projects of students’ own choice, travel, internships, and study. The College’s Professional and Graduate Education program offers graduate programs and optional additional opportunities to undergraduates during January and summer sessions. The College’s accreditation was approved for continuation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., through its commission on Institutions of Higher Education, in 2008. Mary Lyon’s famous words—“Go where no one else will go, do what no one else will do”—continue to inspire the College’s students and its 36,000 alumnae. By offering a distinctive combination of a rigorous liberal arts education, an unusually diverse and international community, a lifelong global network, and a legacy of educating leaders, Mount Holyoke is powerfully positioned to graduate women who will be successful and contribute to a better world. Mission of the College Mount Holyoke’s mission is to provide an intellectually adventurous education in the liberal arts and sciences through academic programs recognized internationally for their excellence and range; to draw students from all backgrounds into an exceptionally diverse and inclusive learning community with a highly accomplished, committed, and responsive faculty and staff; to continue building on the College’s historic legacy of leadership in the education of women; and to prepare students, through a liberal education integrating curriculum and careers, for lives of thoughtful, effective, and purposeful engagement in the world. Seal of Mount Holyoke College On August 23, 1838, Mount Holyoke awarded certificates to its first three graduates. A seal attached by a ribbon to the diploma bore a design that had been the subject of long and careful consideration by the Board of Trustees. Created by Orra White Hitchcock (wife of Edward Hitchcock, an original trustee of the College), the seal design depicted a centering cluster of palms, a palace in the background, and a block of stone in the foreground. It cited the text of Psalms 144.12: “That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” Facilities Mount Holyoke College’s 800-acre campus is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful in the nation with its neo-Gothic buildings, spacious greens, two small lakes, and a magnificent tree canopy. It is home to more than 40 academic buildings and residence halls. The main campus is an arboretum with a diverse collection of trees and shrubs,
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