Introduction Undergraduate Catalog 2020-2021 Official Publication of Augsburg University 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454 The Augsburg University Undergraduate Catalog contains information about academic program requirements and academic and student policies and procedures for Fall Semester 2020 - Summer Semester 2021. It is subject to change without notice. The catalog is intended to complement other university publications including the Student Guide and university website. It is important for students to be familiar with all university policies and procedures. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisor(s) at least once each semester to be certain they are properly completing degree requirements. Published 2020 Phone: 612-330-1000 www.augsburg.edu 1 Greeting from the President A university catalog is full of detail and data that offer a map to our lives together as a university community. This is a map grounded in Augsburg’s mission: To educate students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. What has prompted you to study this map of Augsburg University? If you’re already enrolled at Augsburg, I trust you will continue to find here the awe and wonder of an educational experience that is meaningful and challenging. I hope you will be reminded of the relationships and commitments you have formed at Augsburg—they will last a lifetime. I also hope that you find in this map signposts of the progress you have made in your vocational journey and that you will continue to believe that you have rightly chosen Augsburg as the community in which you will spend time for the next several years. If you are studying this map to find out more about Augsburg University and an Augsburg education, welcome. I believe you will find it not only tells you about the character and essence of our institution, but also about our mission of service, particularly about the way we work in partnership with our neighbors in a modern, vibrant city. Augsburg is located in the heart of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. As you study here, you will find a setting that not only provides remarkable learning opportunities, but one in which you will be able to share your own talents and skills. Augsburg’s challenging academic environment is enhanced by both education and service experiences that transform theory into action and unite the liberal arts with the practical in preparing students as faithful citizens in a global society. The experience you are undertaking at Augsburg—or thinking of undertaking—will be based on a small campus in the core of a great city; it will be led by faculty preoccupied with your welfare and the emergence and refinement of your vocational plans. As you join Augsburg University, or consider doing so, please know that those of us who await you here find the university an exciting place, full of diversity and yet possessed of a community dedicated to higher learning and good living. Here you can find your way in the world. May this map be your faithful guide! Sincerely yours, Paul C. Pribbenow, PhD President 2 About Augsburg University At Augsburg University, we believe that the university experience should be a time of exploration, of discovery, of new experiences, and of new possibilities. We also believe that a liberal arts education is the best preparation for living in the fast-paced, changing, and complex world of today and tomorrow. Augsburg graduates will be able to demonstrate not only the mastery of a major field of study, but also the ability to think critically, creatively solve problems, and communicate effectively. Discovering Your Gifts and Talents The heart of an Augsburg undergraduate education is the Augsburg Core Curriculum—designed to prepare students to become informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders—and thus achieve the educational goals of our mission. Through “Search for Meaning” courses, students explore their own unique gifts and interests and find where their own talents intersect with the needs of our global society – their vocation. At the same time, courses across all disciplines stress the skills that will serve for a lifetime: writing, speaking, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning, to name a few. Thanks to Augsburg’s prime locations in the heart of thriving metropolitan areas, many courses are able to offer rich and varied learning opportunities in real-life situations through academic internships, experiential education, volunteer community service, and cultural enrichment. In a sense, the resources of the Twin Cities and Rochester, Minnesota are extended campuses for Augsburg students. Mission Statement Students who graduate from Augsburg are well prepared to make a difference in the world. They stand as testaments to the university motto, “Education for Service,” and mission: Augsburg University educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community that is committed to intentional diversity in its life and work. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings. Campus Location Augsburg University is located in the heart of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The campus is bordered by Riverside Avenue and Interstate 94, near the University of Minnesota West Bank campus and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Downtown Minneapolis is just minutes away, providing access to internships and careers with some of the country’s leading companies, as well as entertainment, arts, sports venues, shopping, dining, and transportation. The campus is blocks from Metro Transit Green and Blue light rail lines, which provide easy access to destinations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport. History A College of the Church Augsburg was the first seminary founded by Norwegian Lutherans in America, named after the confession of faith presented by Lutherans in Augsburg, Germany, in 1530. Augsburg opened in September 1869, in Marshall, Wisconsin, and moved to Minneapolis in 1872. The first seminarians were enrolled in 1874, and the first graduation was in 1879. Early Leaders Established a Direction 3 August Weenaas was Augsburg’s first president (1869-76). Professor Weenaas recruited two teachers from Norway: Sven Oftedal and Georg Sverdrup. These three men clearly articulated the direction of Augsburg: to educate Norwegian Lutherans to minister to immigrants and to provide such “college” studies that would prepare students for theological study. In 1874, they proposed a three-part plan: first, train ministerial candidates; second, prepare future theological students; and third, educate the farmer, worker, and businessperson. The statement stressed that a good education is also practical. Augsburg’s next two presidents also emphatically rejected ivory tower concepts of education. This commitment to church and community has been Augsburg’s theme for more than 150 years. Education for Service Keeping the vision of the democratic college, Georg Sverdrup, Augsburg’s second president (1876-1907), required students to gain pre-ministerial experience in city congregations. Student involvement in the community gave early expression to the concept of Augsburg’s motto, “Education for Service.” In the 1890s, Augsburg leaders formed the Friends of Augsburg, later called the Lutheran Free Church. The church was a group of independent congregations committed to congregational autonomy and personal Christianity. This change made Augsburg the only higher educational institution of the small Lutheran body. The college division, however, was still important primarily as an attachment to the seminary. The Focus Changed Traditional attitudes began to change after World War I. In 1911, George Sverdrup Jr. became president. He worked to develop college departments with an appeal to a broader range of students than just those intending to be ministers. Augsburg admitted women in 1922 under the leadership of longtime dean of women, Gerda Mortensen. The college’s mission assumed a double character: ministerial preparation together with a more general education for life in society. In 1937, Augsburg elected Bernhard Christensen, an erudite and scholarly teacher, to be president (1938- 62). His involvement in ecumenical and civic circles made Augsburg a more visible part of church and city life. After World War II, Augsburg leaders made vigorous efforts to expand and improve academic offerings. Now the college had become a larger part of the institution than the seminary and received the most attention. Accreditation for the College Augsburg added departments essential to a liberal arts college, offering a modern college program based on general education requirements and elective majors. Full accreditation of the college was achieved in 1954. A study in 1962 defined the college’s mission as serving the good of society first and the interests of the Lutheran Free Church second. The seminary moved to Luther Theological Seminary (now Luther Seminary) in St. Paul in 1963, when the Lutheran Free Church merged with the American Lutheran Church. Subsequently, the American Lutheran Church merged with two other Lutheran bodies in 1988 to form today’s Evangelical Lutheran Church