Guilford College Catalog 2008 - 10 Nondiscrimination Policy In its active commitment to building a diverse community, Guilford College rejects discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability in admission, employment or access to programs and activities. The college also seeks to avoid discrimination in the administration of educational programs, admission policies, financial aid or any other college program or activity. www.guilford.edu 1 Dear Student: I invite you to join me in exploring a unique higher education institution that has faithfully served thousands of students since 1837. Guilford College is distinguished from hundreds of other small liberal arts colleges by its longstanding commitments to undergraduate teaching, social justice and a mission and set of core values rooted in our Quaker heritage. As part of its strategic plan through 2010, the college restated its mission: “To provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment guided by Quaker testimonies of community, equality, integrity, peace and simplicity and emphasizing the creative problem- solving skills, experience, enthusiasm and international perspectives necessary to promote positive change in the world.” Our core values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship are enduring tenets that guide student recruitment, academic programs and business practices as well as the manner in which we interact with one another day to day. I encourage you to incorporate these values into your college experience. At Guilford, teaching matters most. Being called a “great teacher” is about the highest accolade that a faculty member on this campus can receive, and many do. I teach a class each spring semester because it’s one way this president can stay connected with the academic program and with students and their concerns. Students and alumni speak of the student- teacher relationship as a major reason they chose Guilford, succeeded in their pursuit of a degree and remain loyal to the college. Another one of Guilford’s distinctions is that the college prepares students to engage in principled problem solving as a means to achieve an excellent and practical liberal arts education and as a way to contribute creative solutions to existing and emerging problems in the community, state, nation and world. In many ways, Guilford has been teaching principled problem solving for years, but now it is being incorporated throughout our curriculum. The college has a wide range of academic programs that include novel offerings such as forensic biology, peace and conflict studies and environmental studies. Guilford has transformed many lives since its founding as the New Garden Boarding School more than 170 years ago. By choosing this college, I am confident the same can happen to you. I invite you to explore the college further by visiting our Web site, www.guilford. edu, or speaking with a representative of our Office of Admission or Center for Continuing Education. My very best wishes in all your academic pursuits, Kent John Chabotar President and professor of political science 2 Guilford College Guilford College Statement of Purpose adopted by the Guilford College Faculty and Board of Trustees, 1985 Guilford College is an educational community which strives to integrate personal, intellectual, physical and spiritual growth through participation in several rich traditions. These traditions include liberal arts education which values academic excellence and stresses the need in a free society for mature, broadly educated men and women; career development and community service which provide students, whatever their age or place in life, with knowledge and skills applicable to their chosen vocations; and Quakerism, which places special emphasis on helping individuals to examine and strengthen their values. We believe that the wise and humane use of knowledge requires commitment to society as well as to self. The Quaker heritage stresses spiritual receptivity, candor, integrity, compassion, tolerance, simplicity, equality and strong concern for social justice and world peace. Growing out of this heritage the college emphasizes educational values which are embodied in a strong and lasting tradition of coeducation, a curriculum with intercultural and international dimensions, close individual relationships between students and faculty in the pursuit of knowledge, governance by consensus and a commitment to lifelong learning. Guilford College expects each student to develop a broad understanding of our intellectual and social heritage, and at the same time to develop a special competence in one or more disciplines. Flexibility in the curriculum encourages each student to pursue a program of studies suited to personal needs, skills and aspirations. While accepting many traditional educational goals and methods, the college also promotes innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Both students and faculty are encouraged to pursue high levels of scholarly research and creativity in all academic disciplines. Guilford particularly seeks to explore interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and to develop a capacity to reason effectively, to look beneath the surface of issues, to understand the presuppositions and implications of ideas and to draw conclusions incisively, critically and with fairness to other points of view. The college desires to have a “community of seekers,” individuals dedicated to shared and corporate search as an important part of their lives. Such a community can come about only when there is diversity throughout the institution—a diversity of older and younger perspectives, a diversity of racial and cultural backgrounds, a diversity of beliefs and value orientations. Through experiencing such differing points of view, we seek to free ourselves from bias. As a community, Guilford strives to address questions of moral responsibility, to explore issues which are deeply felt but difficult to articulate and to support modes of personal fulfillment. The college seeks to cultivate respect for all individuals in an environment where considered convictions, purposes and aspirations can be carried forward. www.guilford.edu 3 4 Guilford College Table of Contents Chapter A Message from the President 2 Guilford College Statement of Purpose 3 I Introduction to Guilford College 7 II The Academic Program: An Overview 13 III Graduation Requirements: Degrees and Cooperative or Dual-Degree Programs Offered 21 IV Academic Departments and Majors 25 V Minors 163 VI Studies Abroad 205 VII Other Special Study Opportunities 211 VIII Center for Continuing Education (CCE) 217 IX Learning Resources 225 X Admission and Fees for Traditional-Age Students 233 XI Financial Aid 245 XII Academic Regulations 251 XIII Campus Life for Traditional-Age Students 265 XIV Awards 275 Index 281 The Guilford College Catalog contains information about the educational climate, the academic programs and the campus life at Guilford College. In addition, it explains the degree requirements and academic regulations, describes the course offerings, and lists the faculty and administrative staff. The college reserves the right to change any provision, offering, fee, or requirement at any time to carry out its objectives and purposes. Please refer to the Guilford College Catalog online at www.guilford.edu for updates. www.guilford.edu 5 6 Guilford College I. INTRODUCTION TO GUILFORD COLLEGE MISSION Guilford’s purpose is to provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker testimonies of community, equality, integrity, peace and simplicity and emphasizing the creative problem-solving skills, experience, enthusiasm and international perspectives necessary to promote positive change in the world. Toward that end the college provides: • Student-centered instruction that nurtures each individual amid an intentionally diverse community; • A challenging academic program that fosters critical and creative thinking through the development of essential skills: analysis, inquiry, communication, consensus-building, problem-solving and leadership; • A global perspective that values people of other cultures and the natural environment in which we all live; • A values-rich education that explores the ethical dimension of knowledge and promotes honesty, compassion, integrity, courage and respect for the individual; • Access to work and service opportunities that forge a connection between thought and action. Guilford seeks above all to create a special kind of learning community. We are not perfect at this. Our goal of creating independent thinkers and change agents necessarily pulls against the needs of community, and our great diversity of backgrounds sometimes works against our professed acceptance and equal respect for all individuals. We are as a community at best in a perpetual state of becoming. We intend to continue to work toward being that community: a learning community defined somewhat paradoxically by both challenge and nurture, a community which produces compassionate graduates who are independent thinkers, risk-takers and change agents possessing a strong moral compass. CORE VALUES The college’s seven core values are based on, and consistent with, the five Quaker testimonies. Indeed,