Graduation Requirements

The requirements for graduation from Hiram College are the embodiment of the liberal arts tradition in our curriculum. We believe a graduate must be able to write and speak effectively, be knowledgeable about our Western intellectual heritage and be aware of the interrelatedness of knowledge. We seek to accomplish this through our core courses, required of all students.

All students in the are candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree. This degree is conferred upon completion of 120 hours of credit with an overall grade-point average of at least 2.00 as well as a 2.00 grade-point average in the student's designated major. These requirements apply to all graduates.

To gain breadth in the liberal arts, students are required to select courses from the broad spectrum of the curriculum by taking two courses within each of the four divisions of Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences; two interdisciplinary courses; and the College's writing requirement. A student's major satisfies the distribution requirements for the division in which the major's department is listed. For example, the business management major satisfies the Social Sciences area, the allied health major satisfies the Natural Science category, etc.

Requirements for current students are listed below.

I. Writing Requirement: All students entering must successfully complete a two-course writing sequence entitled Writing in the Liberal Arts. These two courses are to be taken consecutively and should be completed during the student's first year at Hiram.

II. Interdisciplinary Requirement: All students must successfully complete two interdisciplinary courses. At least one of these courses must be team-taught.

III. Fine Arts: All students must successfully complete two courses from the areas of art, creative writing, music, or theatre. These courses must be chosen from two different departments. Certain courses cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.

IV. Humanities: All students must successfully complete two courses from the areas of English/literature, history, philosophy, or religion. These courses must be chosen from two different departments.

V. Natural Sciences: All students must successfully complete two courses from the areas of biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, or physics. One of these courses must be a laboratory course, and the two courses must be chosen from different areas. Certain courses cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.

VI. Social Sciences: All students must successfully complete two courses from the areas of communication, education, economics, management, political science, psychology, or sociology. These courses must be chosen from different departments. Certain courses can not be used to satisfy this requirement.

VII. Total Academic Credit Hours Required for Graduation: 120 Credit Hours.

Additional Information