Areas of Study

The Curriculum

As a liberal arts college, Allegheny has as its first concern intellectual growth. The curriculum and graduation requirements are designed to provide educational depth and intellectual breadth. These goals are reflected in Allegheny’s Institutional Learning Outcomes:

Think critically and creatively
Communicate clearly and persuasively as speakers and writers
Invoke multiple ways of understanding to organize and evaluate evidence, and to interpret and make sense of their experiences and the experiences of others
Apply their knowledge and learning to engage in informed debate and to analyze and solve problems

The elements of Allegheny’s curriculum work together to provide students with a cohesive program in which all four Institutional Learning Outcomes may be achieved. In particular, the FS program, Junior Seminar, and Senior Project progressively develop students’ abilities to read and listen critically, formulate their ideas, and become more effective writers and speakers. The Distribution Requirements introduce students to a variety of ways of organizing and making sense of information, and they develop students’ recognition of complexity and difference. The major-minor combination requires students to gain a significant degree of expertise in one area of study and more than a superficial understanding of a different area of study. Taken together the major-minor requirement deepens student’s ability to view issues and problems from multiple perspectives helping them develop the ability to solve problems critically and creatively through multiple lenses. Each major program requires a junior seminar and senior project in which students are expected to demonstrate critical and creative thinking, clear and persuasive communication, and the ability to apply their learning to engage in informed debate and address challenges within the context of the discipline. The College supplements the wide range of courses and programs offered locally with cooperative and special arrangements that increase the choices available to students.

Successful completion of Allegheny’s four-year program leads to the degree Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science.

Faculty advisors working with their advisees usually find themselves consulting this “Curriculum” section more often than any other part of the Academic Bulletin. Much here pertains to the educational life of every student on campus, though other points come into play only under special circumstances. This section deals with how the College operates; each student should know these requirements and regulations. The next section, “Courses of Instruction,” describes the programs Allegheny offers.

Interdisciplinary Majors:

In most cases; students who complete interdisciplinary majors may complete any minor to satisfy the college requirement that the major and minor be in different areas of study; exceptions are noted in the program descriptions in this Bulletin.

Interdisciplinary Minors:

In most cases; students who complete interdisciplinary minors may complete any major to satisfy the college requirement that the major and minor be in different areas of study; exceptions are noted in the program descriptions in this Bulletin.

The academic programs offered by the College are divided into six different areas of study listed below. Programs in each area use similar or overlapping methodologies and approaches to learning and creating knowledge.