Distribution Requirements

One of the most important aspects of a liberal arts degree is the breadth of study required. The distribution requirements are designed to ensure that students take some courses in each of the four academic divisions of the College during their four years. It’s a good idea to complete these distribution requirements early in your college career, but you won’t complete them all in your first semester. To identify the designation of a course, see the General Distribution Requirement section of the College Catalog for each department. Designations are also noted in the Class Schedule in 1600grand. Not all courses in each department will meet general distribution requirements.

• Social Sciences (8 semester credits required): Courses with a Social Sciences designation may be found in American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Languages and Cultures, Economics, Educational Studies, Environmental Studies, Geography, International Studies, Linguistics, Media and Cultural Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

• Natural Sciences and Mathematics (8 semester credits required): Courses with a Natural Sciences and Mathematics designation may be found in Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geology, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy, Psychology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

• Humanities and Fine Arts (12 semester credits required; with at least four credits in the humanities and at least four credits in the fine arts):
Courses with Humanities designations may be found in American Studies, Asian Languages and Cultures, Classics, Educational Studies, English, Environmental Studies, French and Francophone Studies, German and Russian Studies, Hispanic Studies, History, International Studies, Linguistics, Media and Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Courses with the Fine Arts designations may be found in American Studies, Art and Art History, Asian Languages and Cultures, Classics, English, International Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Music,Theatre and Dance, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality

Credits earned through Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or A-Level exams will not apply towards the distribution requirements. 

There are also limits to the number of semester hours you may count towards graduation in a single discipline (60) or division (96).  This is also to ensure that you have breadth in your studies.

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Internationalism and U.S. Multiculturalism Requirement (One Course Each)

A rich campus life, language acquisition, study away, and interaction with diverse students and faculty all contribute to students’ intellectual and experiential grasp of difference and of their own place in relation to the “other” and the world.  In this context, the Internationalism and U.S. Multiculturalism graduation requirements are designed to prepare students to contribute as members of a thoughtful and principled citizenry in a global society.  These courses provide specific knowledge about the complexity of internationalism and multiculturalism abroad, in the U.S., and in the rich campus and local communities in which Macalester participates. 

While internationalism and multiculturalism are distinguished as two components of the College mission, in reality they are intertwined.  Peoples divided by national boundaries may, for example, be more homogenous culturally and linguistically than peoples within a nation like the United States.  Systems of power and privilege that help create and maintain hierarchical relations among people operate within the U.S. and other nations, among nations and between the U.S. and the rest of the world.  All lives are shaped by historical dynamics and contemporary structures that operate on transnational, international, and global levels.  Macalester’s two-part requirement recognizes not only the conceptual interconnectedness of internationalism and multiculturalism, but also the need for students to engage with complexities of difference within the community where they live and work, as well as within an international and global context.  In learning about other peoples, cultures and global systems one dislodges presuppositions about others and, crucially, about one’s individual and collective self. 

Quantitative Thinking requirement

(One, two, or three courses—a single Q3 course satisfies the requirement, or a Q2 with any other Q2 or Q1 course, or three Q1 courses):

Quantitative thinking (QT) skills are an essential component of a liberal education.  Critical thinking incorporates both qualitative and quantitative evidence and evaluation.  In some fields quantitative approaches play a central role, while qualitative thinking dominates in others.  Despite these differences in emphasis, critical thinking skills learned in one area often carry over and reinforce those learned in other areas.  It is for this reason that the breadth of experience associated with a liberal arts education prepares students effectively to be active participants and leaders in government, civil society, business, and academia. Many policy debates, scientific discussions, political issues, and personal and organizational decisions involve judgments about claims based upon quantitative evidence.  To evaluate these claims, the individual must have basic familiarity with such concepts as counting, measurement, estimation, and data analysis.  Equally important is the capacity to ask and answer questions in a manner appropriate to these quantitative tools and to understand when the use of quantitative tools is or is not appropriate.  The purpose of the QT requirement is to ensure that students have the opportunity to develop such skills.  Students should learn approaches to collecting, interpreting, and presenting information about the world based on numerical, logical, and statistical skills.  These topics arise in a wide range of areas, and we invite faculty from a range of disciplines to teach courses that contribute to QT.

Writing Requirement

(One course, taken after the firstyear course and prior to the senior year): Macalester seeks to ensure that all students receive instruction in writing that gives attention to writing as a process (writing is rewriting), and that provides students individually with feedback on the mechanics and substance of their writing. While FirstYear Courses assist students in making a transition to college writing along with myriad aspects of college study, each student is required to take at least one additional course with a W designation, in which they will hone their writing skills and go through a process of evaluation and rewriting.
Students completing the Writing Requirement will be able to:

• Plan, draft, and revise a college-level paper.
• Demonstrate mastery of standard written English
• Express their ideas clearly through structuring at the paragraph and sentence level;
• Use evidence to support a perspective appropriately;
• Communicate others’ perspectives effectively;
• Integrate their own ideas with those of others;
• Cite sources of evidence properly;
• Adapt the style, vocabulary, and tone of a piece of writing to its anticipated audience and context

A list of the courses approved to meet the general education requirements in Internationalism, Multiculturalism, Quantitative Thinking and Writing can be found at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/GenEdMain.html

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Second Language Proficiency

All students must demonstrate proficiency in a second language – other than the student’s native tongue – equivalent to four (4) semesters of college-level study in a single language. 

This proficiency extends to all skill areas:

1. reading
2. writing
3. speaking
4. listening. 

Languages taught at Macalester include: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Most students coming to Macalester have studied another language in high school, and can meet this graduation requirement by continuing to study that language until they attain the required level of proficiency.  For example, a student who has previously studied French may need to take two more semesters of the language at Macalester.  Students who have previously studied another language may also submit test scores from either the SAT II exam, the Advanced Placement exam or the International Baccalaureate exam to determine whether they have partially or fully met this requirement.  Students may also opt to study a new language not available in high school, such as Russian, Japanese, Latin, or Portuguese.   

Students Whose Native Language is Not English

Satisfaction of the language requirement does not happen automatically for students whose native language is not English.  Such students will need to provide objective evidence of their current language proficiency in their native language in all four skills listed above.  The most common means of demonstrating this proficiency is a transcript from high school that indicates that the language of instruction in the student’s secondary school was a language other than English or that the student took courses in his or her native language during high school.  If you know that your transcript will not provide an indication of your proficiency in your native language, you should consider requesting a letter from a school official attesting to your level of proficiency. 

If English is not your native language, please contact the Academic Programs Office to request a transcript review or to submit alternate documentation of your proficiency. 

Finding Your Place in the Language Curriculum:  What level of a foreign language course should you take?

Languages other than French, German, or Spanish

When you fill out the registration form, place yourself in the course you feel is appropriate given your experience, course work, ability and the guidelines provided in the departmental section of this guide.  Then, during orientation you should consult with the individual language departments to assess if this is the best course for you.  You may change courses within the first several days of class if the department feels another course would be more appropriate to your success. 

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French, German, or Spanish Placement

If you have taken the SAT-II language test, with listening, see the tables below for course placement based on scores.  AP and IB score information can be found on the Registrar’s web page at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/APIBInfo.html

We offer a web-based placement test, offered through a program called “WebCape” at Brigham Young University.  The test will help you to decide which course to take.  It will not allow you to be exempted from the language requirement. The departments of French, German and Spanish require you to take this test if you studied one of these languages in high school and are going to continue studying that language at Macalester. 
The test is available free of charge. 

To take the online test follow these steps:

1. On the web, go to http://webcape.byuhtrsc.org?acct=macalester.
2. Enter the password given below.
   Password: secondlang13 (all lower case)
3. Select the appropriate language.
4. Follow the instructions on screen. (For your ID number, use your student ID number, if known.  If not, use 5551.)

The test takes approximately 15-20 minutes.  At the end of the test you will be taken back to the main screen where it will show your score.  Please refer to the tables below to determine which language course to register for INSTEAD OF the tables on the screen at the end of the table. 

The purpose of this test is to help you decide what level of language course to register for with a degree of confidence that you will complete the course successfully. Accordingly, we require that you take this test closed-book, with no assistance from others.

The tables below provide you with guidance in interpreting the results of the test, by language.  Find the range of scores that contains the score you received in the left-hand column and go across the row to the middle column, which lists the appropriate course to register for.

French

German

*For German placement, you must visit the department office during orientation to confirm your placement in German 204.

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Language Requirement Exemption

Students may be exempted from the language requirement based on AP test scores or the SAT-II test scores.  These must be officially submitted to the college through the testing service.  

A score of 620 on the SAT-II with listening or a score of 700 on the SAT-II without listening is required for exemption.

AP score information can be found on the Registrar’s webpage at, http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/APIBInfo.html.  Students need a score that will result in credit for Intermediate II (204) to be exempt.

We advise you to do the following:

1. When you complete your registration form, select the language course that you feel is appropriate for you based on your placement test score, experience, course work and ability.  Then check with your professor during the first few days of class, look ahead in your course materials, and honestly gauge your skill in relation to the level you registered for.  If you are in a course that is too easy or too difficult, consult with the professor.  Other levels of the language will likely be offered at a time that fits your schedule.  You may change courses (preferably within the first week, so you are not far behind in the new class) if you or your professor feel another course (either higher or lower) would be more appropriate to your success. 
2. If your cut-off score is close to the next lower course, as distinct from in the middle of the range, consider registering for the lower course initially.  College courses are different from high school courses, and the requirements of the curriculum might be more demanding than you are used to. 

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Major

The requirement of a major is to ensure appropriate depth of study within an area.  Most (but not all) departments offer majors.  Most majors require between 32 and 44 semester hours (usually 8 to 11 courses), and may require supporting courses from other departments.  In some departments, introductory courses must be taken in the first year in order to complete the major in four years.

You’re not required to declare a major until the second semester of your sophomore year, but you’re welcome to do so earlier, if it helps you plan your path to graduation.  You may choose from three options to meet this requirement:

1. a departmental major (such as Anthropology or French),
2. an established interdepartmental major (such as International Studies), or
3. an individually designed interdepartmental major (IDIM). 

These are described in depth in the Catalog.

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Advanced Placement (AP) / International Baccalaureate (IB)

College Board Advanced Placement Examinations (AP)
Students who have taken the College Board Advanced Placement Examinations may be eligible for advanced placement and appropriate credit.  Scores of 3, 4 or 5 may result in credit or exemption. Academic departments have determined which scores result in credit or exemption for their subject.  Some departments require the student to discuss their scores with the department chair before a credit determination is made. Refer to the AP section on the Registrar’s web page for specifics.  http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/services/ap-ib/

First-year students who wish to have their AP scores considered should have them sent directly to Macalester College by the College Board. You may visit the AP Exams website at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd_rep.html or call 888-225-5427 to request your scores be sent directly to Macalester College – use 6390 for the college code.

No more than the equivalent of twenty (20) Macalester credit hours may be earned from a college or university prior to matriculation at Macalester.  Summer session college credits, Minnesota Post-Secondary Education Options Program credits, International Baccalaureate credits, and AP Program credits are included under this limitation.  (The only exception to this limitation applies to students who have achieved the equivalent of twenty-four (24) Macalester credit hours solely through College Board AP Examinations.)

Credit earned through AP Exams cannot be used to meet the college’s general distribution requirements, and grades are not factored into the grade point average.

Questions about AP policies should be addressed directly to the Registrar’s Office.

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International Baccalaureate Examinations

Students whose scores on Higher Level Examinations of the International Baccalaureate Program are 5, 6, or 7 may receive the equivalent of four or eight semester hours of credit for each such examination.  Credit is determined by the appropriate academic department on an individual basis.  No credit is awarded for the Subsidiary Examinations. Refer to the IB section of the Registrar’s web page for specifics.  http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/services/ap-ib/

No more than the equivalent of twenty (20) Macalester credit hours may be earned from a college or university prior to matriculation at Macalester.  Summer session college credits, Minnesota Post-Secondary Education Options Program credits, International Baccalaureate credits, and Advanced Placement Program credits are included under this limitation.  (The only exception to this limitation applies to students who have achieved the equivalent of twenty-four (24) Macalester credit hours solely through College Board Advanced Placement Examinations.)

Credit earned through International Baccalaureate Exams cannot be used to meet the college's general distribution requirements, and all grades are posted on the student's record as 'pass' (S).

Questions about these policies should be addressed directly to the Registrar's Office.

Please read the Registration Guide and Registration Instructions carefully. Then go here to register for classes.

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