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    Mar 19, 2024  
American University Catalog 2014-2015 
    
American University Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Undergraduate Degree Requirements


College Writing Requirement

All students must be able to write in English with a level of mastery equivalent to the demands of college course work. In addition, students need to acquire the critical reading skills needed for all their college courses.

Students must satisfy the College Writing requirement within the first 30 credits earned in residence. Students who do not satisfy the College Writing requirement within the first 30 credits will be blocked from registering for subsequent semesters until the requirement is met. Students must receive a grade of C or better in any course taken to satisfy this requirement. Students are allowed at most three attempts, per the academic regulations concerning Freshman Forgiveness and repetition of courses, to complete this requirement. Incoming freshmen may satisfy the College Writing requirement in one of the following ways:

  • Earning a grade of C or better in WRTG-100  and WRTG-101 ; in WRTG-130  and WRTG-131 ; or in WRTG-102  and WRTG-103 ; or
  • Scoring 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Test; or scoring 5 or higher on the Higher Level International Baccalaureate Examination, and also earning a grade of C or better in WRTG-106  or WRTG-132 .

Writing Proficiency Examination for Transfer Students

Transfer students who present 6 hours of acceptable composition credit from another institution with a grade of C or better will satisfy the College Writing requirement by passing the Writing Proficiency Examination within the first calendar year of admission to AU. Students failing the exam twice must enroll in a College Writing requirement course that is approved by the College Writing Program and must pass the course with a grade of C or better.

Transfer students who present 3 hours of acceptable composition credit from another institution may satisfy the College Writing requirement within the first calendar year by passing a course that is in the College Writing sequence and approved by the College Writing Program with a grade of C or better.

Students who do not satisfy the aforementioned requirements will be blocked from registering for subsequent semesters until the relevant requirement is met.

The Writing Proficiency Examination is administered by the College Writing Program in the Department of Literature. For more information about the exam, contact the director of the College Writing Program at 202-885-3911. To schedule an appointment at the Writing Center, call 202-885-2991.

University Mathematics Requirement

Students must satisfy the University Mathematics requirement within the first 30 credits earned in residence. Students who do not satisfy the University Mathematics requirement within the first 30 credits will be blocked from registering for subsequent semesters until the requirement is met. After students have matriculated at AU, no credit toward the University Mathematics requirement may be earned through transfer credit. Students meeting the requirement through course work must receive a grade of C or better. Students are allowed at most three attempts, per the academic regulations concerning Freshman Forgiveness and repetition of courses, to complete this requirement. Incoming freshmen may satisfy the University Mathematics requirement in one of the following ways:

  • Earning a grade of C or better in one approved AU mathematics course at the level of MATH-150  or above, or one AU statistics course offered in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
  • AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC score of 4, or 5
  • AP Statistics score of 4, or 5
  • SAT II Mathematics Level II Achievement test score of 650
  • CLEP Calculus examination score of 75
  • British A-Level mathematics examination with a grade of A or B
  • International Baccalaureate higher-level mathematics examination score of 6 or above

University Mathematics Requirements for Transfer Students

Transfer students and graduates of secondary schools outside the United States may also satisfy this requirement via one of the following:

  • Passing one of the examinations given by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics which demonstrate competence equivalent to having successfully completed one of the following courses: MATH-15x Finite Mathematics, MATH-211 Applied Calculus I , or STAT-202 Basic Statistics . Only one of these examinations may be taken and that examination may be taken only once, during the first semester for which the student is enrolled in degree status. Eligible students should contact the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for more information about the Mathematics and Statistics Equivalency Examination; or
  • Transferring a course equivalent to   or higher with a grade of B or better from an AG-rated collegiate institution.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics will specify the appropriate placement of students in 100 and 200-level mathematics or statistics courses.