Universitywide Graduation Requirements

To complete this program, students must meet all Universitywide graduation requirements .

College-Level Requirements for the College of Fine Arts

View the College-Level Requirements for the College of Fine Arts. 

College of Fine Arts (COFA) B.A. Degree Requirements

B.A. Degree and Requirements

General requirements for a B.A. are

1. a minimum of 120 semester hours;
2. 57 hours of coursework above the 1999 level;
3. the equivalent of two years of college-level foreign language;
4. at least 9 hours each of humanities, social sciences, and 6 hours of natural sciences coursework;
5. General Education Requirements —Tiers I, II, III; and
6. all requirements stipulated by the school for the chosen major.

Minors are optional.

B.A. Degree Language Options

B.A.: Students must complete 2120 (or its equivalent). Students taking the Spanish, French, or German placement test and who test into 3410 will have fulfilled their foreign language requirement. The placement exam does not count as college credit. Students who test into 3410 are encouraged to take the course they placed into for college credit. These higher-level courses will count as humanities courses (and A&S 2000-level or higher) as well as towards a minor or major in the field.

Note: High school courses are no longer reviewed for the foreign language requirement.

Students who have prior knowledge of one of the following foreign languages should contact the academic departments listed below for test-out and placement information:

American Sign Language - Contact person: Becky Brooks - saunderb@ohio.edu - 740.654.6711 - Lancaster Campus

French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, or Russian - Modern Languages - Gordy Hall 283 - Contact person: Heather Young - youngh1@ohio.edu - 740.593.2765

Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Kikuyu, Khmer, Somali, Sudanese Arabic, Swahili, Thai, Twi, Vietnamese, Wolof, or Zulu - Linguistics - Gordy Hall 383

Greek or Latin - Classics and World Religions - Contact person: Bill Owens owensb@ohio.edu - Ellis 210

International Students

For international students whose first or native language is not English, and who completed high school where the first or native language was the one primarily used for instruction, the foreign language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating competence in English. This must be approved by the assistant dean in the College of Fine Arts, and it generally requires the successful completion of at least one or more courses in English as a foreign language.

You may also satisfy the foreign language requirement by taking a foreign language other than your own first language at Ohio University, or by successfully completing the NYU foreign language exam.

Enrollment in the beginning or intermediate level (under 3000) of your own first language(s) will be considered a noncredit course.

Please contact the Fine Arts Undergraduate Student Affairs office at 740.593.1808 for additional information.

Area Distribution Requirements

Humanities Area Requirement*

The humanities requirement may be met by selecting 9 semester hours, excluding the major, from the following (if no courses are listed, all courses apply):

1. African American Studies: AAS 1060 , 1100 , 1500 , 2100 , 2110 , 2500 , 3100 , 3170 , 3500 , 3520 , 3530 , 3550 , 3560 , 3570 
2. Art: ART 1100 , 1200 , 1210 , 1220 , 1230 , 1240 , 1600 , 2640 , 3660 
3. Art History: AH
4. Classical Archaeology, except CLAR 2110 , 2120 , 2130 
5. Classics in English (CLAS)
6. College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 1110 
7. Communication Studies: COMS 3601 , 3602 , 3603 
8. Dance: DANC 1010 , 1020 , 1040 , 1050 , 1700 , 2235 , 2700 , 2710 , 3150 , 3550 , 4550 , 4710 , 4711 , 4750 
9. English: except ENG D150 , D160 , 1510 , 1610 , 4510 , 4520 , 4911 , 4912 
10. Film: FILM 2010 , 2020 , 2030 , 3400 , 3430 , 4440 , 4710 , 4720 
11. Fine Arts: FAR 1500 
12. Foreign language courses other than those used to complete the foreign language requirement and except FR 1199 , 4640 , JPN 3410 , and SPAN 1199 
13. History: HIST 1210 , 1220 , 1221 , 2950 , 3111J  , 3140 , 3143 , 3144 , 3146 , 3148 , 3224  ,  3280 , 3290 , 3291 , 3292 , 3293  , 3390 , 3400 , 3501 , 3520  , 3531 , 3532  , 3533 , 3540 , 3541 , 3542 , 3543 , 3560 , 3562 , 3600 , 3601 , 3602 , 3650 , 3700 , 3860 , 3861 , 3864 , 3900 , 4536 
14. Humanities: HUM 2070 , 2080 , 2170 , 2900 
15. Interdisciplinary Arts: IART
16. International Literatures in English, International Literature: Linguistics, and International Literature: Modern Languages except ILL 3890 
17. Jewish Studies: (all), JS 1000 , 2100 , 2900 
18. Modern Languages: ML 2910 , 3210J  , 3270J 
19. Music/Music Literature: MUS 1200  or 1250 , 1240 , 3210 , 4210 , 4211 , 4212 , 4213 , 4214 , 4215 , 4216 , 4270 , 4280 
20. Philosophy: except PHIL 1200 
21. Portuguese: PORT 3110  , 3120  , 4110  , 4120 ,  
22. Theater: THAR 1390 , 1710 , 1730 , 2130 , 2390 , 2710 , 2711 , 3396 , 3397 , 3398 , 4710 
23. University Professor: UP 1901 , 1901U , 4901U  (class subjects vary; check Course Offerings for more information)
24. Women’s and Gender Studies: except WGS 3910   
25. World Religions: CLWR

Social Sciences Area Requirement*

The social sciences requirement may be met by a selection of 9 semester hours, excluding the major, from the following (if no courses are listed, all courses apply):

1. African American Studies: AAS 1010 , 1900 , 2020 , 2200 , 2250 , 2540 ,  3400 , 3410 , 3450 , 3460 , 3680 , 4400 , 4820 
2. Anthropology: except ANTH 2010 , 3460 , 3550 , 4470 , 4480 , 4960 , and those listed as natural sciences below
3. Business Law: BUSL 2000  , 2550 
4. Classical Archaeology: CLAR 2110 , 2120 , 2130 
5. College of Arts and Sciences: CAS 1120   
6. Economics: ECON
7. Environmental and Plant Biology: PBIO 2170 
8. Geography: GEOG except those listed under Natural Sciences (see below)
9. History: HIST except those listed under Humanities (see above)
10. International Studies: INST
11. International Literature: ILL 3890 
12. Japanese: JPN 3410   
13. Law, Justice, and Culture:  LJC 2000 
14. Linguistics: LING
15. Political Science: POLS
16. Psychology: except PSY 1110 , 2110 , 2210 , 3110 , 3230 
17. Social Work: SW
18. Sociology: SOC
19. University Professor: UP 1901S , 4901S  (class subjects vary; check Course Offerings for more information)
20. Women’s and Gender Studies: WGS 3910 
21. World Religions: CLWR 4340 , 4350 

Natural Sciences Area Requirement*

The natural sciences requirement may be met by selecting 6 semester hours, excluding the major, from the following (if no courses are listed, all courses apply):

1. Anthropology: ANTH 2010 , 3460 , 3550 , 4470 , 4480 , 4960 
2. Astronomy: ASTR
3. Biological Sciences: BIOS
4. Chemistry: except CHEM D015 , 1100 , 1150 
5. Computer Science: CS 4160 
6. Environmental and Plant Biology: except PBIO 2170 
7. Geography: GEOG 1100 , 2020 , 3010 , 3020 , 3030 , 3040 , 3050 , 3150 , 3160 , 3580 , 4060 , 4070 , 4080 , 4090 , 4110 , 4170 , 4660 , 4670 , 4712 
8. Geological Sciences: GEOL
9. Mathematics: except MATH D005 , 1090 , 1101 , 1102 , 1200 , 1300 , 1321 , 1322 , 4100 
10. Physical Science: PSC
11. Psychology: PSY 2110 , 2210 , 3110 , 3230 
12. Physics: PHYS
13. University Professor: UP 1901N , 4901N  (class subjects vary; check Course Offerings for more information)

*These listings must be used as the official guide for the completion of the Arts and Sciences area (distribution) requirements. Exceptions to the hour area distribution will be made only under the most unusual of circumstances and by petition only. Some courses from these categories may also be applied to the University Tier II requirements. However, the three area distributions differ in scope from the six Tier II groupings (Applied Science and Mathematics, Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Fine Arts, Humanities and Literature, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences). If you wish to select a course that will apply to both area distributions and Tier II requirements, take care to choose a course that has been approved for the desired category in both the College and the University listings. (The list of courses approved for Tier II categories appears in the General Education Requirements  section of the catalog.) Courses that can fulfill Tier I quantitative skills, the freshman composition requirements and the Tier III requirement do not apply to the three area distribution requirements, except for MATH 1350  and PSY 2110  .

Level-of-Study Requirement

Hours at the 200 level or above: Within the total hours applied to the degree, at least 57 semester hours of courses must be above the freshman level (numbered above 1999). These courses are listed earlier in this section under humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and include foreign languages, courses from the department major, and courses taught by faculty in the College of Fine Arts or Arts and Sciences intended to meet the junior composition or Tier III requirement.

Single Application of Credit and Exceptions

Excluding the exceptions listed below, no course may satisfy more than one of the three area distribution requirements in foreign language, humanities, social sciences, or the major requirement. For example, a theater major may not apply any courses in theater toward the humanities area distribution requirement. Courses that fulfill freshman General Education Tier I requirements or Tier III will not apply to the three area distribution requirements. Tier III-equivalent courses may fulfill both major and Tier III requirements.

Exceptions are:

• MATH 1350 , and PSY 2110  (will fulfill the Tier I quantitative requirement, as well as the natural science area distribution).
• Courses required for a major, but outside the major department (extradepartmental) will be counted toward the area distribution requirement.
• Courses required for a minor will be counted toward the area distribution requirement.
• Junior-level advanced composition courses offered by departments within the College of Fine Arts or the College of Arts and Sciences  apply to the area distribution requirement except when they are required for the major.

Courses required for a second major may be used for the area distribution requirement.

Theater BA Core

Complete the following courses with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Theater BA Individual Program

Complete 15 hours of Theater courses at the 2000-level or above beyond the Theater BA Core with a grade of C (2.0) or better. Courses should be chosen in consultation with student’s advisor. No more than 4 hours of any theater practicum beyond the required Theater BA Core may apply.