Definitions for College Vocabulary

BA--Bachelor of Arts Degree.  One of the undergraduate degees offered by colleges.  At Andrews, a BA degree requires foreign language classes.

BS--Bachelor of Science Degree.  One of the undergraduate degrees offered by colleges.  At Andrews, a BS degree does not require foreign language classes.

CLEP--CLEP exams allow a student to take a test to receive college credit for a class rather than register for and take the entire class.  Please be aware that the number of credits a student is allowed to "CLEP out of" is limited in most degrees.

Course Numbers--Courses offered at Andrews on the undergraduate level are numbered from 100 to 499.  Normally courses designed for freshman are numbered in the 100's.  Courses for Sophomores in the 200's, for Juniors in the 300's and for Senior's in the 400's.  Lower classmen may not be able to register for upper division courses.

Credit Hours--describes the number of hours a student attends class during a week.  A three-credit course will meet for three hours during the week, usually for one hour a day, three days a week.  Some three-credit courses meet twice a week for a longer period.  Twelve to sixteen credit hours (twelve to sixteen hours in class per week) is considered a full load for an undergraduate student.  Students should count on two hours of homework for each hour in class.

Credits--Short form of Credit Hours.

Electives--Classes taken by a student which are not required to graduate with a degree.  A certain number of the credits needed to complete a degree are reserved for electives.

Gen Ed--Short for General Education.

General Education courses--Courses every Andrews student is required to take regardless of the student's major.  These courses contain content whch every educated person should know.

Graduate Courses--Graduate courses are numbered in the 500's and 600's and are open to graduate students only.

Lower Classmen--Freshmen and Sophomores.

Lower Division Courses--Courses designed for Freshmen and Sophomore years.  Course content is normally a general overview of the subject.  Courses are numbered in to 100's and 200's.

MA--Master of Arts. A graduate degree which can only be taken after a degree on the Bachelor level.

MS--Master of Science.  A graduage degree which can only be taken after a degree on the Bachelor level.

PhD--Doctor of Philosophy.  Highest degree in any field.  This degree can only be taken after a degree on the Bachelor level. 

Pre-Requisite--A course which must be taken before another course can be taken.

Requirements--Course which a student is required to take in order to graudate with a degree.

Swing Course--A 400 level course which can provide either undergraduate or graduate credits.

Upper Classmen--Juniors and Seniors.

Upper Division Courses--Courses designed for Jr and Sr years only.  Generally the content will be more focused on a particular topic.  More extra reading and/or a paper may be required.  Upper division courses are usually numbered in the 300's and 400's.