All-College Degree Requirements

Introduction

Principia offers a 4-year residential experience and academic programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. This section describes degree requirements, the programs through which these requirements are met, and the intended student learning outcomes associated with specific programs. See Summary of Degree Requirements - Bachelor of Arts or Summary of Degree Requirements - Bachelor of Science for a summary of degree requirements described here in full.

Student Responsibility

Students have direct online access to their own academic records via BannerWeb. It is the student’s responsibility to check this record for accuracy each semester and to be certain that they are registering for the courses necessary to complete the degree requirements. Students should consult their advisors or the staff of the Registrar’s Office with any questions regarding these requirements. In addition, Degree Works tracks a student's progress toward graduation and should be checked regularly for updates.

Academic Course Requirements

  • Major - In order to ensure depth of study, a student must complete one of the majors corresponding to the degree being pursued. All the majors available at Principia College are listed on the Academic Programs page and are described on the individual program pages.
  • General Education Requirements

Total Semester Hours

A student must earn a total of 120 semester hours. Transfer work, credit by examination, Advanced Placement, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and International Baccalaureate Examination credits may be included according to the regulations governing these options found on the Academic and Non-Academic Credit Rules page.

An academic year includes two sixteen-week terms, fall and spring semesters. Class standing progression is determined by the successful completion of the required number of semester hours (see below). A student can progress to the next class standing at the beginning or in the middle of an academic year.

Class Standing Progression

Freshman 0-29 semester hours
Sophomore 30-59 semester hours
Junior 60-89 semester hours
Senior 90-120 semester hours

To be considered full-time, a student must be enrolled for a minimum of twelve semester hours each semester. The following table shows the classifications of enrollment per semester:

Classification of Enrollment (semester hours enrolled/12 SH): 

Full time (1 + Overload) 12+ SH
Three quarter time (0.75 - 0.99) 9-11 SH
Half time (0.50 - 0.74) 6-8 SH
Less than half time (0 - 0.49) Less than 6 SH

For financial aid purposes, an award year at Principia College begins with the fall semester and ends with the spring semester. If a student takes a summer internship for credit, these credits will be a “summer trailer” or “crossover payment period” (as defined by the Federal Student Aid Regulations) and will be awarded at the last term of the academic year.  Students are typically awarded for the fall and spring terms at the same time unless they have applied for graduation in December. In this case, the student is awarded for fall only.

Grade Point Average

At the time of graduation from Principia College a student must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.000 (the equivalent of a C average or higher). Only grades earned in credit courses at Principia College are used in computing the grade point average. See also Grades and Grading.

Residential Policy

The residential program at Principia College aligns with Principia’s commitment to the unfoldment of character and is an integral part of its “whole person” education. For this reason, all students are required to live in on-campus student housing while enrolled at Principia College in order to ensure that students benefit from:

  1. Living and learning in a community of people applying faith/spiritual practice to personal and academic challenges;
  2. Growing in response to the educational demands and standards of such a community; and
  3. Benefiting from the support provided to help community members meet those demands.

In certain circumstances students may qualify for day student status and can petition using the Day Student Petition Form.

Please note that changes in room/board costs will impact financial aid. If cost of attendance is impacted by Day Student status, financial aid will be reduced accordingly. Students will be billed full room and board charges if they move off-campus without written approval.

Academic Residency

We require that a student be enrolled for two of the three semesters immediately prior to graduation under direct supervision (including abroads, but not internships) of Principia faculty or staff to ensure a full Principia experience.

For transfers, a student must be enrolled, full- or part-time, under direct supervision of Principia faculty or staff, for a total of at least three semesters, earning a minimum of 36 semester hours from Principia.

Transfer students pursuing both BA and BS degrees are required to be in academic residency for at least five semesters earning a minimum of 60 semester hours at Principia, under direct supervision of Principia faculty or staff.

A student not meeting the academic residency requirement may apply for a waiver. Please contact the Registrar's Office for details.

Note: "Direct supervision" means enrollment in Principia courses taught by Principia faculty/staff or participation in a Principia-led study abroad program.

Foundations of Character & Community Seminar

Values-based decision making is an essential element of the development of character, which according to Principia's founder, is the "most important work that Principia has to do" (Education at the Principia, p. 77). Foundations of Character & Community Seminar meets for a total of 30 contact hours over the course of a student's time at Principia. The number of contact hours may be amended for transfer students. 

  1. [Knowledge] Ethical, character, and decision-making frameworks: Students will be able to identify diverse ethical principles, values, character dispositions, and/or patterns of behavior.
  2. [Understanding] Respect for self and others: Students will self-assess their awareness of and respect for
    1. their own values, identities, and needs, as well as
    2. the values, identities, and needs of others.
  3. [Application] Values in Action: Students will be able to articulate how their values inform their decisions and behaviors.