Bachelor’s Degrees

Bachelor’s degrees are awarded in 25 majors. Most majors include a variety of emphases from which to choose as well as licensure programs that qualify students for a career in education. Please see the departmental curricula later in this catalog for complete descriptions of the emphases and licensure available within each major.

Major Requirements

A major consists of no fewer than 32 and no more than 62 semester hours, including all required courses for the major, regardless of prefix. Interdisciplinary and student-designed majors (see guidelines below) are exempt from the 62-hour cap. Not all current majors may be used towards an interdisciplinary or student-designed major. Departmental or program requirements for specific courses, field experiences, or comprehensive tests must be met. Those requirements are specified along with the departmental curricula.

Minor Requirements

A minor typically consists of a minimum of 18 credit hours of study within a particular academic discipline. Minors are available in biology, business administration, chemistry, communication, English, environmental science, environmental stewardship, graphic design, history, mathematics, Spanish, peace studies, performing arts, philosophy and religion, psychology, sociology,  transformative entrepreneurship, and visual arts. Requirements for the minors in each of these areas are specified in the departmental sections of this catalog. For the minor to be recognized on the transcript, the student must achieve a minimal GPA of 2.0 in the minor coursework.

Teacher Education Program

The Teacher Education Program at McPherson College focuses on three major levels of licensure. The type of degree earned (BA or BS) mirrors the content area. The following are lists of the levels and the programs:

6-12 Licensure
Biology, Chemistry, English, English for Speakers of Other Languages, History and Government, Mathematics, High-Incidence Special Education, Speech/Theatre.

K-6 Licensure
Elementary Education, English for Speakers of Other Languages, High-Incidence Special Education

PK-12 Licensure
Art, Health, Music, Physical Education, Spanish

 

Bachelor of Arts Degrees

A minimum of one hundred twenty-four (124) academic credit hours are required for the B.A. degree. A Bachelor of Arts degree may be obtained for the following majors:

  • Art and Design
  • Communication
  • Digital Media
  • English
  • History
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Philosophy and Religion
  • Religion, Politics, and Law
  • Spanish

Students completing one of the above majors who want a Bachelor of Science degree must take eight additional hours in a B.S. major beyond the general education requirements in that area.

Bachelor of Science Degrees

One hundred twenty-four (124) academic credit hours are required for the B.S. degree. A Bachelor of Science degree may be obtained for the following majors:

  • Automotive Restoration
  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Business Administration
  • Chemistry
  • Elementary Education (including Special Education licensure)
  • Environmental Stewardship
  • Health Science
  • Healthcare Management
  • Politics and History
  • Mathematics
  • Physical Education & Health
  • Psychology
  • Secondary Education (see Teacher Education Program section above for options)
  • Sociology

Students completing one of the above majors who want a Bachelor of Arts degree must take two semesters of a single second human language.

Requirements for a Bachelor’s Degree

  • A minimum of 124 credit hours.
  • Fulfillment of the major program requirements.
  • Fulfillment of general education requirements, or completion of an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree at an accredited institution. (Note: Education majors must complete all of the general education requirements, even if they have earned an associate’s degree.)
  • A minimum, overall residential GPA of 2.0.
  • A minimum, residential GPA of 2.0 in the major.
  • A minimum of 32 credit hours completed at McPherson College.
  • 20 of the last 30 or 40 of the last 60 credit hours completed at McPherson College.
  • A minimum of 8 hours of the major completed at McPherson College.
  • The last 60 credit hours completed at a four-year college or university.
  • No more than 64 credit hours from two-year institutions counted toward the degree.
  • At least six hours outside the home department of the major, in addition to the major and general education requirements. (Students with more than one major automatically meet this requirement. Students with a student-designed major must complete at least six hours outside both home departments of the major.)
  • Approval by majority vote at Faculty Meeting.

Interdisciplinary Programs and Student-Designed Major Programs

Interdisciplinary programs and student-designed major programs allow faculty and students to combine courses from two or three departments into one major.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Interdisciplinary programs are typically initiated by faculty.  The following guidelines must be followed:

  • An interdisciplinary major shall consist of a minimum of 44 semester hours and a maximum of 75 semester hours.
  • The program of study shall consist of at least 20 semester hours from two different departments.
  • The instructors supervising the program must come from from the departments providing 20 or more semester hours to the program of study.

When faculty initiate an interdisciplinary major program, two or more instructors from the appropriate departments plan the interdisciplinary concentration and submit the proposal to the Educational Policies Committee following the guidelines available from the registrar’s office. Examples of faculty initiated interdisciplinary majors are Environmental Stewardship, Health Science and Digital Media.

Student-Designed Major Programs

Student-Designed Major programs are initiated by the student.

The following guidelines must be followed:

  • The student must complete the Student Designed Major form available in the registrar’s office or on Bulldog Connect.
  • An interdisciplinary major shall consist of a minimum of 44 semester hours and a maximum of 75 semester hours.
  • The program of study shall consist of at least 20 semester hours from two different departments.
  • The instructors supervising the program must come from the departments providing 20 or more semester hours to the program of study.
  • The program must be approved by the Educational Policies Committee no later than the second semester of the junior year.

A student may, in consultation with faculty advisors, propose a previously unestablished student-designed major. The chairs of each department represented in the program must approve the proposal. The proposal is submitted to the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) according to the guidelines. The student and a faculty advisor must present the proposal to EPC in person to explain and defend its academic integrity.

The following are examples of student-designed majors that have been approved by Educational Policies Committee and completed by recent graduates of McPherson College. They are listed here to illustrate the possibilities students may explore.

  • Family Life and Human Development
  • Pre-Nursing and Human Behavior
  • Bioethics/International Studies/Political Science
  • Psychology and Music