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Degree Requirements

Basic Requirements

The College of Science offers curricula leading to the degree of bachelor of science. Basic requirements for all science majors are:

  • Completion of University Requirements
  • Completion of College Requirements
  • Completion of Major Requirements
  • A minimum cumulative and Major GPA of 2.000
  • A minimum of 60 credit hours at the University
  • A minimum of 124 degree credits
  • The last year must be in residence, meaning that you must be attending Notre Dame; you cannot be abroad or at another university

College Requirements

All College of Science majors must take year-long sequences in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. The appropriate sequence for a student depends on the student's major.

Science Course Sequences

The following contains information on introductory course sequences for science majors.

Language Requirement

The College also requires language proficiency through intermediate level in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish ("Gaelic"), Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. "Intermediate proficiency" is defined differently in each of the languages, depending on the complexity of the language and the intensity of the course. Students may complete the language requirement by either completing a course taught at intermediate level or by demonstrating proficiency through placement examination.

Click here for technical notes about acceptable sequences and language placement.

University Requirements

All College of Science majors must fulfill the requirements of the University core curriculum. The core comprises of:

Six courses in the liberal arts:

  1. Quantitative Reasoning (WKQR) *
  2. Science and Technology (WKST) *
  3. An additional course in Quantitative Reasoning (WKQR) or Science and Technology (WKST) *
  4. Arts and Literature or Advanced Languages and Cultures (WKAL/WKLC) *
  5. History (WKHI) or Social Science (WKSS)*
  6. Integration (WKIN), or a course from an area not yet chosen in 4 or 5*

Four courses exploring explicitly Catholic dimensions of the liberal arts:

  1. A foundational Theology (WKFT) course *
  2. A developmental Theology (WKDT) course*
  3. A Philosophy (WKFP) course*
  4. An additional Philosophy (WKSP) course or a Catholicism and the Disciples (WKCD) course*

Two courses in writing:

  1. A University Seminar (USEM)
  2. A Writing and Rhetoric (WRRH) course, or another writing-intensive (WRIT) course

The two-semester Moreau First Year Experience

* One of these requirements must be designed as a University Seminar course typically numbered as 13180-13189.

Only courses identified as approved "Ways of Knowing" for the University Core Curriculum can be used to fulfill a University requirement. These courses can be viewed for a particular academic term by using Class Search with a one of the Core Requirements selected.

Degree Credit

Degree Credit is defined to be the credit that is counted by the Dean towards completion of the student's degree requirements.

Not all courses listed on a student's transcript will count towards the student's degree. The three common cases where degree credit is lost are described below.

Science Electives

All majors in the College of Science require Science Electives. In general, for a course to be a science elective, it must meet the following rules:

  1. It is offered through one of the departments in the College of Science or through the college itself.
  2. It is a major’s level; that is, other science majors are required to take this course to meet major requirements; or it has a prerequisite course that is offered for science majors; or the Undergraduate Bulletin description for the course states that it is a Science Elective in the College of Science.

The following courses count for Science credit. Therefore, they will satisfy Science Elective requirement, if (i) they are not already counted as part of your program requirement, (ii) they are allowed by your program, and (iii) they are not in a forbidden combination with another course.

  1. College sequence courses:
    • BIOS 10171-10172, BIOS 10171-10172
    • CHEM 10171-10172, 10181-10182, or 10171-10122
    • MATH 10350-10360, 10550-10560, or 10850-10860
    • PHYS 10310-10320, 10411-10422-20433, or 20210-20220
  2. College program courses:

ACMS 20210 or higher: All S/U courses are excluded

BIOS 20203 or higher: All S/U courses are excluded

CHEM 20204 or higher: All S/U courses are excluded

MATH 20210 or higher: All S/U courses are excluded

PHYS 20330 or higher, PHYS 20054: All S/U courses are excluded

SCPP 23100: Currently the only SCPP course satisfying science elective requirement

SC 10000 to 49999 except SC 40500 to 40600: All S/U courses are excluded

Notes:

  1. Any course with S/U grade does not count for Science Elective credit.
  2. When the P/F option is approved for a course, this course will no longer satisfy Science Elective requirement
  3. Courses listed above may not count for your program requirements.  For example, MATH 10350-10360 does not satisfy requirements for Mathematics majors.  ACMS 30440 is not allowed for ACMS major.  Please consult with your advisor.
  4. In addition, some courses offered in the College of Engineering will satisfy Science Elective requirements.