Division of Continuing Studies

Statement of Purpose
Undergraduate Academic Programs
Requirements for the Degree

Statement of Purpose

The Division of Continuing Studies exists to meet the educational needs of adult learners. As such it provides undergraduate degree completion programs in business, criminal justice, human services, and elementary education to adults, offering courses at its Frederick Campus.

Programs in Continuing Studies capitalize on adult learners’ experiences and extend the mission of the University by incorporating the core values of faith, discovery, leadership and community in the curriculum of all of its programs.

Students seeking admission to the program should complete the following steps:

Have all official college transcripts sent to Mount St. Mary’s University Frederick Campus Attention: Director of Undergraduate Programs, 5350 Spectrum Drive Frederick, MD 21703

Schedule an appointment with an advisor (301-682-8315) for an initial interview and review of transcripts.

Complete an application for admission, available online at www.msmary.edu./mountadult

Undergraduate Academic Programs

Mount St. Mary’s Division of Continuing Studies offers degree-completion programs in business, criminal justice, human services, and elementary education or elementary/special education (leading to Maryland teaching certification). Students in all programs must complete the Mount core curriculum as well as all course requirements in their major program of study and general electives. Please see individual program descriptions for further information.

Requirements for the Degree

In order to graduate from Mount St. Mary’s University, students must earn a minimum of 120 credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 (2.75 for education majors). No fewer than 30 of the 120 hours must be earned at Mount St. Mary’s; at least 45 hours of the 120 must be from four-year institutions.

In addition, students must:

fulfill all requirements for the core curriculum

complete the courses and number of credit hours required by their major field of study

maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA both overall and in the major (2.75 cumulative GPA for education majors)

satisfy the senior year residency requirement by enrolling at the University for 24 of the final 30 hours prior to graduation

To be eligible for graduation ceremonies, students must have completed 99 credits by the end of the senior year fall semester prior to May Commencement. Attendance at commencement activities is strongly encouraged.

All students should check their records periodically with their advisors to ensure they are progressing toward fulfillment of graduation requirements.

The Core Curriculum

Mount St. Mary’s recognizes that to be truly educated one needs an understanding of the world, of the history and traditions of Western and non-Western culture and of science. College graduates should have proficiency in written and quantitative skills. To that end, the University requires students in its degree-completion programs to complete a core curriculum designed to give students general knowledge of the world around them. It includes the following courses:

Core Curriculum	Credits Required
Mount Seminar*	3
College Writing	3
Arts and Humanities (Art, Literature, Music)	3
History	3
Social Science (sociology, psychology, economics, education, human services or political science)	6
Natural Science (w/lab)	4
Mathematics (fulfilled in each particular major)*	3
Philosophy (introduction to Philosophy)*	3
Moral Philosophy ( PHIL 301 )*	3
Theology I *	3
Theology II *	3
Non-Western Culture/Global Encounters*	3

*Denotes courses normally taken through Mount St. Mary’s.

Economics, in the business major, fulfills one social science requirement; Foundations of American Education in the education major.

Please Note: Credits for these courses are counted only once.

The teacher education program requires additional coursework in science and mathematics for Maryland state certification to build the depth and breadth of knowledge needed for successful elementary teaching. Therefore, education majors will normally be expected to take the following courses, or their equivalent, in addition to the Mount St. Mary’s core courses:

Required Additional Credits

Mathematics

Must be six credits of Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics I and II

(the equivalent of Mount St. Mary’s MATH 108 and 109), or a statistics course

paired with a concepts of mathematics course 6

Biological Lab Science 4

Physical Lab Science (e.g., Geology, Astronomy) 4

Recommended Courses to Fulfill Requirements

Course requirements listed below can be completed at a regionally accredited institution prior to enrolling in Mount St. Mary’s programs. Students should schedule an appointment for pre-admission advising to be certain of appropriate course selection of lower-level requirements.

Course Sequencing

Although students are not required to take the Mount St. Mary’s core courses in a particular order, the following information may help in deciding how to organize a plan of study.

Mount Seminar

The Mount Seminar is designed to be an entry-level (first) course for new Mount students. Moral Philosophy is an upper-level course and should follow the Mount Seminar and Introduction to Philosophy. Theology is normally a junior-level sequence. It is suggested that students enrolling in theology courses have completed one philosophy course and their history requirements. Theology 200 must be taken prior to the second theology course. Students are advised to check prerequisites prior to registration for upper-level Mount St. Mary’s courses.

GE 200 - Mount Seminar

Credits: (3)
Mount Seminar is designed as an introduction to the Mount St. Mary’s curriculum for Continuing Studies students. It initiates students into the skills and habits of higher education as students make the transition to accelerated college-level work. The course includes units on writing, speaking, critical thinking, research, computer use and reading. Required as a first or second course for Continuing Studies students at Mount St. Mary’s University.

HINW 395 - NonWest: Medes & “Othered” Barbarians (3)

The history of the West is a history of “othering”, the process by which a people define themselves by identifying ways they are different from and superior to other peoples. In doing so, the West has erased, rewritten, and distorted the actual qualities of many of those peoples. Further, othering denies the West an opportunity for an honest accounting of itself. This course will unpack several examples of othering over the last 2,500 years, examining the truths of the others, why and how the West othered as it did, and the shared historical implications. Topics include: Greece and Persia, Rome and Carthage, The British Empire and colonial Burma, and Germany and Syrian refugees.

HINW 395 - NonWest: China’s Most Recent Rise (3)

While America and Europe have spent this generation distracted by wars against terror, Russian revanchism, economic uncertainty, and “entertaining” elections, China has experienced unprecedented political and cultural change which has, in turn, facilitated equally-unprecedented economic and military growth. This course focuses on the 25 years of that change and growth, while also attempting to view this era in greater Chinese and global historical contexts.

HINW 395 - NonWest: Water, Food, Power, and Dignity (3)

While the post-Cold War era has seen the rise out of abject poverty of approximately a billion humans, another billion continue to struggle with daily food and water insecurity, lack of access to reliable electricity, and simultaneous assaults on their cultural, economic, and political worth. This 1/7th of us does have, however, a disproportionally large impact on the world’s stability, environment, and ethics. We can’t afford to ignore them.

HINW 395 - NonWest: A History of Vietnam (3)

Although Americans perceive Vietnam in the singular context of the 1963 to 1975 War, this area of Southeast Asia has a long, intertwined history with China, the Khmer Empire and seafaring traders. A lasting Buddhist and Confucian influence has impacted its populous from 1000 AD to the present, as did Mongol, Chinese and French invasions. This course will study the cultural, religious and economic threads that allowed for a successful amalgamation of the Tonkin, Annam and Cochin regions into a dedicated Viet Minh nation-state. Lastly, we will look at both the French and American phases of the long Indochinese war, its leadership under Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap, and the eventual emergence of a unified nation-state and industrious regional economic engine.

PHIL 200 - Introduction to Philosophy

Credits: (3)
(Division of Continuing Studies only) An investigation of ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary responses to questions concerning the nature of the human reality, the nature and limits of human knowing, human freedom, human happiness or well-being, and the relation of the individual to society.

PHIL 301 - Moral Philosophy

Credits: (3)
(Division of Continuing Studies only) An inquiry into the nature of the moral good, the structures of moral agency and the proper criteria for making choices that bear on human beings and their well-being. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 200.

Programs

Major