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Q: What are the Brandeis General Education Requirements, and why are they in place?
A: Whatever your initial appetite, as a student at Brandeis University you will be encouraged to sample the full range of our extensive scholarly and artistic menu, and to try unfamiliar courses that sharpen your intellectual tastes and help to reveal your unique talents and interests. We also want to be sure that your curricular diet supplies the basic nutrients essential to competence and comprehension in todayBs world.
General Education Requirements are designed to guide you in this sampling process. Rather than require that all students enroll in a fixed core curriculum, these requirements follow the lines of a menu, where the diner chooses meal components from a number of different categories. For example, every first year student must enroll in a University Seminar (USEM), but the topics and formats of individual USEMs differ widely. The foreign language requirement can be satisfied in Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, Russian and many other languages. Courses that satisfy the requirements in Quantitative Reasoning number more than 40. There are more than 85 courses in non-Western and Comparative Studies.
While USEMs and First Year Writing courses must be taken-with few exceptions-in the first year, other requirements may be satisfied at any time before graduation. There is no particular advantage in attempting to satisfy all General Education Requirements in the first two years.
Students are urged to continue to explore unfamiliar fields along with their concentrations throughout their four years. You may develop interests and reveal talents you never knew you had!
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Q: University Seminar (USEM)
A: The University Seminar (USEM) is a hallmark of the Brandeis curriculum, designed specifically for first year students and intended as a foundation for their studies at Brandeis. USEMs are small seminar-style classes taught by distinguished faculty. They are interdisciplinary in subject matter and develop students' critical thinking and writing skills through close analysis of significant texts.
Since the University Seminars (USEM) are designed as small classes allowing close contact between students and faculty, the number of students allowed to enroll in any given course is restricted. Students may complete the USEM requirement in either the fall or spring semester. All students are required to enroll in these courses during summer registration. Please consult the Registration Course Schedule for the details of this process.
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Q: University Writing Seminar (UWS)
A: The UWS is a full-credit course specifically dedicated to writing as a subject in its own right. This course addresses the role of rhetoric in academic writing and gives students an opportunity to study and experiment with a broad range of writing styles.
The UWS should appeal to those who wish to devote more time and attention to writing, including those who want or need to improve their writing skills (however good they might already be), as well as those who anticipate that writing will be a major component of their professional lives. The UWS course, taught by a doctoral candidate with specialized training in composition, is the most writing intensive course offered at the university.
Students complete the University's writing requirement by taking two additional courses: one writing-intensive course and a second writing-intensive or oral communication course, as denoted in the Brandeis University Bulletin and Registration Course Schedule. These are regular undergraduate courses that have a component and can be taken at any time during your studies at Brandeis.
More information is available on the University Writing Requirements FAQ
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Q: Composition
A: Composition is a course designed to hone studentsB writing skills. The course will review the basic elements of an effective paper, offer opportunities for revision, and develop studentsB analytical skills. Although the course will stress writing and reading, speaking skills will also be addressed. Each composition class is limited to 11 students.
Some students are pre-assigned to the Composition course, which is offered in the fall semester.
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Q: Foreign Language
A: The foreign language requirement at Brandeis reflects a belief in the importance of understanding oneBs own first language and the languages of others as central to society and culture. Establishing a level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing a foreign language is essential to a liberal arts education. Fulfillment of this requirement can begin in your first or second year.
You can meet the foreign language requirement in one of several ways:
- completion of up to and including the third level (level 30) of any of the languages taught at Brandeis;
- a Foreign Language SAT II Score of 620 or better;
- an appropriate Advanced Placement Score;
- the recommendation of the Language Coordinator and placement in an upper level language course; or
- documentation of proficiency in a native language other than English.
If you are planning to continue a language that you have been studying, you will need to take a placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to begin your Brandeis studies.
Language placement tests are available online.
With the exception of Hebrew and Latin, these placement tests are self-scoring. All placement tests are designed to steer you to the most appropriate level during registration. Adjustments can be made during the first two weeks of class.
A placement test is not offered in German. If you have taken German instruction before and are not sure which language course would suit your level, please contact Sabine von Mering at vonmering@brandeis.edu.
If you want to begin the study of a foreign language that is entirely new to you, you may simply enroll in any level 10 language course.
Students with a documented disability that interferes with their ability to complete the foreign language requirement may be allowed to satisfy this requirement with approved alternate courses.
If you have any questions about academic accommodations for students with disabilities, feel free to contact Laura K. Lyndon, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Coordinator of Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities at (781) 736-3470.
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Q: Physical Education
A: The physical education requirement consists of two non-credit bearing physical education courses. Fulfillment of this requirement can begin at any time.
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Q: School Distribution
A: You will be required to complete a one-semester course in each of the four schools: Creative Arts, Humanities, Science and Social Science. Fulfillment of this requirement can begin at any time. It is best to begin in your first or second year.
School of Creative Arts (ca)
Courses in the School of Creative Arts teach history of the visual and performing arts, engage students in the creative process itself, and develop artistic skills and aesthetic sensibilities.
School of Humanities (hum)
Courses in the School of Humanities provide a systematic introduction to our literary and philosophical heritage.
School of Science (sn)
Courses in the School of Science provide a basic understanding of the natural scientific world.
School of Social Science (ss)
Courses in the School of Social Science introduce students to cultural, historical, and contemporary themes through in depth study and analysis. Areas of study include: African and Afro-American Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, History, Latin American Studies, Linguistics and Cognitive Science, Politics, Psychology, and Sociology.
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Q: Quantitative Reasoning (qn)
A: Quantitative Reasoning courses are offered from various disciplines and share a commitment to enabling students to understand, interpret, analyze, and evaluate numerical data and other quantitative information. In order to fulfill this requirement you must complete either a one-semester course or a semester course plus accompanying lab. Fulfillment of this requirement can begin at any time and in any year.
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Q: Non-Western and Comparative Studies (nw)
A: Students must complete a one-semester course that examines a particular culture, society, or region of the non-Western world, or that systematically makes comparisons across cultural barriers. The requirement aims to enlarge studentsB understanding of human achievements and potential beyond the Western tradition. Fulfillment of this requirement can begin at any time and in any year.
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Q: Writing Intensive (wi)
A: Writing Intensive courses include a significant emphasis on writing. Students enrolled in USEM and UWS will be required to take one writing intensive course before graduation.
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Q: Elective Courses
A: You are encouraged to take a variety of elective courses to ensure a strong liberal arts foundation.
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