Academic Resources

Click on any of the following links for information:

• Greater Portland Alliance of Colleges & Universities
• Study Away
• Contract Major
• General Education
• Academic Advising

The six Greater Portland institutions of higher education — Kaplan University (Portland Campus Only), Maine College of Art, Saint Joseph’s College, Southern Maine Community College, University of New England and University of Southern Maine — have established the Greater Portland Alliance of Colleges & Universities (GPACU) as a means of enriching and expanding educational opportunities for their students as well as for the people of Greater Portland. As a first step in linking our resources, Alliance members established a cross-registration program. It allows students to take classes at colleges other than their own for no additional tuition.

To be eligible, the Saint Joseph’s student must:

• be matriculated and in good academic standing;
   
• not be a first-semester freshman;
   
• have approval of appropriate academic authorities;
   
• meet all other requirements of the College.

Each student is limited to three courses per year and a total of five over the period of the student’s undergraduate studies.

Other activities and services that have been developed by GPACU include library borrowing program, jointly sponsored events and conferences, and international student exchange programs.

Study Away opportunities allow students to experience different societies, cultures, and economies.  Saint Joseph’s College offers individual semester, yearlong, or summer program options for studying away; which can accommodate nearly any major. Students interested in studying away should contact the Study Away Coordinator for program application and procedures. 

Saint Joseph’s College is currently a member of the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a network of over 150 institutions of higher learning in more than 41 countries.  Students may also work with the Study Away Coordinator if they are interested in a nonaffiliated program.

A student who wishes to design his or her own interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary major in place of a discipline major may contract for such a major. A contract major is an individualized and coherent plan of study of 40 or more hours of course work that a student, working with faculty, designs.

• The Vice President and Chief Learning Officer and the 4-Year College Educational Policies Committee shall approve each contract major. The Vice President and Chief Learning Officer shall assign a faculty advisor.

• To apply for a contract major, students shall have at least sophomore status with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3.

• A Contract Major form must be completed with the signature of a sponsoring faculty member.

• Each course that is part of the contract major must be scheduled to be taught during the following three years.

• No Graduate and Professional Studies courses, with the exception of summer residency courses, may be part of the contract major.

• No more than two (2) named core curriculum courses or two (2) independent study courses may be included.

• The College requires that a student obtain a C or better in all course work required for the contract major.

• All other graduation requirements shall be met.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for degrees must have completed the requirements listed below:

1. All first-year students are required to complete the First-Year Experience Seminar.

2. A minimum of 128 semester hours and a cumulative average of 2.0

3. For all of its students, the College requires the Core Curriculum for the 21st Century. In conjunction with the major, the Core Curriculum is the basis for lifelong learning and an enduring liberal education. This curriculum:

   • enhances the foundation skills of writing and quantitative reasoning;

   • explores different ways of asking questions and approaching knowledge;

   • develops social, civic and environmental understanding for the world of the 21st century;

   • grounds self-knowledge and builds values;

   • commits faculty and students to the search for truth and justice.

   Inner Core of Knowledge, Understanding and Insight for the 21st Century: (28 credits)

   The courses of the Inner Core:

   • study the antecedents and developments of civilization in the West;

   • explore the interrelationships among persuasive writing, thinking and speaking;

   • probe the challenging and significant themes literature;

   • examine the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of human life;

   • apply ethical theories to contemporary ethical problems;

   • investigate the phenomenon of religious faith as an enduring concern of the human community;

   • consider contemporary issues in science.

   Inner Core — 28 credits
   EH 101		College Writing (a grade of C- or better required)		4 credits
   EH		One course (at or above the 200 level)		4 credits
   ES 300		Ecology and the Environmental Challenge		4 credits
   HY 101-102		Western Civilization I and II		8 credits
   PH 200		Human Nature & Ethics		4 credits
   TH 100		Intro to the Judeo-Christian Tradition		4 credits

   Concentration and Integration of Learning: (20 credits)

   These elective courses allow students to develop and deepen the knowledge, understanding, and insight they explored in the Inner Core.

   
   

   Elective Courses — 12 credits
   Mathematics		One course		4 credits
   Philosophy		One course		4 credits
   Theology		One course		4 credits
   Additional elective Courses — 8 credits
   One each from two different areas (total of eight credits):
   Communications				4 credits
   English				4 credits
   Fine Arts				4 credits
   History				4 credits
   Language *				4 credits
   Science				4 credits
   Social Science				4 credits
   * Students in a Bachelor of Science program may take one foreign language course for additional elective credit.

   
    
4. * Foreign Language Students in a Bachelor of Arts program must complete 8 semester hours of the same foreign language.
    

5. Completion of an academic major. An academic minor is also required for History, Philosophy, Psychology and Theology.

   32 semester hours must be earned at Saint Joseph’s College.

   * Students for whom English is a second language can waive the foreign language requirement through CLEP or another standardized test to indicate proiciency. This waiver only releases the student from the requirement, not from the number of credits for the degree.

The 4-Year College prides itself on the quality of its student advising. The academic advising program is under the direction of the Office of Academic Affairs. The Registrar, in consultation with Department Chairs, ensures that each student is assigned a faculty advisor and is properly advised. The primary responsibility of faculty advisors is to properly advise students in course selections.