Legislation: Establishment of Secondary Fields

On behalf of the Educational Policy Committee, Professor E. Spelke moved, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences approved by voice vote:

That an optional secondary field, allowing students to recieve recognition for focused coursework in one area outside of concentration, be established.

Explanatory Note:

1. Ordinarily, a secondary field should require between 4 and 6 half courses. The particular structure of a program will vary by field. A secondary field must be sponsored by a new or existing department or Standing Committee with Curricular Responsibilities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Departments or committees would not be limited to offering only one secondary field. The timing and designation of secondary fields should be determined by the department or committee, and be communicated clearly to students in advising materials. All proposals for secondary fields will be reviewed by the Educational Policy Committee.

2. No more than one course that counts toward the secondary field may also be applied to other requirements, such as concentration, the Core (or alternative general education requirement), or a language citation.

3. A student may declare no more than one secondary field. Foreign language citations will remain as a separate category, independent of secondary fields.

4. The successful completion of a secondary field will appear on the transcript.

5. This proposal will be reviewed by the Educational Policy Committee in five years in order to assess the impact of secondary fields on the curriculum and on faculty resources.

6. The Summary Statement on Concentrations issued by the Educational Policy Committee in November 2005 provides additional background and explanatory information about secondary fields.

Note:

During the meeting, Explanatory Note (2.) was returned to the Educational Policy Committee for further discussion about whether or not courses taken for a secondary field should be allowed to double-count for the fulfillment of Core requirements or the language citation requirements.