Academic Regulations and Graduation Requirements

Knowledge of the academic regulations is essential for both advisors and advisees. Students bear primary responsibility for knowing and observing the regulations, but advisors and instructors who give erroneous information or sign off on courses of study that put students in conflict with the regulations are failing in their duty to provide reliable guidance and alert students to potential problems.
  • Credits for Graduation
    Students must earn a minimum of 32.00 credits (without oversubscription) for graduation. Sixteen of these credits must be earned at Wesleyan. A maximum of 2.00 Advanced Placement or other pre-matriculant credits may be counted toward the total. Most courses at Wesleyan are worth 1.00 credit, although a few are worth 1.50 or 2.00 credits and others are worth partial credit of .25 or .50 credit.
  • Residency Requirement
    Students who begin their post-secondary studies at Wesleyan must spend at least six semesters in residence. Participation in study abroad does not count as being in residence. Students entering as sophomore transfers are required to spend at least five semesters in residence. For students entering as mid-year sophomores or junior transfers, at least four semesters in residence are required.
  • Grade Point Average (GPA)
    Students must achieve a 74.00 GPA to graduate. Percentage equivalents of letter grades are included in the “Grades and Grading Modes” section of this document and in the Academic Regulations.
  • Oversubscription

    The oversubscription rule was designed to prevent a student from building a program of study that is too narrow. Any credit above the department or category limit will not count toward the 32.00 credits required for graduation, although the credits will be recorded on the transcript and grades will be factored into GPA calculations. All credits will appear on the Credit Analysis Report, a tool that tracks oversubscription and other graduation requirements, and is available in each student’s WesPortal. Students majoring in music are at particular risk of oversubscription because their performance credits add up quickly.

    DEPARTMENTAL CREDITS

    More specifically, the oversubscription rule stipulates:

    • Of the total 32.00 credits required for graduation, no more than 16.00 credits in any one subject can be counted toward the degree requirements.
    • If a course is crosslisted, it counts towards oversubscription in all subjects in which it is listed, regardless of the crosslisting that the student chose during course registration. The oversubscription rule applies to all credits that are part of a student’s academic history, including pre-matriculant credit, Advanced Placement or other test credit, and transfer credit.

    The following interdisciplinary programs are exempt from oversubscription: African American Studies (AFAM), Archaeological Studies (ARCP), Environmental Studies (ENVS), Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies (FGSS), Latin American Studies (LAST), Medieval Studies (MDST), Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (REES), and Science in Society (SISP).

    OTHER CATEGORIES

    The oversubscription rule also limits the number of credits that can count toward the 32.00 required for graduation in the following categories:

    • Physical Education and Student Forum:
    • no more than 1.00 credit in physical education
    • no more than 2.00 Student Forum (419, 420) credits
    • no more than 2.00 credits in Physical Education and Student Forums combined
    • Teaching Apprenticeships (491, 492):
    • no more than 2.00 credits
    • Individual (401, 402, 403, 404, 421, 422) and Group Tutorials (411, 412):
      • no more than 4.00 credits combined
      • some LANG courses are considered individual tutorials
      • honors thesis tutorials (409, 410) do not count as individual or group tutorials
    • Independent Study (467, 468, 470) and Education-in-the-Field (465, 466, 469):
    • no more than 4.00 credits combined
    • Repeatable Courses:
    • a maximum of four times each of a repeatable course
    • CSPL Internship Credit:
    • a maximum of one-half CSPL internship credit
    • Summer Credits:
    • no more than 2.00 credits earned at other institutions during any given summer (2.50 credits with a course that offers a lab)
    • Pre-matriculant credits (including AP and IB test credit):
    • no more than 2.00 credits

    Oversubscription will not jeopardize graduation as long as the student has enough usable credits to meet the 32.00 credits required for graduation; that is, the student has as many credits over 32.00 by which he or she is oversubscribed. Students or advisors with any questions about oversubscription should contact the class dean.