Nov 21, 2024
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-25
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OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-25

Course Information

Courses of Instruction — General Information

This section outlines general information about courses offered at Ohio University. The courses listed in the Course Description section are all courses as approved by the University Curriculum Council. Please check Course Offerings to determine if a course is being offered. Click on a link to be taken to the entry below.

Prefix

This is the three to four character content area abbreviation paired with the catalog number commonly used when discussing courses, for example - “ANTH” or “HSLS”. A full listing what the prefix abbreviations represent can be found on the Abbreviations  page in the catalog.

Catalog Numbers

The catalog number indicates the student classification for which the course is primarily intended. Catalog numbers consist of four numbers or a “D” followed by three digits.

  • D000 – D999: Remedial, developmental, or special requirement courses. Any credits given are not applicable toward a degree.
  • 1000 Level Courses: These courses are intended primarily for freshmen. Generally, such courses should have no college requisite (except sequential courses) and should be the first course of any particular discipline.
  • 2000 Level Courses: These courses are intended primarily for sophomores. They may or may not have a requisite. The second course in a major sequence might properly be given a 2000 number.
  • 3000 Level Courses: These are courses primarily for juniors and seniors. In disciplines where one course builds on knowledge acquired in a previous course, 3000 level courses have requisites. In other disciplines where specific course requisites are not necessary or appropriate, the courses should be taught with the assumption that the students have an educational background at least equivalent to a college junior.
  • 4000 Level Courses: These courses should be primarily for juniors and seniors. They should be more advanced or more specialized than 3000 level courses and may have a 3000 level course as a requisite.

The following alphabetical suffixes are to be used for specific courses:

  • A: Ohio Honors adaptation taken in conjunction with a standard course
  • C: Service Learning/Community Engagement course
  • H: Departmental honors course
  • J: Junior level composition course
  • L: A laboratory course that is closely associated with a lecture course with the same four-digit number
  • N: University Professor course designated to meet the Arts & Sciences natural sciences requirement
  • S: University Professor course designated to meet the Arts & Sciences social sciences requirement
  • T: Honors tutorial course for Honors Tutorial College (HTC) programs
  • U: University Professor course designated to meet the Arts & Sciences humanities requirement
  • X: Experimental course

The following are reserved course numbers and indicate a specific type of course:

  • 2900, 4900: Special topics
  • *910 (e.g., 2910): Internship, field experience, and cooperative education
  • *920 (e.g., 2920): Practicum
  • *930 (e.g., 4930): Independent Study
  • *940 (e.g., 3940): Research
  • 2970T and 2980T, 2971T and 2981T, 3970T and 3980T, and 4970T and 4980T: First, second, third, and fourth year honors tutorial courses, respectively

Requisites

Course requisites indicate minimum requirements for the course. If you have any doubts about whether you have fulfilled requisites due to changes in the numbering system over the past several years, check the course titles and consult with your advisor and the college student services office. If you have not met the requisites, you may petition the department/school or instructor offering the course to obtain permission to override the requisite. If permission is obtained, then a class permission slip must be completed by the instructor/department/school and processed accordingly. Once you have completed an advanced course, you may not subsequently enroll in a requisite course for credit. The following information will assist you in reading requisites:

  • Graduate Courses:Note that all courses with catalog numbers of 5000 and above are graduate-level courses and require graduate standing even though this fact is not listed for each course.
  • PERMISSION REQUIRED OR PERM REQUIRED: Permission is required for the class. Register for this class via the permission process through the MyOhio Student Center. More information on this process can be found at www.ohio.edu/registrar/class-permission .
  • HTC:Honors Tutorial College students only
  • CONCURRENT OR CONCUR: Take concurrently with other course. Example: LING 4750 or CONCURRENT
  • ETM 2210 AND (PHYS 2020 OR 2520):Indicates (for example) ETM 2210 and either PHYS 2020 or PHYS 2520 must be completed (the second “PHYS” prefix is implied and not printed).
  • C OR BETTER:Indicates (for example) a “C” is the lowest acceptable grade for the requisite course. Example: C or BETTER in JOUR 1330
  • TIER I ENG:Indicates that the freshman Tier I English requirement must be completed.
  • TIER I MATH: Indicates that the freshman Tier I Quantitative Skills requirement must be completed.
  • JR COMP:Indicates that the junior level composition requirement must be completed.
  • FR ONLY:Indicates student must be freshman rank.
  • FR OR SOPH: Indicates student must be freshman or sophomore rank.
  • FR OR SOPH OR JR:Indicates student must be freshman, sophomore, or junior rank.
  • SOPH ONLY:Indicates student must be sophomore rank.
  • SOPH OR JR:Indicates student must be either sophomore or junior rank.
  • SOPH OR JR OR SR:Indicates student must be sophomore, junior, or senior rank.
  • JR ONLY:Indicates student must be junior rank.
  • JR OR SR:Indicates student must be either junior or senior rank.
  • SR ONLY:Indicates student must be senior rank.
  • EQUIVALENT OR EQUIV:If this appears in the requisite, students who feel they have comparable courses or experience may ask for permission to enroll in the course. They must obtain permission from the instructor/department. There is more information on the permission process here: www.ohio.edu/registrar/class-permission .
  • RECOMMENDED:Indicates this course is a recommended prerequisite. However, it is not a requirement for registering for the course.
  • NOT PSY 1200:Indicates (for example) the student who has completed PSY 1200 may not register for this course.
  • MAJOR OR MJR:Indicates student must be a major of that department/school.

Credit Hours

Credit is indicated for each course in semester hours. One semester credit hour will be awarded for a minimum of 750 minutes of formalized instruction (approximately one one-hour meeting per week) that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments an average of twice the amount of time as the amount of formalized instruction. Formalized instruction may take place in a variety of modes (i.e., lecture, seminar, discussion). One semester credit hour shall be awarded for a total of 1,500 minutes of laboratory instructional time (approximately one two-hour meeting per week). In a course carrying variable credit, the credit may be expressed “1 to 4”, indicating that one hour is the minimum and four hours the maximum amount of credit allowed for the class in one semester.

OHIO BRICKS

Please see the list below for OHIO BRICKS codes and their meanings.

  • FWC: Foundation: Written Communication
  • FAW: Foundation: Advanced Writing
  • FQR: Foundation: Quantitative Reasoning
  • FIE: Foundation: Intercultural Explorations
  • PHTC: Pillar: Humanities: Texts and Contexts
  • PHA: Pillar: Humanities: Arts
  • PNS: Pillar: Natural Sciences
  • PSBS: Pillar: Social or Behavioral Sciences
  • ACSW: Arch: Constructed World
  • ANW: Arch: Natural World
  • ACNW: Arch: Connected World
  • BSL: Bridge: Speaking and Listening
  • BER: Bridge: Ethics and Reasoning
  • BDP: Bridge: Diversity and Practice
  • BLD: Bridge: Learning and Doing
  • CAP: Capstone

Thematic Arches

Thematic Arches are an added BRICKS category which only applies to courses which are marked as one of the three Arch categories. You are encouraged (but not required) to take courses from a single Arch theme in order to build your critical thinking and teamwork skills through multiple liberal arts disciplines focused on the same broad topic. The Thematic Arch categories consist of the Global Connections Theme, the Health and Wellness Theme, the Society and Technology Theme, the Society and Justice Theme, and the Sustainability Theme. More information can be found on the OHIO BRICKS  page in the catalog.

General Education Code

This refers to the former Tiers structure used at Ohio University for General Education requirements. This was replaced by BRICKS starting in the 2021-22 Academic Year. New students should refer to any stated BRICKS components and ignore the General Education Code listing. 

Repeat/Retake Information

Repeating a course. A repeatable course is defined as a course taken for additional hours of credit toward graduation requirements (i.e., MUS 3400, PSY 4900). Some departments/schools place limits on the total number of credits that may be earned in repeatable courses. The maximum number of hours permitted to be earned is identified if there is a limit.

Retaking a course. A regular course with fixed content can be retaken to affect the student’s GPA. Retaking the course removes the hours and the effect of the earlier grades from the calculation of the GPA. However, all grades appear on the permanent academic record (transcript). The last grade earned is the one used to calculate the GPA, even if it is lower than the earlier grade(s), and only the last instance’s credit hours are accepted toward any requirements for graduation. The number of times that a student is allowed to retake an undergraduate course for the purpose of improving the grade is restricted to a maximum of two in addition to the first attempt. Withdrawals are not counted as an attempt. Some graduate and professional schools will include all grades in their own calculations of the GPA when determining a student’s eligibility for admission, even though Ohio University calculates the GPA by using only the last grade in a retaken course.

Courses taken at Ohio University and retaken at another university are not eligible for grade point adjustment under this policy. Students should check with their college student services office regarding restrictions.

Retaking a course after graduation will not change graduation GPA or honors status.

Lecture/Lab Hours

Lecture, laboratory, recitation, and other hours for courses are listed in the Lecture/Lab Hours section of expanded course information in this catalog.

Grades

This section of the course information lists the eligible grades for a particular class. Please see the Grading Information section of the Academic Policies  page in this catalog for more information.

Course Transferability

The Ohio Department of Higher Education, in collaboration with public institutions of higher education in Ohio, helps students customize an educational pathway that fits their needs and budget. Knowing in advance that the courses and programs taken at one of Ohio’s public institutions will transfer around the state gives students the flexibility of choosing lower-cost and more convenient options. Some courses are identified for statewide guarantees for the Ohio Transfer 36, Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs), Career-Technical Assurance Guides (CTAGs), Industry-Recognized Credential Transfer Assurance Guides (ITAGs), and Military Transfer Assurance Guide (MTAGs). Please see the Transfer Credit section of the Academic Policies  page for more information.

College Credit Plus

College Credit Plus students who have completed 15 or fewer semester hours may enroll in Level 1 courses. Level 1 courses are those that fall within the Ohio Transfer 36, Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs) and Career-Technical Assurance Guides (CTAGs) or any course in computer science, information technology, anatomy physiology and foreign language (including American sign language).

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are included where possible. This section describes what faculty members want students to know or to be able to do at the end of the course. The learning outcomes augment the course description in providing information about course content to students.