SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Admission Policies
Admission to the School – First-semester freshmen entering the School of Applied Sciences must meet the same requirements as those for general admission to the university. Students having completed at least one academic semester who wish to transfer into the school must contact the dean's office for additional admission requirements and regulations governing change of majors within the school.
The School of Applied Sciences requires students entering into its degree programs to follow the requirements of the catalog in effect upon the date in which the student officially declares the major.
Listed in the table below are the general education courses that the School of Applied Sciences requires for all undergraduate degree programs. Details of the requirements are described following the table. This required curriculum includes all university core courses. Students should note that some majors require specific courses within the following categories as well as additional general education courses.
Applied Sciences Core Curriculum (37-38 hrs.)
| Required Course | Number of Hrs |
|---|---|
| Writ 101 or Hon 101 | 3 |
| Writ 102, Liba 102 or Hon 102 | 3 |
| Engl 250: Applied Writing | 3 |
| Literature | 3 |
| Fine Arts | 3 |
| Humanities or Fine Arts | 3 |
| Soc 101: Intro to Sociology | 3 |
| Psy 201: Intro to Psychology | 3 |
| Math 121: College Algebra or more advanced* | 3 |
| Statistics Course | 3 |
| Human Biology w/lab | 4 |
| Additional Science w/lab | 3-4 |
*Criminal justice and paralegal studies students may take Math 120. All other School of Applied Sciences programs require Math 121 or higher.
Description of Applied Sciences Core Requirements
LITERATURE. Recommended courses are Engl 221, 222, 223, 224, 225 and 226.
FINE ARTS. Courses that meet the fine arts requirement are Art History 101, 102, 201, 202; Music 101, 102, 103, 104, 105; Dance 200; and Theatre 201.
HUMANITIES. The course may be chosen from courses with any of the following prefixes: African American Studies (AAS), Classics (Clc), Envs 101, Gender Studies (G St), History (His), Literature, Modern Languages, Philosophy (Phil), Religion (Rel), and Southern Studies (S St).
MATHEMATICS. Courses that meet the mathematics requirement are Math 121, 123, 125, 261, 267. Criminal justice and paralegal studies students may take Math 120.
STATISTICS. Courses that meet the statistics requirement are Math 115, Econ 230, Bus 230 and Psy 202.
HUMAN BIOLOGY WITH LAB. UM courses that meet this requirement are Bisc 102/103, 160/161, 206 or 207. Some transfer courses like Zoology and Botany may show up on the transfer equivalency as being equivalent to our Bisc 102 or 160; however, the School of Applied Sciences will not accept those courses as meeting the human biology requirement.
ADDITIONAL SCIENCE WITH LAB. This course may be chosen from any of the following areas of science: Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics or Astronomy.
College/School-wide Degree Requirements
Professional core course work for newly admitted students, readmitted students, and transfer students must be current within a seven-year period at the time of admission to a program, unless more current course work is required by accreditation standards; there will be no limit on general course work.
Within the University of Mississippi's academic residency requirement which states that at least 30 semester hours of residence credit must be taken in the school or college recommending the degree, at least 15 of those hours must be professional courses required in the major.
Total Hours Required – All School of Applied Sciences degrees require a minimum of 124 applicable semester hours.
GPA Requirements – The university requires a minimum overall and resident GPA of 2.0 for graduation. Some degrees within the School of Applied Sciences require the student to complete a minor. All minors, unless otherwise stated in the catalog, require a minimum overall and resident GPA of 2.0 for graduation. Please note that some applied sciences degrees also have their own professional GPA requirements, which are listed under the specific program requirements.
Unless otherwise stated in the catalog under specific minor requirements (some minors require a minimum grade of C in each course applied toward the minor), an overall GPA of 2.00 or higher is required in all work applied toward a student's minor. Students must earn at least 6 hours of their minor courses in residence and must achieve a 2.00 average or higher in all minor courses taken in residence.
Advanced Work Requirement – At least one-third of the hours applied toward a degree must be at the 300-, 400-, or 500-level. For example, a student qualifying for a degree with 124 semester hours must show at least 42 hours of work at the 300 level or above.
Exercise and Leisure Activity Courses – While exercise and leisure activity (EL) courses are not required, a maximum of 6 hours of these courses may be counted toward a School of Applied Sciences degree. These Courses are taken only on a pass-fail grading basis.
Applying for degree – Each senior must apply for a degree by submitting an "Intent to Graduate" Form (available in the George Street House or on the School of Applied Sciences web site) to the dean's office in the semester preceding the semester in which the student expects to graduate. The dean's office sets the application deadlines and notifies students of their specified deadlines by e-mail. This deadline will allow the student time to make any schedule changes required to complete all degree requirements and should guard against the disappointment of having graduation delayed.
Upon receiving the student's Intent to Graduate form, the dean's office will complete a checklist using official transcripts on file to date and will then send the student a list of remaining courses/additional academic requirements that must be completed for the degree. It then becomes the responsibility of the student to complete the remaining requirements by the end of the semester in which the student wishes to graduate.
Diploma Application – If the dean's office verifies that the student is able to graduate during the term he or she has requested, the student will then receive an e-mail from the Office of the Registrar as notification that he or she has been authorized to complete a diploma application for the Office of the Registrar. The diploma application is an online form that must be filed during the semester of anticipated graduation. It is completion of this online form that puts the student on the list of graduates for a particular semester. Failing to submit the diploma application could result in the student's graduation being delayed or, at the very least, the absence of the student's name in the commencement program.
Walking in May Commencement Ceremony – The following students will be invited to participate in the May commencement ceremony: (a) December graduates - Students who completed all of their degree requirements in December of the current academic year. (b) May applicants - Students who will complete all of their degree requirements by the end of the spring semester of the current academic year. (c) August applicants - Students who plan to complete their final requirements by the end of the Full Summer Session of the current academic year.
The Office of the Dean will determine a student's eligibility for August graduation based on the number of remaining hours (no more than 3 credit hours can be taken during May intersession and no more than 12 hours can be taken during full summer session), course availability during the summer, and the student's eligibility to enroll in the final courses (all prerequisites must be met for final courses).
Advising
Freshmen in the School of Applied Sciences are assigned an academic adviser in the Academic Support Center for their first year at the university. All other students are assigned a faculty adviser within their major. The adviserís primary role is to assist a student during registration periods in selecting courses appropriate for his or her degree program. In addition, the academic adviser is available throughout the student's entire course of study to discuss future plans or possible academic difficulties. Students are reminded, however, that the faculty member's role is only to give advice. The ultimate responsibility for meeting all degree requirements rests with the student.
Selecting and Changing Majors
Freshmen and transfer students entering the School of Applied Sciences must declare a major on the admissions application. Transfer students must have a transfer GPA of at least 2.0 to declare a major within the School of Applied Sciences.
Students currently or previously enrolled at The University of Mississippi under a different major must request a change of major at the dean's office in the George Street House. A representative of the dean will schedule an appointment with the student to discuss policies and procedures of the school in addition to remaining degree requirements. Students who have completed prior course work at The University of Mississippi must have a 2.0 GPA on all work attempted at the university (resident GPA) as well as on all work attempted at any institution of higher learning (overall GPA) in order to declare a major within the School of Applied Sciences.