PLAN Requirements for On-Campus Students
Year One
The Boston Course
Fall Semester, 4 credits
In this writing-intensive first year seminar, students will engage with the City of Boston. Based on faculty passions and expertise, these courses run the gamut of disciplinary themes. They share a focus on the development of writing skills, information literacy, and critical analysis.
The Simmons Course: Explore
Fall Semester, 2 credits
This course supports Simmons students in their transition to college. The primary goals of the course are to introduce students to Simmons, to navigating cultural differences, to self-management, and to what it means to engage with your community.
The Leadership Course
Spring Semester, 4 credits
This course challenges students to think about themselves as leaders from a leadership model based on engaging others in the quest for positive social outcomes. This course will include skill development in building relationships across differences; communicating a compelling narrative in writing and public speaking; ethical decision making; speaking up in the face of injustice; and creating team leadership and followership.
Year Two
The Integrative Learning
Fall or Spring Semester, 4 credits
The Integrative Learning (IL) course challenges students to study a topic or question through the lenses of multiple disciplines. Taken during a student’s second year, this approach to integrative learning allows students to grasp the habits of mind and the importance of being able to explore topics and issues from different approaches and perspectives.
The Simmons Course: Experience
Fall or Spring Semester, 1 credit
The second year Simmons Course: Experience will focus on academic, co-curricular and career planning and further development of self-management skills.
Year Three
The Simmons Course: Excel
Fall or Spring Semester, 1 credit (online)
The Simmons Course Excel focuses on academic, career, and life planning. It represents a culmination of a three-course sequence that foregrounds the concepts of self-directed learning. The course also focuses on the development of competencies in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the refinement of self-management skills.
Year Four
The Capstone
Fall or Spring Semester
All students will complete a Capstone experience in their major, which will be designed by individual departments. Regardless of discipline, Capstone experiences will address career and graduate school preparation. (One Capstone in a student’s major is required to fulfill PLAN requirements; students with multiple majors may be required to fulfill Capstones in each major, depending on major requirements.)