Degree Requirements

The Simmons General Education Program: PLAN (Purpose Leadership ActioN)

On-Campus Students

While taking courses in the Simmons PLAN (Purpose Leadership ActioN), our general education program, students will engage with the City of Boston, develop their own understanding of leadership, engage in integrative learning across academic disciplines, and design key components of their course of study. PLAN brings the Simmons principles and values into the present day. Students will complete the Simmons PLAN over the entire four years of their college experience.

(Note: All students who matriculate with an associate’s degree are exempt from all PLAN courses.)

CompleteDegree Students

CompleteDegree students will, similarly, engage with the Simmons community, refine their own understanding of leadership, engage in integrative learning across academic disciplines, and design key components of their course of study.

(Note: All students who matriculate with an associate’s degree are exempt from all PLAN courses except the capstone.)

PLAN Requirements for On-Campus Students

Year One

Writing Boston

Fall or Spring Semester, 4 credits

In this writing-intensive first-year course, students will utilize Boston as the theme to hone their college level writing skills. Through engagement with readings about the City, this course develops writing, critical analysis, and information literacy skills.

Simmons 100: Explore

Fall Semester, 2 credits

Explore is designed to provide students with Simmons-specific resources that can be utilized to foster personal and academic success. It will also give students the opportunity to connect with their classmates and reflect on key issues and situations they will face as college students while transitioning to the Simmons community.

Sophomore or Junior Year

Simmons 200: Extend

Fall or Spring Semester, 2 credits

This course will focus on academic, co-curricular, and career planning. In addition to assignments related to resume and interview preparation, internship preparation, and an exploration of graduate school opportunities, the course includes units on the development of competencies in financial literacy, digital literacy, and cybersecurity, as well as an exploration of what it means to be AI-literate in a specific field. SIM 200 will be  cohorted by discipline (Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM, Health Professions), so students are advised to take this class after they declare their major.

PLAN Requirements for CompleteDegree Students

Courses are listed in the order we recommend they be taken.

Connect 101, Simmons Connect

3 credits
Highly recommended to be taken in your first term
Simmons Connect is designed to connect you to your new Simmons community, to discipline-specific writing skills and strategies, and to tools and resources to ensure your success at Simmons and in your career post-graduation. This class is required of all Complete Degree students who matriculate without an AA/AS degree and highly recommended for all Complete Degree students.

 

Leadership 201, Gender and Leadership

4 credits
The study of leadership in American higher education has traditionally centered cis-gendered white men and their socialized masculine behaviors. This course seeks to counteract that by exploring women leaders in the United States, both leaders in history as well as present day to support students’ development of their own leadership identity. The course will identify trends common to cis-gender women leaders as well as the unique and authentic leadership practices that successful cis-gender women leaders have enacted that contributed to the social, economic, political and personal successes they achieved. The course will be gender inclusive where possible, though more scholarship is needed that is inclusive of multiple gender identities.

CDA 201, Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Public Issues

6 credits
Problem solving, critical thinking skills, and integrative techniques for researching an issue are important for all students to learn no matter their major or their future job aspirations. This course will introduce students to multiple ways of looking at an issue within their chosen discipline; students will gain knowledge to analyze common themes, communicate effectively, and use interdisciplinary perspectives to provide solutions to a potential employee and/or mentor. Students will use techniques from information science and public policy, for example, to formulate and answer questions with quantitative and qualitative techniques while enhancing their academic search skills.
Recommended prerequisite: CNCT 101

 

Connect 201, Pathways to Career and Leadership

1 credit
Connect 201: Pathways to Career and Leadership focuses on career and life planning. It represents a culmination of a two-course sequence that foregrounds the concepts of metacognition and self-directed learning. The course also focuses on the development of competencies in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the refinement of leadership skills.

3D (Design Across Diverse Disciplines)

Included in Connect 201
For this graduation requirement, students will design and propose a cluster of three courses they have taken and plan to take that addresses a topic, problem, or issue from various disciplinary perspectives. Students will explain the rationale for their selection of these courses, focusing on the intellectual coherence of the courses they have chosen.

 

The Capstone

4-8 credits
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.)

 

 

Graduation Requirements for On-Campus Students

PLAN Requirements, Purpose,
and Double Counting (for On-Campus Students) 

	PLAN REQUIREMENT	PURPOSE	DOUBLE COUNTING
Year 1	Writing Boston fall or Spring semester, 4 credits Simmons 100: Explore fall semester, 2 credits	Communication essential capability Engagement with Simmons Communities and with Boston; academic skill-building
Sophomore or Junior Year	Simmons 200: Extend Fall or spring semester, 2 credit	Discipline-specific career education; Academic skill-building; post-graduation support/ planning; careers, graduate school
Any year	Key Content Areas (3 courses) • Artistic, Literary Aesthetic • Global Historical •Scientific Inquiry	Exposure to content across disciplines	Each KCA may be fulfilled through major/ minor course of study (if applicable)
Any year	Key Skills Areas (5 courses) •Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice •Integrative Learning •Leadership •Quantitative Literacy  • Writing Intensive	Application of skills and knowledge toward social engagement and change	At least two KSA courses must be taken outside of the student’s major

Exemptions/Alternate Requirement

• As of May 2021, all students entering with an AA/AS degree are exempt from all PLAN requirements.
  
  Note: All students must complete a capstone in their major. Capstones are not part of PLAN but of requirements for all majors.

Starting a New Language

• For incoming students as of Fall 2024 and thereafter: Incoming undergraduate students are not required to take a language course as a part of the Simmons PLAN curriculum. The language placement exam is optional and available only to students who are interested in taking Spanish or French at the undergraduate level.
• For students whose first semester was prior to Fall 2024: All on-the-ground undergraduate students must satisfy the PLAN Language Requirement that was in place at the time of their enrollment. Language exams are still available to students who have not yet taken one and require a placement. The language requirement is met by one of the following: 
  The successful completion of the 102 level* in Spanish or French at Simmons University or in any modern language taken through the COF or at another institution with preapproval from the Associate Provost for Curriculum, Assessment, and Accreditation. (*Completion of the 101 level [or its equivalent] is a prerequisite of the 102 level.)
  OR
  The successful completion of one GH KCA course AND one DEIJ KSA course taken specifically to fulfill the language requirement. 

Math Competency Requirement

Students will be required to demonstrate competency in mathematics in one of the following ways before they may take a Quantitative Literacy course:  

• Pass the mathematics competency exam administered by the Office of Undergraduate Advising prior to registration;

• Successfully complete MATH 101 or a higher level mathematics course at Simmons; or

• Present evidence of satisfactory completion at another accredited college of a mathematics course at the level of MATH 101 or above to the Registrar’s office.

• Students must satisfy the math competency requirement during their first semester at Simmons. Students who do not pass the mathematics competency exam prior to registration or who do not meet the math competency requirement in one of the other ways described above must take MATH 101 in the first semester it is available.

Key Content Area (KCA) Requirements

The key content area courses draw upon three broad areas of knowledge to emphasize a multidisciplinary approach to ways of knowing. They engage phenomena as objects of study through approaches rooted in various disciplines tied to the sciences, the arts and broad frames of historical and cultural understanding. Students must complete one course from each of the following three areas:

1] Aesthetic, Literary, and Artistic (ALA)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in art and literature as well as ways of knowing or creating original works or aesthetic approaches to these phenomena. This requirement can be met by courses in any of the creative and performing arts as well as in any course in the study of literature, art, and music. Courses in other disciplines that provide perspectives of aesthetic, literary, and artistic phenomena as defined above also meet this requirement. For example, a course that studies the digital or computational aspects of artistic creation would meet this requirement.

2] Global Historical (GH)

Global Historical courses provide perspectives on contemporary or historical phenomena as they present themselves socially. They may foreground the perspective of a particular community or person or a specific interpretive frame or historical moment in time ,or they may include comparative ways of knowing phenomena across cultures of the globe, within and beyond the US, past and present. 

Courses in this area offer students the opportunity to study societal topics closely and to appreciate cultural and historical differences as they have manifested for humankind. 

3] Scientific Inquiry (SCI)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in the natural and physical world and on ways of knowing these phenomena, particularly through experimental approaches. This requirement is primarily met by courses in the sciences and psychology; the requirement may also be met by courses in other disciplines providing perspectives on scientific phenomena. All courses meeting this requirement include a “hands on” component providing students the opportunity to understand and appreciate the scientific method.

Key Skills Area (KSA) Requirements

While the Key Content Areas focus on knowledge of content, the Key Skills Areas emphasize skills acquired or applied in courses. This category spans skills that are essential for student’s success in and beyond academia. It extends to opportunities for students to apply their developing skills and knowledge toward social engagement and change. Students must complete one course from each of the below areas. Note: At least two KSA courses must be taken outside of the student’s major.

1] Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ)

Courses with a DEIJ designation provide students opportunities to build skills in the areas of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice that can be deployed in organizations, professions and society. Students in these courses critically analyze social forces and systems and learn how to take some form of action to respond to these forces and systems. A DEIJ course allows explicit knowledge about DEI–Diversity, Equity and Inclusion– through examination of power and privilege as they pertain to gender, race, dis/ability, sexuality, immigration status, socioeconomic status, etc. And it also focuses on application of this knowledge toward the creation of change aimed at Justice–not just DEI, but also DEIJ. The ultimate goal of these courses is to–through a combination of analysis and action, or praxis–help students develop agency around understanding and challenging existent forces and systems.

2] Integrative Learning (IL)

The Integrative Learning KSA allows students to study a topic or question that cannot be fully understood without its examination through the lenses of subfields within or between disciplines. This integrative approach to learning aims at helping students develop the habits of mind needed to meaningfully explore topics and issues that require movement across different perspectives. The KSA is filled by courses that root their approach in any set of disciplines and/or subfields. A central topic or question guides the course, and students learn about content specific to the course topic, but the course is most centrally an opportunity for students to understand what they can and cannot know in the absence of employing multiple perspectives.

3] Leadership (LDR)

The Leadership courses help students expand their ideas of what leadership is and who can lead. These courses support students’ ability to envision opportunities to lead, formally or informally, in their careers, their communities and their lives. Each course focuses on the relationship between leadership and social identities and allows students to develop and demonstrate leadership skills related to both working in teams and public speaking. Students engage such topics as conflict resolution and advocacy on meaningful issues.  Leadership courses typically study successful leaders and/or organizations, or specific theories or best practices, in order to help students envision their own ideas of leadership.

4] Quantitative Literacy (QL)

Quantitative Literacy (QL) is a “habit of mind,” competency, and comfort in working with numerical data. Courses in this area will develop a student’s ability to reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. QL courses will develop the skills necessary to understand and create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence, and to clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate)

5] Writing Intensive (WI)

Writing-Intensive courses further develop the competencies introduced to students in the first year writing course, Writing Boston. They encourage more advanced writing proficiency and centralize at least two of the following skills: awareness of audience and context, formulation of arguments and conclusions, evaluation and utilization of researched sources. Writing-Intensive courses also typically include frequent (usually weekly) writing assignments, some informal and ungraded writing, and at least one paper that is examined in draft form by the instructor and then revised by the student. This requirement is filled by courses in multiple departments, and courses are often rooted in the research and methods of the department’s particular academic discipline.

Graduation Requirements for CompleteDegree Students

PLAN Requirements, Purpose,
and Double Counting (for CompleteDegree Students) 

	Plan Requirement	Purpose	Double Counting
	CNCT 101, 3 credits LDR 201, 4 credits	Communication essential capability Engagement with Simmons Communities; academic skill-building Leadership, teamwork
	CDA 201, 6 credits CNCT 201, 1 credit	Interdisciplinary and integrative learning Post-graduation support/ planning; careers, graduate school Academic skill-building; 3D planning
	3D (Design Across Diverse Disciplines)	Interdisciplinary and integrative learning 3 courses that are topically connected;	Each 3D course may count as a KCA. One 3D course may count in each major/minor course of study. 3D courses must be drawn from different disciplines. Two 3D courses may have been taken during the first or second year.
	Capstone	Expertise in student’s field of study	The Capstone is in the major.
Any year	Key Content Areas (4 courses) Social/Historical Artistic, Literary Aesthetic Scientific	Exposure to content across disciplines	Each KCA may be fulfilled in a major/ minor course of study (if applicable).
	Quantitative Literacy (1 course)	Critical thinking and problem solving; literacy in numeric systems	The QL requirement may be fulfilled through a course in a student's major/minor course of study (if applicable).
	Language and Culture Requirement (2 additional GC KCA courses)	Cultural skill development

Math Competency Requirement

Students will be required to demonstrate competency in mathematics in one of the following ways before they are able to take a Quantitative Literacy course:

Pass the mathematics competency exam administered by the Office of Undergraduate Advising no later than the end of their first term at Simmons;

Successfully complete MATH 101 or a higher level mathematics course at Simmons;

Present evidence of satisfactory completion at another accredited college of a mathematics course at the level of MATH 101 or above to the Registrar’s office.

Students must satisfy the math competency requirement during their first semester at Simmons. Students who do not pass the mathematics competency exam by orientation or who do not meet the math competency requirement in one of the other ways described above, must take MATH 101 in the first semester it is available.

Language and Culture Requirement (QL)

Complete Degree students must take two additional Global/Cultural KCA courses to satisfy this PLAN requirement.

Quantitative Literacy Requirement (QL)

Quantitative Literacy (QL) is a “habit of mind,” competency, and comfort in working with numerical data. Courses in this area will develop a student’s ability to reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. QL courses will develop the skills necessary to understand and create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence, and to clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate).

Key Content Area (KCA) Requirements

The key content areas pertain to phenomena as objects of study across the disciplines, rather than modes of inquiry defined by a particular discipline or set of disciplines.
Indeed, these categories describe areas of knowledge from multidisciplinary perspectives. The phenomena included under each of the four areas listed below thus admit of a wide variety of ways of knowing or disciplinary approaches. Students must complete one course from each of the following areas:

1] Aesthetic, Literary, and Artistic (ALA)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in art and literature as well as ways of knowing or creating original works or aesthetic approaches to these phenomena. This requirement can be met by courses in any of the creative and performing arts as well as in any course in the study of literature, art, and music. Courses in other disciplines that provide perspectives of aesthetic, literary, and artistic phenomena as defined above also meet this requirement. For example, a course that studies the digital or computational aspects of artistic creation would meet this requirement.

2] Global Cultural (GC)

The term “global cultural” is broadly construed; it includes all cultures, past and present, within and beyond the U. S., and in their multiple forms of manifestation. Courses in this area offer our students the opportunity to understand and learn to appreciate cultural differences as they have made themselves manifest in humankind. This requirement can be met by courses in any discipline—from the liberal arts to the sciences and the professions—that provide a multicultural perspective of the world. For example, courses that focus on cross-cultural practices, or on minority cultures in the U. S., or on non-European cultures, or that provide world surveys of cultures would all meet this requirement.

3] Scientific Inquiry (SCI)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in the natural and physical world and on ways of knowing these phenomena, particularly through experimental approaches. This requirement is primarily met by courses in the sciences and psychology; the requirement may also be met by courses in other disciplines providing perspectives on scientific phenomena. All courses meeting this requirement include a “hands on” component providing students the opportunity to understand and appreciate the scientific method.

4] Social and Historical (SH)

Courses in this area focus on phenomena in society and history as well as ways of knowing these phenomena. This requirement can be met by courses in the social sciences, including economics, political science, sociology, social psychology, social work, and history. Courses in other disciplines that provide perspectives of social and historical phenomena as defined above also meet this requirement. For example, a course that focuses on the social applications of management principles would provide such perspectives.

 

List of CompleteDegree courses with KCA designations

 

Marks and Evaluations

Every student must obtain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.00, to be calculated from all courses taken at Simmons using the letter grade system, to be eligible for the baccalaureate degree. The grading system is based upon the following categories:

A = 4.00

A- = 3.67

B+ = 3.33

B = 3.00

B- = 2.67

C+ = 2.33

C = 2.00

C- = 1.67

D+ = 1.33

D = 1.00

D- =.67

F (Fail) = 0

P (Pass)*

AU (formal audit)*

W (Approved Withdrawal)*

*not included in GPA

Grading Options

A student may select grading options by filling out a form in the Office of the Registrar. This may be done at any time from registration up to (but not after) the day designated as the final day to add a course in each semester. Any student who fails to fill out this form and secure the necessary approvals will automatically receive letter grades.

Pass/Fail

A regularly enrolled Simmons student may take at most one for-credit course pass/ fail in any given semester.

Courses taken to fulfill specific requirements may not be taken for the pass/fail option, including

• The following PLAN courses: Writing Boston Course, SIM 100: Explore, and SIM 200: Extend 

• Modern Languages and Literatures: All language courses numbered 101, 102, and 201; Level I or Level II language courses taken at another institution by a student while they are enrolled at Simmons.
• Mathematics: MATH 101; and
• The Capstone

In addition, specific majors and minors require that courses be taken for a letter grade. Each department has the discretion to allow or deny students to take courses P/F.

If a student using the pass/fail option receives a P in a course, the student will receive credit for the course, but the P will not be averaged into her GPA. If the student receives an F in a pass/fail course, no credit for the course will be given, and the F will be averaged into the GPA as a zero. Departments may also have specific policies about pass/fail courses for their majors.

Formal Audit

A formal audit may be elected by any full-time undergraduate student after the first semester, provided that the student has the instructor’s permission and agrees to abide by the instructor’s conditions for the audit. A student may formally audit no more than one course each semester. There is no charge to full-time undergraduate students for a formal audit. A formal audit will appear on the student transcript, but no credit is given. A formal audit may not be used to satisfy any of the undergraduate requirements. More information on the formal audit option is available through the Office of the Registrar.

Informal Audit

Any undergraduate student is permitted to informally audit a course with the instructor's permission. The instructor will determine with the student the expectations for coursework., who will determine with the student expectations for coursework. No record of the student’s work is kept, and the student is not permitted to take the final examination. No credit is granted for an informal audit, and the audit does not appear on her transcript. Informal audits do not go through the Office of the Registrar.

Incomplete Evaluations

Required coursework must ordinarily be completed by the last day of final examinations. In extenuating circumstances, undergraduate students may

• request an “incomplete” (I) grade, as described below.
• appeal to the Undergraduate Administrative Board for a “retroactive W.” Students should consult their faculty advisor, Student Affairs, or the Advising Office as early as possible when extenuating circumstances make it impossible to complete the coursework.

Failure to file an approved incomplete agreement with the Registrar (in the absence of a grade) will result in the automatic assignment of an F grade. Failure to submit work by the date agreed upon in an Incomplete Agreement will result in the assignment of the grade noted in the agreement (F or other).

Instructors Shall Approve Incomplete Agreements only if:

• The required work in the course is incomplete because of circumstances beyond the student’s control.
• The student can complete the required work within four weeks of the last day of classes. If the student needs longer to complete the work, they must petition the Undergraduate Administrative Board.
• No more than 30% of required coursework or work worth more than 50% of the total grade remains to be completed. The earned grade shall be recorded.
• The completion of the remaining coursework makes a passing grade in the course possible. (If completing the remaining work cannot result in a passing grade, the student is not eligible for an Incomplete. An F shall be recorded.)

Incomplete Agreements

• The Incomplete Agreement shall outline a plan to complete the work. The agreement shall include the grade to be filed by the Registrar should the student not complete the work.

• Incomplete Agreements must be submitted to the Registrar by the last day of classes in the semester the course is offered. If circumstances make this impossible, students must appeal to the Undergraduate Administrative Board for approval of the Incomplete.
• If a student cannot initiate the paperwork, their instructor or advisor may fill out the form; in such cases, the petition may be accepted without the student’s signature.
• If the instructor is not available to complete the grading, the Incomplete Agreement must be submitted to and signed by the Department Chair or Program Director to ensure the grading of the submitted work.
• Students requesting more than two incomplete agreements in a semester must petition the Undergraduate Administrative Board for approval.

Appealing a Denied Incomplete Agreement

In cases where an Instructor does not approve an Incomplete Agreement, a student may file a written appeal to the Undergraduate Administrative Board. Grounds for appeal are limited to: arbitrariness or capriciousness (the agreement was rejected based on standards different from this policy); and/or unlawful discrimination (in which case the student should follow Simmons’ grievance procedure for bringing a claim of unlawful discrimination, as outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog and elsewhere.) A written appeal must be submitted to the Undergraduate Administrative Board by the last day of classes.

Course Repeat Policy

The course repeat policy allows students to repeat up to two courses for credit on a limited basis to enhance their understanding of the subject or to improve their overall grade point average. The following principles apply to this policy:

• A student may repeat at most two Simmons courses for credit.
• If a course is repeated for credit, both versions of the course will appear on the student’s transcript and be included in the student’s grade point average.
• A student who repeats one 4-credit course must complete 132 credits in order to earn 128 unique credits and meet that requirement for earning a degree.
• A student who repeats two 4-credit courses must complete 136 credits to earn 128 unique credits and meet that requirement for earning a degree.

Academic Difficulty

The Undergraduate Administrative Board, a faculty committee that monitors Simmons's academic standards, periodically reviews the records of students experiencing academic difficulty.

This responsibility includes reviewing the records of any student who has two or more failures in a semester (including a retroactive withdrawal) any student whose semester or cumulative grade point average is below 2.0, any student who as a result of their achievement in Simmons Summer School has a summer or cumulative GPA of less than 2.00, any student who applies for a leave of absence or withdraws after the eighth week of the semester, or any student whose overall record is considered marginal.

The faculty has given the Undergraduate Administrative Board the authority to take whatever action is deemed appropriate to each individual’s situation. Such actions may include a letter of warning, probation, continued probation, removal from degree candidacy, or exclusion from Simmons. As a result of this review, the Undergraduate Administrative Board may impose special conditions may be imposed by the Administrative Board, in which case both the student and a parent or guardian (if the student is dependent) may be notified.

Warnings of academic difficulty are reported to academic advisors and other student support specialists by individual faculty members throughout the academic year, and assistance is made available.

See also the sections on Student Academic Progress in the Academic Policies portion of this Catalog.