BSIS: Humanities

Basic Requirements – 18 units

All WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) undergraduate students must satisfy the same general-education requirements.

• Analytical Writing (U11 111)*
• Critical and Researched Writing (U11 203)*
• One additional 3-unit advanced writing course, which may be chosen from EComp 304 Exposition, EComp 3120 Argumentation, EComp 324 Writing for Public Speaking, or EComp 331 Technical Writing.*
• One 3-unit course in numerical applications with a minimum grade of C-
• One 3-unit course in moral reasoning
• One 3-unit course in cultural diversity: Courses that satisfy the cultural diversity requirement explore issues of global human diversity and the interactions among cultures.

These requirements are effective as of Spring 2023. Students admitted to CAPS programs prior to Spring 2023 are expected to fulfill the requirements in place at the time of their admission.

This program is offered either mostly or fully online. Students entering the U.S. on an F-1 or J-1 Visa must enroll in a program full time. F-1 students are only permitted to enroll in one online course per semester and J-1 students may only enroll in non-credit online courses that do not count toward their degree program. TCAPS cannot guarantee face-to-face enrollment options each semester of full time enrollment, therefore cannot issue an I-20 or DS 2019 to F-1 and J-1 students for this program. If you are an F-1 or J-1 student and wish to enroll in a CAPS program while here on a Visa, please contact our recruitment team to discuss your options for face-to-face program enrollment. F-1 and J-1 students should not enroll in online courses or programs without first consulting the university’s Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS).

*Students who receive a grade lower than a C- in EComp 111 Analytical Writing taken at CAPS must repeat the course. Students who receive a grade lower than a C- in EComp 203 Critical and Researched Writing taken at CAPS must, in consultation with the Department of English and CAPS, choose between two options to satisfy the requirement: (1) repeat the course; or (2) complete a 3-unit composition tutorial with a grade of C or higher. Students who have completed English composition courses at another college or university should be well prepared for the required writing courses at CAPS, and transfer credit will be awarded for this work according to our regular transfer credit policies. However, new students will begin with EComp 111 in CAPS. Students who feel they have a strong writing background may petition to take a placement test to demonstrate the skills needed to begin with EComp 203 instead. All students will complete EComp 203 and a 300-level writing course at CAPS.

Distribution Requirements – 27 units

27 units, 9 units in each area noted below.  Field-of-study courses also may fulfill basic and distribution requirements; however, each distribution area must include course work from at least two disciplines:

• Humanities: (9 credits) Courses from Art History, Classics, History, Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Creative Writing, Film Studies, Foreign Languages, Music, and Speech
• Social Sciences: (9 credits) Courses from Anthropology; Economics; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology; and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Natural Sciences & Mathematics: (9 credits) Courses from Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Physics, General Science, and Mathematics & Statistics

These requirements are effective as of Summer 2023. Students admitted to CAPS programs prior to Summer 2023 are expected to fulfill the requirements in place at the time of their admission.

Field of Study Requirements – 27 units

Students in BSIS programs must complete a certificate, tailoring their degree to their educational and professional goals. Students in BSIS programs must also complete a Community Engagement course. A designated Humanities course will fulfill this requirement.

Students choose 27 units from Humanities courses, including these disciplines:

• African and African-American Studies
• Art History and Archaeology
• Classics
• English Composition & Creative Writing*
• English Literature
• French
• History
• Italian
• Korean
• Philosophy
• Spanish

* Courses taken in this area must be at the 300 level or above.

Required capstone – 3 units

Students must also complete a 3-unit capstone essay in which they reflect on the integration of a topic across fields within the chosen concentration.

Note: At least 15 units in the field of study must be in upper-level (300-level and higher) courses.