Students are encouraged to use their own interests as the key to engage with the subject matter and to choose the course of study most meaningful to them. Dons and students work together to design educational plans and approaches best suited to the students’ needs. The College’s degree requirements are designed to foster these ideals as well as to expose students to different means and methods of learning, and to a variety of subjects.
Degree Requirements
The responsibility for knowing and satisfying all degree requirements rests with the student. Course requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree are as follows:
- Satisfactory completion of 120 credits, at least 60 of which must be Sarah Lawrence credits.
- Satisfaction of the residency requirement:
- a minimum of two consecutive years of full-time study at the Bronxville Campus. Sarah Lawrence study away programs cannot be used to fulfill residency requirements.
- successful completion of full-time study at Sarah Lawrence in Bronxville for either the junior or senior year.
- Fulfillment of the distribution and lecture requirements as outlined below.
Distribution Policies and Guidelines
Sarah Lawrence seeks to give its students a broad and balanced liberal arts background and, as such, does not impose specific course requirements. For this reason, students plan their programs with their dons in accordance with the following guidelines:
- The curriculum consists of four academic areas: natural sciences and mathematics, humanities, history and the social sciences, and creative and performing arts. Degree candidates are required to complete a minimum of 10 credits in at least three of the four areas.
- Within the 120 degree credits, there is a fixed maximum for each of the four areas. Students may take no more than 80 credits in natural sciences and mathematics, 80 in the humanities, 80 in history and the social sciences, and 60 in the creative and performing arts. The subjects included in each area are as follows:
Natural Sciences and Mathematics: biology; chemistry; computer science; mathematics; physics; environmental science
Humanities: art history; dance history; film history; language; literature; LGBTQ studies; music history; philosophy; religion
History and the Social Sciences: anthropology; Asian studies; economics; environmental studies; geography; history; politics; psychology; public policy; science, technology, and society; sociology
Creative and Performing Arts: dance; music; visual arts, including digital imagery, drawing, filmmaking, screenwriting, media arts, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture; theatre; writing
Of the 120 degree credits, no more than 50 can be in a single discipline, e.g., math or literature or photography. On occasion, in order to advance their curricular and academic interests, students may wish to seek an exception to the residency or distribution requirements. Such exceptions are decided by the Committee on Student Work. See “Exceptions to Academic Policies” below for more information. The 60-credit creative arts limit and the lecture requirement are never waived.
Lecture Requirement
Students are required to complete a minimum of 20 credits in lecture courses at Sarah Lawrence and are strongly encouraged to do so prior to their senior year. Prior to fall 2020, the requirement was four semesters of lecture rather than 20 credits. Students enrolled prior to fall 2020 may satisfy the requirement with four semesters of lecture rather than 20 credits, provided a minimum of three credits were earned in each lecture course.
The lecture requirement is reduced by five credits for each block of 15 transfer credits accepted or each semester successfully completed in a Sarah Lawrence off-campus program. The lecture requirement is never waived.
Exceptions to Academic Policies
Students requesting exceptions to the College’s academic policies must do so in a letter of appeal addressed to the Committee on Student Work and sent to deanofstudies@sarahlawrence.edu. The letter should state the requirement or policy for which the exception is requested and provide a rationale for why the exception should be made. If possible, requests for exceptions should be submitted to the Committee on Student Work in the semester prior to the one for which the exception is requested. Request letters should be accompanied by a letter from the student’s don in order for the committee to consider the appeal. The 60-credit creative arts limit and the lecture requirement are never waived.