Scholars Program: Course Selection
The Scholars Program is a unique course of study. The requirements for graduation for Scholars students differ from those of other undergraduates.
This page offers detailed guidance to Scholars students and their faculty advisors regarding course selection.
Scholars students should study this page carefully. It is important to understand its contents before registering for courses, and particularly for courses in the following areas:
- Anthropology (ANTH)
- Fine Arts (FNAR)
- Political Science (PLSC)
- Philosophy (PHIL)
- Mathematics (MATH)
- Humanities (HUMN)
- Rhetoric (RHET)
Students are also urged to note the advice below concerning the study of foreign language.
Finally, this page explains certain accommodations that the Scholars Program makes for Education majors and minors.
Students are urged to consider each of the following as they select their classes:
1. The Scholars curriculum includes a Fine Arts course (HNRS 297 Creativity, Art, & Culture) and a Political Science course (HNRS 393 Global Interdependence). Because of this, Scholars who pass these courses do not need to take any additional FNAR or PLSC / ANTH core electives in order to graduate. Although a student may wish to take additional FNAR, PLSC, or ANTH courses, and the Program encourages students to do so, it is not necessary to do so in order to graduate.
2. Scholars are required to take an Ethics course. Benedictine offers three such courses (i.e., PHIL C240 General Ethics, PHIL 245 Biomedical Ethics, and PHIL C250 Business Ethics). If a student’s academic plan permits him to take one PHIL course, he should in most cases take PHIL 240 General Ethics. Please note that PHIL 245 Biomedical Ethics is not a C-course. As such, it does not suffice to meet the University’s core requirement in Philosophy. Accordingly, Scholars who earn a passing grade in PHIL 245 must also earn a passing grade in a Philosophy course that is a C-course in order to satisfy the University’s core requirement in Philosophy. Thus Scholars who intend to take only one Philosophy course should not take PHIL 245.
3. Scholars are required to show proficiency in Mathematics at a higher level than other undergraduates. In order to graduate as a Scholar, a student must pass or place into a MATH course at level equivalent to or higher than one of the following: MATH 111, MATH 115, MATH 170 or MATH 210. FYI: the requirements for a major in some programs meet or exceed this standard.
4. Scholars should never register for HUMN or RHET courses. The content of these courses is covered within analogous courses in the Scholars curriculum. Confusion often surrounds HUMN 250 The Contemporary World, which is required of all other undergraduates. Scholars are not required to take this or any other HUMN or RHET course.
Click here for more information
5. Scholars must establish proficiency at the 212-level in the speaking, reading, and writing of a foreign language. For many students, this requires registering for language courses at Benedictine or at one of two schools with which Benedictine has tuition-sharing arrangements (i.e., North Central College and Aurora University).
6. Scholars who are Education majors or minors may substitute an American History course (i.e., HIST 111 or HIST 112) for HNRS 320 Converging Hemispheres. So long as they pass HIST 111 or HIST 112, they are not required to take HNRS 320. Any Education major or minor who would nevertheless like to take HNRS 320 is encouraged to do so.
7. Scholars who are Education majors or minors may substitute PLSC C102 American Government for HNRS 393 Global Interdependence. So long as they pass PLSC C102, they are not required to take HNRS 393. Any Education major or minor who would nevertheless like to take HNRS 393 is encouraged to do so.
When a student applies for graduation, his undergraduate record is audited to see whether he has met the requirements for graduation. Within these audits, Scholars Seminars are counted as equivalent to other courses in the non-Scholars undergraduate curriculum. It is beneficial for students and their advisors to know these equivalences for two main reasons:
- first, to avoid registration in these courses by Scholars students;
- and second, to help Benedictine students who have dropped out of or been dismissed from the Scholars Program to determine what courses they must complete in order to graduate.
Click here for a list of the equivalences
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Scholars Assistant.