Other Graduation Requirements

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Many majors, emphases, and areas of study have graduation requirements beyond those required by the university. Examples of such requirements include, but are not limited to, satisfactory production of a portfolio, maintaining a designated cumulative and/or major GPA, earning a certain grade in certain courses, successful performance on a standardized performance measure, and successful completion of clinical requirements. Students interested in these majors, emphases, or areas of study and students already admitted to them should consult department and college program requirements listed in the individual college and department sections of this catalog. Students are also strongly encouraged to consult with an advisor to assure they continue to qualify for graduation in their chosen major, emphasis, or area of study. See individual colleges and departments.

A double major may require more semester hours than the 120-semester-hour minimum required for graduation. A student may fulfill the requirements for two separate majors (“double major”) while earning one baccalaureate degree. The student must request entrance into the second major from the appropriate academic department. If the requirements for both majors are fulfilled, both will be indicated on the academic record.

If the second major requires a second degree (for example, if the student is pursuing a B.A. in history and wants a B.S. in economics as a second major), the student must complete the requirements for both degrees.

A student who wishes to complete two majors or two emphases in the same department must have written approval by the department curriculum committee and the major college curriculum committee.

The degree the student will be granted will be that permitted by the student’s first declared major. Only one degree will be granted unless the additional requirements listed in the section entitled “Second Baccalaureate Degree” are also met.

A student who earns a baccalaureate degree from NIU may receive a second such degree if all requirements for both degrees are met. The curriculum for the second degree must include at least 30 semester hours in residence above the minimum 120 semester hours required for the first degree at NIU, unless the degrees are earned concurrently. If earned concurrently, both degree requirements must be met with a minimum of 120 semester hours.

A student who holds a baccalaureate degree from another college or university may receive a second such degree from NIU by meeting these requirements.

Being admitted to NIU.
Earning at least 30 semester hours of undergraduate credit in residence at NIU.
Fulfilling all requirements for a major other than the first major and all degree requirements.
Earning at least 12 semester hours of major departmental requirements in courses numbered at the 300 and 400 level taken at NIU.

A student may not apply any credit in physical education activity courses toward the second baccalaureate degree.

In order for the university to record on a student’s transcript that a minor was successfully completed during the student’s undergraduate program, the student must attain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all courses taken in the minor at NIU.

Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree must demonstrate competence in a foreign language equivalent to that attained in two years of college instruction. This requirement must be met by one of the following five options:

Successful completion of one of the following sequences.

American Sign Language: FLSL 101, FLSL 102, FLSL 201, FLSL 202
Arabic: FLAR 103, FLAR 104
Burmese: FLBU 103, FLBU 104
Chinese: FLCH 101, FLCH 102, FLCH 201, FLCH 202
French: FLFR 101, FLFR 102, FLFR 201, FLFR 202
German: FLGE 101, FLGE 102, FLGE 201, FLGE 202
Indonesian: FLIN 103, FLIN 104
Italian: FLIT 103, FLIT 104
Japanese: FLJA 101, FLJA 102, FLJA 201, FLJA 202
Khmer: FLKH 103, FLKH 104
Latin: FLCL 101, FLCL 102, FLCL 201, FLCL 202
Polish: FLPL 101, FLPL 102, FLPL 201, FLPL 202
Portuguese: FLPO 103, FLPO 104
Russian: FLRU 101, FLRU 102, FLRU 201, FLRU 202
Spanish: FLSP 101, FLSP 102, FLSP 201, and FLSP 202 or FLSP 215*
Tagalog: FLTA 103, FLTA 104
Thai: FLTH 103, FLTH 104
Successful completion of FLST 181 and FLST 182, in the same language.

OR

Earning grades of C or better in the fourth-year of a foreign language at an accredited high school.

OR

Demonstrating fluency (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) in a language other than English on the Standards-Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) test administered through the Department of World Languages and Cultures. See “Credit by Examination” section in undergraduate catalog.

OR

Requesting course credit for the State Seal of Biliteracy within 3 academic years after graduating from high school. See “Credit by Examination” section in undergraduate catalog.

OR

Exemption (no credit awarded) by:

Demonstrating competence equal to the work required in the last course in one of the sequences listed above on a four-skills test (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) administered through the NIU Office of Testing Services. Such examinations are available for languages taught by the faculty of the NIU Department of World Languages and Cultures.

OR

Registering as an international student at NIU, with a native language other than English.

Students with high school credit in French, German, or Spanish who wish to continue in that language must gain placement into the appropriate course in the desired sequence by taking the foreign language placement examination. On the basis of this examination, the student must begin the chosen language sequence in the course indicated by the placement examination, disregarding that course’s prerequisites. For example, a student gaining placement into French 201 does not have to complete the courses FLFR 101 and FLFR 102. For placement in all other languages listed above, see the appropriate coordinator in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

*With consent of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, native speakers of Spanish may substitute FLSP 215 for any and all levels of FLSP 101 through FLSP 202.

All engineering and engineering technology students must have their schedule reviewed, approved, and signed by their assigned advisors each semester. Any deviation from an approved course schedule may delay graduation.

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must fulfill a special college requirement. They must demonstrate competence in laboratory science and/or mathematical/computational skills equivalent to that attained in two years of college instruction (10-15 semester hours). See the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section for a description of the requirement.

Choice of Catalog

The rules governing catalog choice for different categories of students are given below. However, no student may graduate under a catalog more than six years old, unless specific permission is obtained from the major college in a case where the major program in question is still available as an approved program of study. The rules given below apply only to requirements for majors, minors, and general education. All students are subject to the academic regulations stated in the most recent catalog.

Entering Freshmen

Students who enter NIU as first-semester freshmen should use the catalog current when they take their first course at NIU; they may shift to any later catalog which is in effect while they are enrolled. They may choose to satisfy all requirements from a single catalog or they may satisfy major and minor requirements from one and general education requirements from a second. Students earning a second major may choose a separate catalog for each degree only with the written approval of their college office.

Transfer Students

Students may choose the NIU catalog which was in effect when they became freshmen at their original school or any later NIU catalog, providing they were enrolled during the catalog year of their choice, but they cannot choose an NIU catalog which was in effect more than three years before their admission or reentry to NIU. They may also elect to satisfy all graduation requirements from a single catalog or major and minor requirements from one and general education requirements from a second.

Reentering Students

Students reentering NIU after an interruption of more than three years are subject to catalog provisions in effect at the time they reenter. (However, every effort will be made to count earlier courses in the way most beneficial to fulfilling current requirements.)

Students reentering NIU after an interruption of fewer than three years can use the catalog in effect at the time of their original admission to NIU or any later catalog.

Reentering students who have attended other colleges or universities while away from NIU are subject to the previously stated Transfer Students policy.

Postbaccalaureate Students

Students pursuing a second baccalaureate degree are subject to the provisions of the catalog in effect at the time of their starting their second baccalaureate program or any later catalog.

Applying for Graduation

Degrees are granted in December, May, and August.

Undergraduate students who have completed 90 or more semester hours will be notified via e-mail that they are eligible to apply for graduation. The graduation application is found in MyNIU by navigating to Self Service>MyNIU Student Center>Academics>Apply for Graduation>Go. The graduation fee will be applied to the student account at the time of application.  The deadlines for applying for graduation and commencement are as follows:

December graduation: apply March 1 - September 1
May graduation: apply August 1 - February 1
August graduation: apply August 1 - June 15 (Note: August graduates who wish to participate in the May commencement ceremony must apply for August graduation by February 1.)

Further correspondence regarding eligibility towards graduation may be sent via ZID e-mail account from the department, college office, or Registration and Records. Students with graduation deficiencies should contact their academic advisor for assistance. Students who do not complete all requirements during the term for which they applied must change their graduation date in Registration and Records by the next deadline date or no later than 30 days into the following semester. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Office of Registration and Records in writing of their next intended graduation date. An additional fee is not required.

Students completing degree requirements between degree dates may request a certification of degree requirements being met. Contact the Office of Registration and Records for details.

A student must have completed at least 45 semester hours of work at NIU to be eligible for graduation with distinction. Distinction grade point averages are computed on the basis of all NIU courses attempted in the last 45 hours.

Degrees with distinction are awarded as follows, dependent on a student’s GPA at the time of graduation: summa cum laude, 3.90 through 4.00; magna cum laude, 3.75 through 3.899; cum laude, 3.50 through 3.749.

Students who have completed the requirements of the University Honors Program will graduate with the respective distinction of either “Full University Honors,” or “Associate University Honors.”