A St. Lawrence education prepares students to think critically and creatively, to examine and express their ideas and values, to understand those whose beliefs and circumstances may be different from their own, and to pursue an understanding of the natural world and human experience. A St. Lawrence education encourages and develops within students the virtues important for lifelong learning, such as inquisitiveness, perceptiveness, intellectual honesty and humility, fair consideration of evidence, respectful treatment of those with whom one is in dialog, and a commitment to the free exchange of ideas. These virtues promote within students a personal ethic of considered values and the capacity to fully realize their abilities as people and local, national, and global citizens. As part of a St. Lawrence education, all students should develop knowledge of the importance of cultural, natural, political, and socio-economic systems in shaping one another.  

To realize this vision, a St. Lawrence education is designed to develop:  

• an ability to speak and write clearly, articulately, and persuasively; 
• an ability to acquire, evaluate, and communicate information; 
• an ability to analyze and resolve complex problems, both independently and collaboratively; 
• an ability to reason quantitatively, logically, and/or symbolically; 
• an ability to integrate knowledge from multiple perspectives; 
• an ability to critique and/or create artistic works; 
• a knowledge of the complexity and diversity of the human experience;  
•  a knowledge of the complexity and diversity of the natural world;  
• a depth of understanding in at least one field; and 
• a capacity to examine critically the relationship between humans and technologies. 

Graduation Requirements

All students must complete thirty-three and a half semester course units (33.5), including all requirements specified for their chosen major(s), and a curriculum of general education requirements specific to their year of matriculation. Also required are a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) overall and in at least one major, based on St. Lawrence University courses only. A 2.0 GPA is also required in any other declared majors or minors. These requirements are ordinarily earned in four academic years. The normal course load is four units per semester except for an additional half unit as required by the First-Year Program during the two semesters of the first year. In addition, students should be aware that they may need to take an additional half unit in one semester to reach the required 33.5 units. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they satisfy the 33.5 semester course units required. Each full unit is equivalent to 3.6 semester hours. 

All students declare a major by the end of the sophomore year. In addition to the major, students must successfully complete a curriculum of the First-Year Program requirement, general education requirements, and the writing proficiency requirement as detailed below. 

Students are required to complete at least one unit from each of the following perspectives:  

A. First-Year Experience (FYE) / First-Year Seminar

In addition to three other courses drawn from the general curriculum a, students in their first semester enroll in a combined academic and residential program that emphasizes critical thinking and active student participation in both the classroom and the residence, called the First-Year Experience (FYE). The FYE consists of four parts: 

1. An interdisciplinary course focused on both contemporary issues and enduring questions. 
2. An emphasis on communications skills, in particular writing, speaking, attentive reading and research and information literacy. 
3. An advising system that ensures systematic and supportive involvement of First Year Program faculty, Orientation Leaders, Career Services staff, Residential Coordinators, Community Assistants, Athletic staff and Academic Advising staff. 
4. A residential college system wherein each first-year residence houses students enrolled in the same section of the FYE course, with the goal of developing integrated living and learning communities.  

In the second semester of the first year, students continue to develop their research, writing and oral communication skills in one of approximately 30 research-oriented First-Year Seminars (FYS). Students will register for their FYS course at the same time they register for their other spring courses. In the FYS, the writing and speaking process is extended by a more direct emphasis on research skills and more explicit instruction in research, as well as continuing to develop the writing and speaking skills from the fall. 

The FYE and FYS function as an introductory writing and speaking course in the fall and a research oriented course in the spring. 

Because of the importance of the FYE and FYS in preparing students for success at St. Lawrence and beyond, withdrawal from those courses is not permitted, nor may FYE or FYS courses be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

 Students who fail the FYE in the fall must complete alternative coursework (a speaking intensive course and a writing intensive course). Students who fail the FYS must retake the FYS in their sophomore year.

FYE courses do not count for department or program credit; they cannot be used to fulfill other general education requirements. FYS courses may count for department or program credit and may be used to fulfill other general education requirements.  

B. The Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Natural Sciences

Students are required to complete at least one unit from each of the following perspectives: The Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Natural Sciences. Courses fulfilling this requirement need to be from different departments and only one course may be from the student’s major. FYS courses can be used to fulfill this requirement, but FYE courses cannot. The instructor of record designates the perspective of her/his course using the guideline that at least 75 percent of the course’s content achieves the learning goals for The Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, or Natural Sciences, as described below (NOT All courses have to fulfill this requirement and be designated as ARTS, SS, HUM, or NSM-L):

1. The Arts (ARTS): Courses have primary learning goals in which students develop: 
   • an enhanced awareness of the process of artistic production through making works of art; and/or 
   • an understanding of the diverse ways to interpret and analyze works of art. 
2. Social Sciences (SS): Courses have primary learning goals in which students develop: 
   • an enhanced awareness of the diverse ways in which economic, political, and social institutions can be organized; and/or 
   • an understanding of the various ways in which evidence about social structures and interactions is acquired and handled; and/or 
   • an understanding of how social science knowledge is gained through the formulation, testing, and reformulation of theories and hypotheses. 
3. Humanities (HU): Courses have primary learning goals in which students develop: 
   • an enhanced awareness of the variety of ways humans understand, signify, and make meaning of their lives; and/or 
   • an enhanced awareness of how cultures and the interpretations of cultures change over time. 
4. Natural Science with Lab (NS-L): Courses have primary learning goals in which students develop: 
   • an understanding of the physical, chemical, biological, and/or behavioral phenomena of the natural world and, insofar as possible, an ability to relate them to everyday experience; and 
   • a theoretical and quantitative understanding of the processes underlying the physical, chemical, biological, and/or behavioral phenomena of the natural world; and 
   • an understanding of how scientific knowledge of the natural world is obtained and revised through hypothesis testing using experimental and/or observational methodologies. 

C1. Human Diversity, Culture, and Communication (For Students Who Matriculated Before Fall 2026)

All students are required to complete one course designated ‘DIV-13,’ and complete:  

• One course approved for diversity credit (DIV13) or 
• One course in a foreign language (LANG); or 
• An off-campus program with required reflection, approved for diversity credit by the CIIS Committee. 

C2. Human Diversity, Culture, and Communication (For Students Matriculating in Fall 2026 and Beyond.)

All students are required to complete one course designated ‘DIV-R,’ and complete:  

• One course approved for diversity credit (DIV13 or DIV-R) or 
• One course in a foreign language (LANG); or 
• An off-campus program with required reflection, approved for diversity credit by the CIIS Committee. 

The Academic Affairs committee will approve courses for DIV-R credit. Courses that fulfill the DIV-R requirement may also fulfill other general education requirements. FYS courses may be approved for DIV-R, DIV13, or LANG credit; FYP courses cannot. DIV-R courses are at least one unit and include primary learning goals in which students develop: 

1. an understanding of the nature and significance of diversity within and among groups; and 
2. an understanding of the dynamics of power and justice within and/or among groups or societies; and 
3. a capacity for critical self-reflection on social location, including how social location shapes human interactions; and 
4. an understanding of the causes and harmful consequences of racism in a discipline and in society, and where students explore ways in which racism has been or can be disrupted. 

The Academic Affairs committee will approve courses for DIV13 credit. Courses that fulfill the DIV13 requirement may also fulfill other general education requirements. FYS courses may be approved for DIV13 or LANG credit; FYP courses cannot. DIV13 courses are at least one unit and include primary learning goals in which students develop:  

1. an understanding of the nature and significance of diversity within and among groups; and 
2. an understanding of the dynamics of power and justice within and/or among groups or societies; and 
3. a capacity for critical self-reflection on social location, including how social location shapes human interactions. 

The Academic Affairs committee will approve courses for LANG credit. Courses that fulfill the LANG requirement may also fulfill other general education requirements. LANG courses are at least one unit and include primary learning goals in which students:  

1. learn the skills necessary for communication in another language: reading, listening, writing and speaking; and
2. are introduced to the different cultures in which these languages are employed; and
3. are exposed to global diversity and encouraged to develop a critical perspective on their own cultural practices.

D. Quantitative Logic & Reasoning (QLR)

Students are required to complete at least one unit that meets the learning goals of either quantitative reasoning or logical reasoning. Courses that fulfill the QLR requirement may also fulfill other general education requirements. FYS courses may be approved for QLR credit; FYP courses cannot.  

The Academic Affairs Committee will approve courses for QLR credit using the following guidelines:  

1. Quantitative Reasoning Courses have primary learning goals in which students, through multiple opportunities and classroom instruction, develop their abilities to: 
   • address questions by examining quantitative evidence using appropriate methods of analysis and evaluation; and 
   • explain their conclusions and the quantitative methods they used in developing their reasoning.  
2. Logical Reasoning Courses have as the primary learning goals that students develop: 
   • an understanding of deductive and/or inductive logic; and 
   • an understanding of the methods of determining the reliability of these types of 

E. Environmental Literacy

Students are required to complete at least one unit that meets the learning goals of environmental literacy courses. Courses that fulfill the EL requirement may also fulfill other general education requirements. FYS courses may be approved for EL credit; FYP courses cannot.  

The Academic Affairs Committee will approve courses for EL credit. EL courses are at least one unit and at least 50 percent of the course’s content must achieve the learning goals for Environmental Literacy, as described below: 

1. Environmental Literacy Courses have primary learning goals in which students, through multiple opportunities and classroom instruction, develop: 
   • a recognition of the consequences of human activities on natural systems; and/or 
   • an awareness of the cultural, economic, and political forces that affect environmental policies; and/or
   • an understanding of natural systems and/or the impacts they can have on the environment, human life, health, and welfare. 

F. Writing Proficiency Requirement

To be eligible for graduation, all St. Lawrence students must demonstrate throughout their college careers the ability to write prose that their professors judge to be proficient. 

1. Each semester when reporting grades, faculty members will submit a WP (Writing Proficiency) concern and a writing sample to the Academic Advising Office for any students who have not shown satisfactory writing skills. Students who receive one WP notation will receive an email from the Academic Advising office outlining writing support programs. 
2. Students who receive a second WP concern must either: 
   • pass ND 207, a .5-unit College Writing Workshop course within the next two semesters, or 
   • satisfactorily fulfill a plan for writing improvement as specified by the director of the WORD Studio. The student’s advisor also will be notified of the two WP concern and of the plan for improvement. Any student who does not develop and begin working on a plan for writing improvement in the semester following receipt of the second WP concern will receive an advising hold and be unable to register. That student must meet with the Executive Director for Advising, Retention, and Student Success to agree on a plan for writing improvement to be carried out in the upcoming semester. Any student who earns three or more WP concerns must take and pass the .5-unit College Writing Workshop course. If the student has already taken this course, they must create and execute a new plan for writing improvement with the Director of the WORD Studio. 
3. The WP concerns are monitored by the Registrar’s Office and the Academic Advising Office and do not appear on a student’s official transcript. 
4. Two or more unresolved WP concerns will prevent a student from graduating. 

G. Major Requirements

All students are expected to complete a concentrated field of study referred to as the major, which requires no fewer than eight semester unit courses. Courses counting toward the student’s major completion cannot be taken on a pass/fail basis after the major has been declared. Students’ programs in the junior and senior years are arranged in consultation with their academic advisor(s) and the chair(s) of their major department(s)/program(s). Change of the major may be made only with the consent of the chair and the student’s advisor for the new major.