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Curriculum and Learning Resources
Study Abroad
Exchange Students
Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations
Cooperative Academic Programs
Independent Study Courses
Summer Reading or Research Courses
Critical Inquiry Seminar
Physical Education
General Education Program
Student Records and Grades
Grade-Point Average
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Curriculum and Learning Resources |
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Twenty-three academic departments and 17 special programs offer 41 majors in the
natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts.
The College offers an average of 550 courses each semester. In addition, approximately 900 other classes are
available each semester at the other Claremont Colleges. The average class size at Pomona is 14 students.
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Study Abroad |
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Opportunities to
study abroad are an important feature of Pomona's academic
program, and nearly one-half of the student body participates. The
College sponsors 40 programs in 26 countries. Students may petition
to have a non-Pomona program approved for study in regions where
Pomona programs do not already exist. Qualified students may study
abroad during the second semester of their sophomore year, as juniors,
or during the first semester of their senior year. Students who
study abroad are charged normal Pomona College tuition, and room
and board. Students who receive financial aid normally receive their
regular assistance while participating in a study abroad program.
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Exchange Students |
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Pomona students may study as exchange students for one semester at Colby, Smith, Spelman, or Swarthmore
colleges. Other special programs and internships may be designed with the approval of the appropriate faculty
committee.
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Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations
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The
Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages is an important focus of international education
at Pomona College. The center is a residence hall with an academic
program that provides students with formal and informal opportunities
to improve or maintain foreign-language skills and become acquainted
with other cultures. The staff of the center includes six language
residents who are native speakers of French, German, Japanese, Mandarin
Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. The Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages
also sponsors international film series and colloquia hosted by
the International Relations Department. In addition, the Language
Lunch Tables program allows students, faculty, and staff of Pomona
College the opportunity to converse in more than 20 languages each
week. Fluency in a language is not a requirement for participation,
so long as an effort is made to communicate in the language of the
table.
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Cooperative Academic Programs
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Qualified students may receive the Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College and a Bachelor of Science degree
from the California Institute of Technology or Washington University in St. Louis after a combined five-year
program. After completing their first three years here at Pomona, students pursuing this program will be accepted
at Caltech or Washington University under an expedited procedure less elaborate than admission as a transfer student. Students must be recommended by Pomona and must have the requisite GPA in science and mathematics courses at Pomona. Students interested in this program should contact Professor Catalin Mitescu in the Physics
Department at (909) 621-8534. Both Claremont McKenna College and the University of Southern California operate semester programs in Washington D.C. The programs are open to Pomona students and focus on
internships as a tool for exposing students to the American political process. Candidates selected for the programs pay regular tuition to Pomona College. In the case of the Claremont McKenna program, students pay their own room and board whereas the University of Southern California charges an additional fee to house students in the
Washington House.
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Independent Study Courses |
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The College recognizes that all learning is ultimately independent. For this reason, study outside the regular
curriculum is strongly encouraged at Pomona. Independent study credit work can be completed with approval of
department chairs and/or the Curriculum Committee. Pomona students may enroll in one such course per semester
in their first and sophomore years, and two per semester in their junior and senior years.
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Summer Reading or Research Courses
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Some departments offer students the opportunity to complete reading or research courses independently during
summer vacations. Students may not enroll in more than one course per summer, and must have a cumulative GPA
of 7.5 on a 12 point scale and meet all other criteria that a department may set. All papers are due the first day of
classes of the fall semester, and all examinations must be taken during the first week of the semester.
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Critical Inquiry Seminar
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First-year students enroll in an interdisciplinary critical inquiry seminar
during their first semester that is designed to introduce them to a small,
seminar-style learning environment and expectations for college-level writing.
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Physical Education |
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Students are required to complete one physical education activity with a passing grade during their first year at
Pomona.
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General Education Program |
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The Pomona College curriculum is designed to assure a depth of knowledge while
remaining flexible enough to meet individual student needs. All students must
take a physical education activity, an intermediate-level foreign language and
one course from each of the College’s Breadth of Study fields. These fields are:
creative expression; social institutions and human behavior; history, values,
ethics and cultural studies; physical and biological sciences; mathematical
reasoning.
In order to graduate, students must complete 32 courses, 30 of which must be
taken while enrolled at Pomona College. Students declare a major at the end of
their sophomore year so they will have ample time to complete major
requirements. Courses taken at the other Claremont Colleges are counted toward
the total course requirement, but individual majors may have some restrictions
on cross-enrollment. Students should consult with their advisors if they have
any questions about whether or not a course will be accepted as meeting a major
course requirement.
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Student Records and Grades
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At the end of each semester, grades are sent to every student and, if the student requests it, to his or her parents.
Notification will always be sent to parents in the event of official College action for academic deficiencies or other
actions that could have a substantial impact on a student's academic career. The College's actions with respect to
sharing information are regulated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The act establishes
students' rights to inspect their educational records, which includes all records except parent(s) financial
statements, waived letters of recommendation, and the records maintained by the Office of Student Affairs and the
Student Health Services.
The College will not disclose information from a student's educational record without the written consent of the
student, except to other College officials with a legitimate educational interest and to parents of an eligible student
who claim the student as dependent for tax purposes. Only directory information that is already public may be
freely disclosed.
It is important to distinguish between a parent's "right" to know and the College's
"obligation" to inform. Our philosophy of dealing directly with students means that the College will
inform a parent only if there is or may be a change in the student's enrollment status, or if there is a situation that
threatens the safety or security of a student.
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Grade-Point Average |
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Each student must earn a grade-point average (GPA) of "C" (6.0) to remain in good academic standing
and be eligible for graduation. The GPA is the total number of grade points earned, divided by the number of
courses taken in which a letter (number) grade has been assigned. The following scale is used:
| 12 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
D+ |
D |
D- |
F |
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