Academic Policies
General Education, Writing and Portfolio Requirements
Manhattanville College is a liberal arts institution whose philosophy is to offer students a sound general education, while allowing them to develop a depth of knowledge in two fields: the major and the minor. Manhattanville students are expected to be well-rounded people with knowledge of many subjects with highly developed analytical and research skills who express themselves in writing clearly and effectively. All students, regardless of major, must take a certain number of broad-based courses in a variety of disciplines. These are called “distribution courses”.
The College requires all students to take at least 6 credits in four of the five following areas:
- Humanities;
- Social Sciences;
- Math, Science and Computer Science;
- Fine and Performing Arts; and
- Foreign Languages.
One cannot simply take courses in one’s major field; in fact, the most important major courses should be reserved for your third and fourth years in order to take them as close as possible to the date of graduation.
In order to assure that students progress toward these goals, Manhattanville provides each student with an Academic Advisor, a faculty member with whom the student is expected to meet regularly to discuss all issues affecting academic performances and goals. The advisor for first-year students is the “preceptor”, the teacher of the required freshman Preceptorial. The preceptor helps the student define educational goals and develop a program of study for both semesters of the first year. Transfer students are assigned an advisor in their chosen major area of study. The Academic Advisor is a member of the faculty who:
- gives advice on possible courses of study;
- approves courses for the semester and assists with registration and adding or dropping any courses;
- helps one choose, change or solidify one’s major, minor and program of study; and,
- assists in developing the Manhattanville Portfolio.