Core Requirement #2.7.1 (Program Length)

The Institution offers one or more degree programs based on at least 60 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the associate level; at least 120 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the baccalaureate level; or at least 30 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the post-baccalaureate, graduate, or professional level. The institution provides a written justification and rationale for program equivalency.

Compliance Certification

The College of William and Mary is in compliance with this requirement.

Explanation

All of The College's degree programs meet or exceed the credit hours indicated in the requirement.

The College offers degrees at the bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional levels. The College of Arts and Sciences offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The School of Business offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The School of Education offers master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. The School of Law offers a doctoral and the LL.M. American Legal System degree.

A review of the College of William and Mary 2004-2005 Course Catalog shows that all of the baccalaureate degrees require 120 credit hours for completion. Credit hour and course requirements for the programs are available in print and on the Web in the undergraduate catalog and specifically, the sections entitled "Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees" and "Degree Requirements for School of Business Administration" (page 3, the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements).

The College of Arts and Sciences offers graduate degrees as follow: master's degrees in 20 disciplines and doctoral degrees in 11 disciplines. Each of master's degree programs requires at least 24 semester hours of graduate coursework plus a thesis or its equivalent, of which at least 12 must be earned in courses numbered 600 or above. The Master of Arts degree requires successful completion and defense of a thesis. The Master of Science degree in some programs requires a thesis, while in others the thesis is optional. Where it is optional, the M.S. degree requires passing a qualifying examination. Both M.A. and M.S. degrees require an examination covering the entire field of study. The Master of Public Policy requires full-time registration for four semesters and a total of 49 semester hours. All master's degrees require at least a minimum 3.0 grade point average. (See Requirements for Arts and Sciences Master's Degrees.)

The 2004-2005 Graduate Arts and Sciences Program Catalog notes that all Arts and Sciences doctoral programs require a minimum of three years of graduate study beyond the baccalaureate. A student must spend at least one academic year in continuous residence as a full-time student at the College of William and Mary after satisfying the requirements for the M.A. or M.S. degree. While the minimum grade-point requirement varies by program, all programs require at least an overall minimum average of 3.0. See Requirements for Arts and Sciences Doctoral Degrees.

The School of Business offers master's degrees in business administration (M.B.A.) through full-time, evening (part-time), and Executive M.B.A. program formats, and a full-time Master of Accounting (MAC) degree. Requirements for the successful completion of all graduate programs in the School of Business Administration include a graduating GPA of at least 2.75.

The full-time M.B.A. program consists of four semesters over a two-year period comprising 64 credit hours. The first year of the full-time program consists of 31 credit hours of required courses, referred to as the "core," and three credit hours of electives. At the end of the first year, students are strongly encouraged to participate in an internship to further their knowledge of the business community. The second year of the full-time program, referred to as the "Acceleration Year," consists of 30 credit hours. Included in the required courses are a four and one-half hour Field Consultancy Program or participation in the Batten Fund Program, a three hour Global Competitive Strategy, and a choice of two Career Acceleration Modules (CAM), each of which is six credit hours. The Field Consultancy Program consists of student teams that research and propose solutions to real business problems from client companies. Each student project team works under the guidance of a faculty member and an Executive (Business) Partner to address real management issues and to develop a deeper understanding of the interdependence of functional areas and to strengthen and refine teamwork and communication skills. The Batten Fund offers students the opportunity to manage a stock portfolio in real-time.

The evening M.B.A. Program consists of 54 credit hours, 39 of which are required courses. The program is designed so that a student can finish the course requirements in three and a half years taking two courses per semester, including the summer semester. With the exception of the Field Consultancy or Batten Fund programs, evening M.B.A. students receive the same "core" courses as the full-time students.

The William and Mary Executive M.B.A. program is designed to help mid-level and executive management professionals maintain an active career while earning an M.B.A. degree. The Executive M.B.A. program is a 20-month academic program with classes entering only in January. There are two sections, one conducted in Williamsburg and the other offered in Reston, Virginia. Instructors who teach in both sections are full-time William and Mary faculty. Classes are held in Williamsburg on alternating Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. In Reston, classes are held on alternating Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. In addition, there are three residency weeks held at the beginning of the first, third and fourth semesters which include five full days of class work. Between the fourth and fifth semester there is a 12-day international study residency that generally includes two countries. Incorporated in this international experience are academic presentations, meetings with government officials, and several visits with corporate executives. This international residency is a part of the required course in the program.

The Executive M.B.A. program operates over five semesters, including two summers. There are 48 credit hours in the program. Required classes include 42 credit hours in the "lock step" programmatic format. Students select the elective classes during the final semester of the program.

In addition to the Master's degree in Business Administration (M.B.A.), the William and Mary School of Business Administration offers a two-semester, full-time Master of Accounting (MAC) degree. All students are required to complete 30 credit hours, with 15 of those hours comprising the "universal core." For those students entering the program without Cost Accounting, Auditing, or Federal Taxation, their core expands to include those courses for a total of up to 24 "core" hours. The remaining hours are completed with electives either in the School of Business Administration or, with instructor permission, in the Marshall-Wythe School of Law or the Computer Science Department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Students may elect an emphasis in Taxation. To earn the designation, students must complete 12 hours of tax courses, drawing from both the Law School and the School of Business Administration.

The School of Education offers the following graduate programs: Master of Education (M.Ed.) in five fields, a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) in specialization areas, an educational specialist (Ed.S.) in one field, and doctoral degrees (Ed.D. and Ph.D.) in two programs. Depending on the specialization, the M.A.Ed. requires between 35 credits and 45 credits, which include culminating experiences of a research project and a field collaboration project. The M.Ed. requires a minimum of 30 credits, and culminating experiences of internships and in one case, a master's project. The M.A.Ed. programs in Curriculum and Instruction are based on a cohort concept, requiring full-time, four-semester matriculation. The Ed.S. in School Psychology requires 60 credits beyond the bachelor's degree with as many as 45 hours being transferred from a master's degree program and other graduate study as long as all program requirements are met.

The degrees of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) and (Ph.D.) are offered in two programs: Counselor Education and Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership. Counselor Education requires 96-105 credits beyond the bachelor's degree and may include up to 48 credits earned toward the master's degree. Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership requires a minimum of 48 credits beyond the master's degree for the Ed.D. and 69 credits for the Ph.D. The School of Education: Graduate Programs 2004-2005 notes the following requirements:

  1. A candidate for a doctoral degree must submit and defend a dissertation to his/her Dissertation Committee. Dissertation research for the Ed.D. degree must build upon prior scholarship and theory and apply research findings to illuminate and enhance educational policy and practice. Dissertation research for the Ph.D. should make an original contribution to educational knowledge and theory in a manner that will impact educational practice.
  2. Each candidate must defend his/her dissertation in a public forum. All committee members must attend the defense. A unanimous approval of the committee members is required for approval of the dissertation at the defense. Following successful defense, and no less than two weeks prior to commencement, two copies of the final approved dissertation must be delivered to the administrative office in the Swem Library for binding and microfilming.

The School of Law offers the Juris Doctor and the Master of Laws degrees. The School of Law Academic Programs Catalog (online) indicates that the juris doctor degree requires at a minimum the following: residence at the Law School for three academic years with enrollment in 10 to 18 hours per semester; 86 semester hours of credits; 75% of the credit hours by a William and Mary Law School letter grade; a 1.8 cumulative grade point average in the first year and no less than a 2.0 cumulative average at the end of each successive year; and successfully complete all required coursework.

The Law School also offers a Master of Laws in the American Legal System. This program serves international students who hold law degrees from foreign institutions. The Master of Laws Academic Program describes the degree requirements as follows: attend classes on the American legal system during the week prior to the beginning of the fall semester; be in residence at the Law School as a full-time student for two semesters while earning a minimum of 24 credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0; earn at least 15 credit hours in Law School courses; up to nine credit hours, if approved by the director of the program and the course instructor, may be taken in other William and Mary schools and departments; and from three to six credit hours may be earned for graduate legal research and writing projects supervised by a member of the law faculty.

The School of Marine Sciences offers both M.S. and Ph.D degrees. All students in the School must successfully complete all core class requirements with at least a B- and be full time students in good standing for at least two semesters. Additional requirements for the Master of Marine Science program are as follows:

  1. All students must complete 30 semester hours of graduate coursework plus six credit hours of thesis. Nine credit hours must be earned in courses numbered 550 or above.
  2. In order to be admitted to candidacy, students must achieve a grade point average of B or better, averaged over all courses taken for credit.
  3. Completion of the M.S. degree requires presentation of a seminar on the thesis topic, successful defense of the thesis, and acceptance of the thesis by the Advisory Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies. All requirements for the degree must be completed within three calendar years after commencing graduate study unless a time extension has been granted by the Academic Status and Degrees Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

The School of Marine Science Graduate Catalog notes that Ph.D. students must fulfill the residency requirement and complete a minimum of three years beyond the baccalaureate. Additional requirements for the Ph.D are as follows:

  1. All students must complete at least 42 credit hours of coursework, of which at least 15 credit hours must be earned in courses numbered 550 or above and which includes at least 9 but not more than 12 dissertation credits. Students must achieve a grade point average of B or better averaged over all courses taken for credit and a B- or better in all core classes required for the degree. Credits more than seven years old and earned in the program in which the student is currently enrolled can not be used to fulfill degree requirements.
  2. Candidates for the Ph.D. must submit a dissertation based on original research and constituting a contribution to scholarly knowledge.
  3. All requirements for the degree must be completed within 4 years for students with a M.S. degree from SMS/VIMS, 5 years for a student entering with a M.S. degree from another institution, and 6 years for students lacking a M.S. degree. Requests for extension beyond the above limits must be approved by the Academic Status and Degrees Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

All of the College's degree programs provide written policies that govern equivalencies. These policies pertain to credit by examination, placement, and transfer. The policy for the undergraduate program is written in the section entitled Placement, Credit by Examination, and Transfer Credit in the College of William and Mary 2004-2005 Course Catalog. The policy for Arts and Sciences Graduate Programs is in the 2004-2005 Graduate Arts and Sciences Program Catalog in the section entitled "Transfer of Graduate Credit." The Business School does not accept transfer credit for the M.B.A. programs. For the School of Education policy, please see "School of Education Transfer Credit." For the School of Law policy, please see "Credit for Non-Law School Courses" section of the "Academic Regulations for the Law School."

References