Course Requirements
All students except Independent Scholars are required to elect four full courses each semester and may elect an additional half course. The election of a half course in addition to the normal program is at the discretion of the student and without special permission. A student may not elect more than one-half course in any semester except by consent of the class dean and the departments concerned. In such cases the student’s program will be three full courses and two half courses. Half courses are not normally included in the 32-course requirement for graduation.
A student may combine two half courses to be counted as equivalent to a full course if (1) the student completes 4.5 courses in one semester and 3.5 courses in a subsequent semester, and the two halves match in a manner designated by the offering department, and with permission of the academic advisor; or (2) the halves match within the same semester in a manner designated by the offering department, and with permission of the academic advisor and the class dean. No more than four half courses may be so combined for credit toward the degree.
In exceptional cases a student may, with the permission of both the student’s academic advisor and class dean, take five full courses for credit during a given semester. Such permission is normally granted only to students of demonstrated superior academic ability, responsibility, and will. Fifth courses cannot be used to accelerate graduation. On occasion, a student who has failed a course may be permitted to take a fifth course in a given semester if, in the judgment of the Committee on Academic Standing, this additional work can be undertaken without prejudice to the student’s regular program. Students may only retake a course for which they have received a failing grade or from which they have withdrawn in a prior semester.
A student who by failing a course incurs a deficiency in the number of courses required for normal progress toward graduation is usually expected to make up that course deficiency by taking a three- or four-semester hour course at another approved institution during the summer prior to the first semester of the next academic year and no later than the semester prior to the student’s last semester at Amherst.
Students may not add courses after the last day of add/drop at the beginning of each semester or drop courses after this date except as follows:
In any semester prior to the final year, a student who experiences severe academic difficulty and has exhausted all academic resources (e.g., met with professors during office hours, received tutoring, met with class deans, etc.), may be allowed to withdraw from a course without penalty and graduate with 31 courses. This exception may be invoked only once, and requires permission of the instructor, advisor and class dean. The deadline for withdrawal requests is the end of the tenth week of the semester.
Further exceptions shall be made for disabling medical reasons or for reason of grave personal emergencies, and shall be made by the class dean.
All course deficiencies must normally be made up prior to the first semester of the final year, except those arising in the final year, in which case they must be made up prior to graduation. All make-up courses must be approved in advance by the registrar.
Courses taken by a student after withdrawing from Amherst College, as part of a graduate or professional program in which that student is enrolled, are not applicable toward an Amherst College undergraduate degree.