Information About Clusters
Clusters are sets of related courses. Each Cluster contains a minimum of twelve credits of coursework, which is the equivalent, in most cases, to three courses. Each Cluster falls within one of the three academic divisions: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Engineering. Beginning with those admitted to the Class of 2000, students will be expected to complete a formal set of courses in each of these three divisions: a major, a minor, or a Cluster.
Course credit granted through the Advanced Placement program, unless specified as acceptable in the Cluster description, may not be used towards any Cluster.
Only courses taken at the University of Rochester can be used to fulfill cluster requirements. Courses completed on Study Abroad programs, in general, are considered to be transfer courses and therefore do not count toward any Clusters. Exceptions are sometimes made for year-long programs. Consult an advisor in the Center for Study Abroad and Interdepartmental Programs.
Transfer students should refer to their Transfer Credit Information Form or consult with an advisor in the Center for Academic Support to determine how many clusters they need to complete.
The average grade within the cluster must be C or better.
Upper-level writing courses may count toward Clusters as well as toward the writing requirement.
A primary writing course may count toward a Cluster as well as toward the writing requirement.
Students who complete one of the professionally accredited Engineering concentrations (i.e., Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering) need to complete only one Cluster outside the area of the major.
Students are not permitted to use the same course to fulfill the
requirements of two different Clusters.
No more than one course in a cluster may be used toward a concentration or minor being used to fulfill a divisional requirement.
Students are permitted to satisfy only one distributional area with offerings from any single department or program.
Over 225 approved
Clusters exist. Even so, students who wish to design their own clusters
may so do. Please contact the Center for Study Abroad and
Interdepartmental Programs in Lattimore 206 for more information.
For more information about any particular Cluster or to propose a new Cluster within one department, please contact that department.
If a department wishes to add, delete or modify a cluster, it should submit the changes in writing to the Curriculum Committee, in care of the Dean's Office, Lattimore 317.
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Last modified: 5/1/97
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