Academics
Virginia Wesleyan offers majors in a wider range of fields than many small liberal arts colleges, ranging from traditional liberal arts programs to more pre-professional programs. Students at Virginia Wesleyan may major in:
- American Studies
- Art
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Classical Studies
- Communications
- Computer Science
- Criminal Justice
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- English
- Environmental Studies
- French
- German
- Health and Human Services
- History
- International Studies
- Latin
- Mathematics
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Pre-engineering
- Psychology
- Recreation and Leisure Studies
- Religious Studies
- Social Sciences
- Social Studies
- Sociology
- Spanish
- Theatre
- Theatre and English
- Women's and Gender Studies
Students at Virginia Wesleyan benefit from the individualized attention and close mentoring relationships typical of small liberal arts colleges, developed through a number of distinctive programs. Each first-year student at Virginia Wesleyan enrolls in a First-Year Seminar that focuses on intensive exploration of a specialized topic, in a class no larger than fifteen students. Another recognized feature of the academic program at the college is its Winter Session, a three-week term between the fall and spring semesters that offers innovative and experimental courses, including travel courses to locations ranging from Belize to New Zealand. Students may also participate in the Honors and Scholars Program and the PORTfolio Program, which promotes the exploration of the liberal arts through real-world applications.
The college has recently begun a major commitment to making Living & Learning Communities available to first-year students. In these communities, groups of fifteen first-year students, all of whom live in the same residence hall, immerse themselves in intensive study of a topic of mutual interest, dedicating two of their first-semester courses to that subject. The fact that the students in each community live in the same residence hall allows for opportunity to integrate these studies more thoroughly into the fabric of campus life, providing for group activities, external speakers, and out-of-class activities focused on the chosen topic. Recent and current topics of Living & Learning Communities include American Politics, Women in Science, and the Environment.
The college has also begun a transition from a 3 credit system to a 4 credit system. Under the old system, the students participated in 3 hours of one class per week totaling 5 classes for a total of 15 credit hours per semester. This system was amended in Fall 2011 to include an extra hour per class and to remove one class from the work load. This change was made as a hope for improvement in individual class experience. With one less class for the students schedule, the students could put more focus into 4 classes. Professors are given discretion as to how to add the 4th hour. The 4th hour ranges from extended class time to outer class projects.
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Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)