First-Year Experience
Shepherd University is committed to providing resources for our first-year students to help them acclimate to University life, enjoy academic success, and integrate into the University community. Several course options in the first semester offer students interdisciplinary learning experiences, close ties to a faculty mentor, a community of other students to support learning, and essential information to make the transition into University easier.
Learning Communities
Learning communities are designed to link courses that students need to enroll in as part of the general studies program. A cohort of students enroll in both courses, and professors teaching the courses work together to interface course material. In some cases, the two professors team-teach and are involved in both courses. Often, the professors work together outside of the classroom to form links in course material. Relevant field trips are also part of the learning community experience. Credits are awarded based on credits assigned to each course in the learning community.
First-Year Experience FYEX Courses
First-year orientation (FYEX 100)
First-year orientation for Athletics (FYEX 101)
Interest groups (FYEX 102)
See FYEX course descriptions for more information.
Independent Study Program
To encourage independent reading and the spirit of research, the faculty will admit, upon recommendation of academic advisors, properly qualified students as candidates for independent study.
University credit (determined at registration for course) of one to three semester hours will be allowed for independent programs on the recommendation of the study director with the approval of the department chair. Credit gained in independent study may not be substituted for required course work.
To receive credit for independent study, the student must fulfill the following requirements:
- Engage in reading and research as directed by the study director to supplement knowledge from sources not supplied by the courses taken in the major field.
- Submit to the department chair with the approval of the study director, not later than one week before the end of the semester, the original and two carbon copies of an acceptable research paper embodying the findings of the study.
- At the discretion of the department, pass an oral examination on the subject of the research paper before an examining committee consisting of a minimum of the study director, the department chair, the vice president for academic affairs, and another faculty member selected by the student, with the study director acting as chair. (When the department chair and the study director are the same person, another representative from the department will be named by the department chair.)
To be admitted to candidacy, a student must satisfy the following conditions:
- Have an overall average of 3.0 in not less than 80 semester hours attempted.
- Have an average of 3.0 in the major field or teaching field.
- Submit, through his or her advisor and study director to the chair of the department concerned, a research proposal together with an abstract of the proposal.
- Have application approved by the chair of the department.
It is suggested that independent study may be particularly desirable to some students as a summer project.
Honors Program
The Honors Program at Shepherd University is designed to provide a varied and stimulating curriculum to students who have demonstrated the ability and willingness to engage in intellectual challenges. Honors courses encourage critical thinking, in-depth analysis, and a greater level of student involvement. Most honors courses incorporate field trips to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore; honors courses have also included international trips as well as travel within the United States in conjunction with course work in history, literature, and culture.
Mission of the Honors Program
The mission of the Honors Program at Shepherd University is to create an academic environment in which gifted students can experience education in a dynamic and interactive way. Through seminars that promote active engagement in the subject area, independent research, student-centered curriculum, and innovative teaching techniques, students in the Honors Program have the opportunity to become more self-directed in their learning. In the Honors Program, education does not simply take place in the classroom or through texts. Students become directly involved in the area of study through field trips, one-to-one interaction with their professors and classmates, and a variety of activities outside the classroom, including international and domestic travel. In addition to expanding the students’ academic horizons, the Honors Program encourages student leadership and service to the community. The aim is to create graduates of Shepherd University’s Honors Program who are independent thinkers, life long learners, and responsible, socially conscious citizens. Honors students will leave Shepherd equipped to attend the finest graduate schools in the country and to be successful as solid contributors in their chosen professional careers.
Honors Academic Requirements
Admissions Requirements
Approximately 40 students are selected each year to enter the Honors Program. Admission to the program typically requires a high school grade point average of 3.6 or above. Students must also have a combined SAT score of 1200 or better or, if the student has taken the ACT for admission, a 27 or above is usually required. Lower SAT/ACT scores may be offset by an outstanding GPA and vice versa. During the application process, students will also provide a writing sample.
Required Honors Courses
In order to remain in the Honors Program, students must maintain an overall 3.0 GPA and a 3.0 GPA in Honors courses. Students must also participate in all required Honors courses. During the first year, Honors students must participate in the Honors core: Honors Written English and Honors History of Civilization. This Honors learning community introduces first year Honors students to major types of expository and critical writing in conjunction with the study of Western civilization. Topics focus on philosophical thought throughout history with emphasis on changes in government, economics, arts, science, and literature. In their sophomore year, students participate in a second Honors Learning Community. Honors students may also choose Honors courses in a specific discipline or special topics courses. Honors sections of many general studies courses are often offered and have included Biology, Chemistry, World Literature, and Introduction to Music. In addition, Honors students must participate in at least one Honors Seminar. The topics of the seminars vary from semester to semester, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary explorations of provocative and timely topics. In the past, these courses have included analysis of environmental issues; an exploration of the arts through theater, fine art, music, and dance; and the study of the history and culture of regions both within the United States and on an international level.
During the junior year, Honors students begin research toward a capstone project to be completed as a graduation requirement. After completing a required one-credit Honors Project Preparation class, each student chooses a mentor from the faculty and begins to formulate a reading list that would contribute to a capstone project proposal. In collaboration with his/her mentor, the student develops an original idea about the chosen topic and then analyzes the information using research to substantiate this idea. The final requirement is that the student must then present the project during an Honors Capstone Project Presentation session scheduled toward the end of each semester.
In order to graduate from the Honors Program, students must complete 27 hours of Honors courses including the required core courses (12 hours), one Honors Seminar (3 hours), the Honors Project Preparation class (1 hour), Directed Readings (3 hours), and the Honors Capstone Project (3 hours). All other Honors credits are acquired through electives.
Special Features of the Honors Program
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Honors Spring Orientation
The Honors Program spring orientation is an opportunity for students who have been accepted to the Honors Program for the fall to experience campus life firsthand. Students arrive on Thursday evening and attend a dinner where they meet current students, faculty members, advisory board members, and administrators. High school seniors attending the orientation are greeted by a “host” student, a current member of the Honors Program, with whom they stay overnight and attend classes on Friday. Time for socializing, touring campus facilities, and meeting professors is part of the orientation schedule.
Honors Conferences
Shepherd University maintains membership in the Southern Regional Honors Council and the National Collegiate Honors Council. Opportunities to present research, serve on student panels, and attend workshops at the yearly conferences of each organization are available to members in good standing in the Honors Program. A substantial portion of conference expenses are paid by the Honors Program when a student participates.
The Honors Advisory Board
The Honors Advisory Board consists of an elected faculty member from each school, the Honors director, a representative from Residence Life, past Honors directors, and four Honors student representatives. The board meets each month to discuss and evaluate the Honors Program, plan for new events, and collaborate on decisions about policy and procedures.
International Study
The Honors Program utilizes a variety of options for students to study abroad. Up to this point, international travel has been in conjunction with a particular course (i.e., a winter trip to Hungary after a fall course in Hungarian culture and history). The Honors Center works closely with the Modern Languages Department at Shepherd University to coordinate international study and travel. An Honors student who wishes to pursue an independent language course in a foreign country is encouraged to research the course of interest and submit a proposal to the Honors director and the Modern Language Department. This proposal should include an overview or syllabus of the class, the host college/university, and the credit hours expected. In some cases, depending on the rigor of the course work, the student may receive Honors credit for this class.
Shepherd University Honors Center
Martin Hall is the home of the Shepherd University Honors Center and is reserved for the work, recreation, and residence of Honors students. Martin Hall is the official Honors residence hall. Students in Martin share suite-style rooms with four people per suite. The Honors Program Office is situated on the first floor and houses a computer lab and lounge, which are open to all Honors students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for studying and socializing.
Honors Trips
Once a year students in the Honors Program travel to New York City. An Honors student favorite, the New York trip offers freedom to explore the Big Apple. The Honors Program provides transportation to and from New York and a discounted room rate. Participating students cover expenses for food, entertainment, and accommodations. From time to time, the Honors Program will also commission the use of a bus or van to take a day trip to any number of interesting places and events. Examples include the Renaissance Festival in Westminster, Maryland, and the Performing Arts Center at George Mason University.
Required Honors Courses
Honors First Year Core
This team-taught learning community introduces freshman honors students to major types of expository and critical writing in conjunction with the study of Western civilization. Topics focus on philosophical thought throughout history with emphasis on changes in government, economics, arts, science, and literature. Field trips include trips to Washington, New York, and Baltimore museums and theaters. Trips focus on the literary and historical connections of political thought and literary development. (HNRS 101.)
Directed Reading/Honors Capstone Project
After completing a proposal in the Directed Reading course, a candidate in Honors shall have one semester to complete the Honors Capstone Project, the final requirement for graduation from the Honors Program. The project topic should be chosen from within the candidate’s major or minor field of study. In many cases, the Honors Project will take the form of a thesis and include support of the thesis statement. Students may also opt to complete a project (this may be applicable for such majors as graphic design, etc.) A project must also have a proposal leading up to its completion. The thesis or project shall culminate in a formal presentation of research to an audience consisting of faculty, students, friends, and family. (488H, 489H.)
Scholars Program
The Scholars Program as Shepherd University is designed for high-performing upperclass and transfer students who desire Honors education but are not able to complete the full four-year Honors Program. Like the four-year Honors Program, the two-year Scholars Program provides a varied and stimulating curriculum to students who have demonstrated the ability and willingness to engage in intellectual challenges.
Scholars Program Requirements
Approximately 20 students are selected each year to enter the Scholars Program. To be considered for the program, a student must have earned at least 24 credits at Shepherd University or another accredited institution of higher learning (including accredited community colleges) and have earned a grade point average of 3.3 or above. Interested students must complete the Scholars Program application and provide a writing sample.
Required Honors Courses for the Scholars Program
In order to remain in the Scholars Program, students must maintain an overall 3.0 GPA and a 3.0 GPA in all Honors courses. Scholars Program students must participate in at least one Honors Seminar. The topics of the seminars vary from semester to semester, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary explorations of provocative and timely topics. During the junior year, students begin research toward a capstone project to be completed as a graduation requirement. After completing a required one-credit Honors Project Preparation class, each student chooses a mentor from the faculty and begins to formulate a reading list that would contribute to a capstone project proposal. In collaboration with his/her mentor, the student develops an original idea about the chosen topic and then analyzes the information using research to substantiate this idea. The final requirement is that the student must then present the project during an Honors Capstone Project Presentation session scheduled toward the end of the semester.
In order to graduate from the Scholars Program, students must complete 13 hours of Honors courses including one Honors Seminar (3 hours), the Honors Project Preparation class (1 hour), Honors Directed Readings (3 hours), and the Honors Capstone Project (3 hours). The three remaining honors credits are acquired through electives; students may choose among Honors courses in a specific discipline, a second Honors seminar, or an Honors section of a general studies course.
Shepherd offers a wide variety of study abroad opportunities: short-term study abroad courses (up to three weeks) led by Shepherd faculty, West Virginia University’s exchange programs for a semester or a year, or programs offered by affiliate study abroad providers for summer, semester, and year abroad programs. For non-Shepherd study abroad programs, students must have earned 30 credits (15 of them at Shepherd) and have a 2.5 grade point average.
The Study Abroad Office (www.shepherd.edu/university/studyabroad/) advises students about study abroad, coordinates non-Shepherd study abroad opportunities, and works with the Registrar’s Office and Financial Aid to facilitate the required forms for prior transfer credit approval and financial aid arrangements. Students should contact this office as early as possible to begin planning for their study abroad experience.
Washington Gateway
Shepherd University’s Washington Gateway program draws upon the resources of the nation’s capital and the University’s proximity to those resources. Committed to excellence, Shepherd University provides a series of organized, in-depth, academic, cultural, and career experiences in the political and information capital of both our nation and the entire world.
The Gateway Program provides a variety of lectures, workshops, seminars, and field trip opportunities in such a way that the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region becomes an exciting extension of the Shepherd experience.
The Washington Gateway includes five components:
- The Washington Semester at Shepherd University (see Experiential Education);
- Support for Experiential Education;
- Special course offerings;
- Seminars and lectures;
- Junior High Washington Gateway program.
Contact the Washington Gateway Office in Gardiner Hall for more information.
Washington Gateway Courses
Each semester, unique and exciting Washington Gateway courses are sponsored by Shepherd University academic departments. These specialized courses utilize approximately 20 to 50 percent of class time in the metropolitan area. In these courses, students may visit Washington and Baltimore with faculty to observe Congress and government at work, attend concerts and cultural events, study government policy, and more. Recent Gateway course topics have included Shakespeare; Opera; Literature and the Sexes; Therapeutic Recreation in the Metro Area; and Graphic Design.
Seminar/Lecture Program
The Washington Gateway supports Shepherd’s cultural arts programs in planning and coordinating various lectures and seminars relating to the metropolitan area. A number of well-known speakers and performers from the metropolitan area visit campus regularly to speak with students, faculty, and members of the community.
Junior High Washington Gateway Program
The Junior High Washington Gateway program at Shepherd University is designed to be an educational experience for West Virginia students entering the eighth grade. Using Shepherd’s campus and the resources of the metropolitan area, the Gateway program attempts to provide a supportive, learning environment that introduces students to University planning. Gateway’s primary intent is to motivate students who need the challenge into becoming better students and to “turn them on” to college.
The Washington Semester
The Washington Semester is a Washington Gateway program that allows a student to spend an entire semester working in Washington four days a week. The intern gets the opportunity to experience the world of work, face questions of real importance in business and national or international life, and give serious consideration to the choice of a career. The graduate then enters the job market as an applicant with demonstrated experience and references from work super-visors as well as academic advisors.
Who is Eligible: The Washington Semester is open to students from any major field. Half the 128 hours needed for graduation must be completed before the internship begins, with an overall GPA of 2.5. The student also must have completed at least nine credits in the major field or in the field most closely related to the internship, with a GPA of 2.5 in those courses. The Washington Semester is also available in the semester after the student completes all the requirements for graduation. The Washington Semester is now available to associate’s degree students in the semester after they complete all the requirements for the associate’s degree.
How it Works: The placement is tailored to the individual’s goals, interests, and skills. Interns may work in any of the branches of government, in private trade organizations, or with not-for-profit groups. There is a supervisor at the workplace who trains, directs, and evaluates the intern.
Interns commute to Washington four days a week, then spend the fifth day at Shepherd taking part in the interdisciplinary Washington Semester Seminar, open only to participants in the Washington Semester program. The fifth day also allows time for work on the seminar paper and for meetings with academic advisors.
The internship earns 12 credits; the seminar earns 3 credits. Separate letter grades are assigned to the internship and the seminar; a pass/fail option is not available. These credits are counted as electives or, with the approval of the department, as partial fulfillment of the requirements of the major field.
Cooperative Education or Co-op
Cooperative education offers the student the opportunity to integrate classroom learning and practical work experience with the added advantage of ongoing support and guidance from the Cooperative Education Office in the Student Affairs Office.
Student Benefits: Besides providing employment opportunities, cooperative education enables the student to gain invaluable pre-graduation experience in the career field; the opportunity, in many programs, to earn credit toward a degree; an opportunity to explore career interest; a permanent record of co-op experience on the student’s transcript; the opportunity to relate academic training to the real world of work; financial assistance with University expenses; increased confidence; and increased employability after graduation.
Student Eligibility: Students are required to have a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA. The Cooperative Education Office will not require an in-major GPA. Students must have earned at least 24 credits prior to participating in co-op. Six credit hours within their major must be completed prior to participation.
There is no minimum or maximum number placed on co-op participation. Each academic department will have the right to establish higher standards. Departmental approval is required for those students who do not meet the minimum qualification standards.
Application Procedure: Students must first complete a Co-op Application which is located at www.shepherd.edu/safweb/coop/coform.htm. This form also can be picked up in the Co-op Office which is located in the Student Affairs Office on the first floor of the Student Center. The Cooperative Education Office will assist students in finding assignments. All assignments must be approved by the academic department sponsoring the placement before the beginning of work. A learning agreement is signed by the department, employer, and student. Co-op students will be evaluated by an assigned faculty coordinator and the employer supervisor. A record of an approved co-op experience will be entered on the student’s transcript.
Program Flexibility: There are two co-op schedules. A parallel schedule enables the student to participate in a co-op (part-time) and attend classes as well. In an alternating schedule, the co-op experience (full-time) and class work alternates by semester. The co-op schedule is determined by the nature of the work, the employer’s needs, and the student’s academic schedule and flexibility.
Co-op for Credit: Shepherd’s co-op program is a cross-campus program. Many departments have integrated co-op into programs of study. Check with the director of cooperative education or academic chair in major to determine which programs are participating. Students earning credit for co-op may earn between 1 to 9 credit hours per experience depending on department policy and type of experience. Co-op is a multi-semester program and must be repeated at least twice before graduating. The co-op course is as follows (The xx represents department numbers that need to be inserted by the sponsoring department):
XX 392. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION (1-9)
Cooperative education allows students to acquire essential, practical skills by being exposed to the reality of the work world beyond the boundaries of campus. May be repeated for credit, but not in the same term. Students are required to have a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA. The Cooperative Education Office will not require an in-major GPA. Students must have earned at least 24 credits prior to participating in co-op. Six credit hours within their major must be completed prior to participation. There is no minimum or maximum number placed on co-op participation. Each academic department will have the right to establish higher standards. Departmental approval is required for those students who do not meet the minimum qualification standards.
Internship
A form of independent study that integrates classroom study with supervised work experiences, an internship enables students to acquire practical skills and to integrate the world of work with classroom knowledge. Although some interns do receive pay or subsistence benefits, the primary focus is upon the experience and the skills learned. An internship generally lasts no longer than a semester. Interns are not employees of the sponsoring company/organization. Since interns earn credit, students must enroll in an internship course and complete necessary academic work to earn a credit and a grade. An internship agreement is signed by on-site supervisor, faculty, and student. For more information, students should check with their advisor and/or department chair in their major field of study. The Career Center will assist students in finding internship sites.
XX 292. INTERNSHIP (1-6)
Practical experience in local, regional, and other organizations such as government offices, museums, arts agencies, social action groups, research laboratories, and private corporations/companies. Interns learn how to translate classroom theory and methods into professional skills and opportunities. Usually offered every term. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Must have sophomore class standing with minimum 2.5 overall GPA and prior approval by the academic department. Note: Departments may have additional prerequisites; refer to specific course listings.
Transcript Requests
Transcripts are released only upon written request from the student with the student’s signature and printed name plainly shown. E-mail requests cannot be accepted. A transcript may be requested from the: Office of the Registrar, P.O. Box 5000, 118 Ikenberry Hall, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25443-5000. For full details go to www.shepherd.edu/register/tranreq.html.
The first transcript EVER requested is free. The fee for each additional transcript is $5. Transcripts require a minimum of three working days for processing. Emergency transcripts are $15 each for 24-hour processing. Transcripts are sent first class mail. For FedEx, UPS, etc., you must include a prepaid, pre-addressed mailing envelope. All fees are subject to change.
Approximately a month from the date of graduation is needed before a final transcript may be issued. However, a student may request a letter of verification to confirm that requirements for graduation have been met. All financial obligations to Shepherd University must be reconciled before a transcript will be released; this includes the loan exit interview for all students who had a financial aid loan.
Faxed Transcripts
There must be a signed request by the student. This request may be faxed to 304-876-5136. Faxed transcripts are unofficial and the fee for each is $15. This payment may be presented as a check sent by mail, by credit card in the Cashier’s Office (304-876-5284), or by cash in the Office of the Registrar. Payment must be received before the transcript is faxed. In addition to providing the fax number the transcript is to be sent to, students must provide a phone number for contact in case of problems. |
