Overview

    Your course of studies in the University is divided into two parts. You begin by entering the three-year Liberal Arts Program of the College of Arts and Sciences  CAS). CAS undergraduate education not only prepares you for a specific specialization, but also gives you a well-rounded education that cultivates genuine intellectual discipline, a prerequisite to acquiring any specialized knowledge. After completing your undergraduate studies, you will move on to one of the Professional Schools or Institutes to pursue your chosen field of specialization, at the end of which¬—if you do well¬—you receive a master’s degree. The two-step educational process that the University provides arises from the conviction that a college student who immediately pursues a specialization without the solid grounding that a liberal education provides will be ill-prepared for the lifelong process of learning, as well as the premise that professional excellence today demands ever-increasing specialization no longer adequately met by a bachelor’s degree. At the end of your second year in the University, you will have chosen a field of specialization you want to pursue. There are seven Graduate Programs you can choose from: Communication, Education, Humanities, Industrial Economics, Information Technology, Management, and Political Economy. Each program is handled by either a School or an Institute, which also screens applicants for its program.

    An intrinsic part of your liberal education¬—and part of the commitment of the University to the holistic development of its students—is the Mentoring Program. Through this program, the interdisciplinary offering of knowledge, skills, and values is reinforced on a one-to-one personal level. This system of personal formation essentially revolves around the mentoring sessions, which are regular, confidential conversations between the student and his or her mentor about student life. In principle, the sessions occur for thirty minutes once a month. However, if circumstances permit, the mentor can meet his or her students as often as needed. The Mentoring Program provides students with the opportunity to avail themselves of personal advising and assistance in different areas and at various stages of student life. Mentoring enables the student to reflect upon, assess, evaluate, and integrate his or her learning skills and experiences— under the guidance of a mentor—in a way that benefits the student’s acquisition and strengthening of intellectual skills and moral criteria. This is aimed toward the holistic formation of the student’s personal, professional, and social life. Other policies governing academic practices and requirements are also contained in this section of the Handbook. Understood well and approached