College of Agriculture Core Graduation Requirements

The College of Agriculture core requirements go beyond and encapsulate the Purdue University Core requirements. These university requirements include quantitative reasoning, science, humanities, social and behavioral science, information literacy, written communication, oral communication, and science, technology, and society. By meeting College of Agriculture requirements, University Core requirements are automatically exceeded.

To earn a baccalaureate degree, a student shall complete resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in, and completion of, at least 32 semester credit hours of coursework required and approved for completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level courses.

The College of Agriculture faculty has established that a minimum of 120 semester credit hours must be completed to earn the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture (B.S.L.A.) with the exception of the Agricultural Education Major (requires a minimum of 128 credits). A minimum of 124 credit hours must be completed to earn the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry (B.S.F.). A minimum of 128 credit hours must be completed to earn the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering (B.S.A.E.) or Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering (B.S.B.E.).

Minimum Core Graduation Requirements *

* Plans of study that lead to the Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Forestry, or Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture degrees must include a minimum of nine credits, or equivalent, of International Understanding electives, three credits of Multicultural Awareness electives, and an approved capstone course or experience. Plans of study leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering or Biological Engineering must include a minimum six credits of International Understanding electives, three credits of Multicultural Awareness electives, and an approved capstone course or experience.

† Students in a Bachelor of Science degree program in Agricultural Engineering or Biological Engineering may fulfill the orientation requirement in ENGR 13100.

‡ Students enrolled in Landscape Architecture may substitute calculus for statistics.

Courses Not Applicable in Undergraduate Plans of Study

The following courses are not applicable as credit toward graduation in any College of Agriculture baccalaureate degree program: CHM 10000; ENGL 10000, 10900, 11100; ENGR 19100, 19200, 19300; MA 11100, 12300, 13300, 13400, 15100; 15555, PHYS 14900; STAT 11300, 11400; and all General Studies courses except GS 49000 - Discovery Park Undergraduate Research.

Credits earned in one of the following course - MA 15200, 15300, 15400 or MA 15800 - may be used as an unrestricted elective in the College of Agriculture undergraduate plans of study, but may not be used as a Mathematics and Sciences elective.

Pass/Not-Pass Grading Policy

Undergraduate Students enrolled in the College of Agriculture (CoA) may take courses under the Pass/Not-Pass (P/NP) option subject to the following regulations:

1. A student must be classified as a sophomore or higher and have a minimum 2.0 graduation index.
2. A student may elect the P/NP option for free elective* courses and selective⁺ courses only;
   1. a department/academic unit can prohibit/limit the courses on departmental selective lists that are eligible to be taken P/NP for students in their department’s plans of study.
   2. if a department requires a course that is only offered via the P/NP grade mode then the student may use that option for the course on the plan of study.
3. A maximum of 18 credits of free elective*/selective⁺ courses under the P/NP grading option can be used toward graduation requirements. 
4. Courses that are required as part of a CoA minor cannot be taken using the P/NP option. Courses that are selectives in a minor may be taken P/NP, unless otherwise stipulated by the department granting the minor. No more than half the total credits required for a CoA minor can be taken P/NP.
   
5. Standard registration procedures, such as the rules governing drop/add, withdrawal from courses, etc., will be followed.  The deadlines for when the grade mode of a course can be modified can be found on the drop/add/modify calendar.
6. A student who, while enrolled in another school or college at Purdue University, passes a course under the P/NP option which is part of the CoA Core or a department/academic unit and subsequently switches/CODOs into a CoA program that requires that course, must seek college/departmental/academic unit approval (as appropriate**) to use the P/NP grade in the course to satisfy a program requirement.
7. When a student repeats a course, P/NP cannot be used to replace a previous letter grade. If a student repeats a course in which they already received a P/NP, their grade mode will be P/NP by default.  Students who need a letter grade in the repeated course must contact the registrar’s office directly to seek an exception.
8. Unusual circumstances may be appealed to the Senior Assistant Director and Head Academic Advisor in OAP.

⁺Selective course is defined as a course that is on a list of three or more courses, any one of which may be used to satisfy a requirement in a plan of study.

*Free electives are defined as any credits that are not required for your degree program except to meet the minimum credits required for graduation (e.g 120, 124, 128).

** College requirements need college-level approval; department/ unit requirements only require department/ unit-level approval.