Designing the Baccalaureate Program - Education, Liberal Arts and Business, and Mental Health and Well-Being
Every undergraduate student in Education, Liberal Arts & Business, and Mental Health & Well-Being completes a major that combines theory and practice by incorporating study with internship experience relevant to the student’s career interests. Education students seeking initial licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in middle or secondary education are required to complete an approved liberal arts major in addition to their education major. Education students seeking initial licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in early childhood or elementary education are required to complete at least one minor or major in addition to their education major. The solid grounding in the content disciplines that students will teach better prepares them with the knowledge and predispositions to be effective teachers. Education students who have a liberal arts major complete the Education Field Placement, in place of the Experiential Learning component of their major. Non-education majors may also choose to double-major in two disciplines by completing the requirements of each major. Double-majors complete the Experiential Learning component for either one of their majors. Students considering two majors should contact the respective departments to determine the feasibility of their specific combination.
The curriculum in all majors is designed to provide each student with in-depth professional and liberal arts preparation in one's chosen field of interest. Students may also combine majors and minors to develop skills and knowledge in multiple areas. Self-designed majors provide opportunities for self-directed individuals to fashion a unique program of study that best satisfies their interests and goals.
Designing the Baccalaureate Program - Art and Design
Art and Design at Lesley University offers several Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree options; and additionally a double major in Illustration/Animation, a BA in Art, and a fully online BS in Design for User Experience. Each of our majors aims for the high professional standard that its designation implies. First, we expect our students to receive a well-rounded, high quality education that prepares them for life-long learning and for the many creative art-making challenges they will face. Second, we expect them to become experts in their chosen area of professional practice: to achieve a level of professional mastery in some area of their major or in related interdisciplinary activities. Third, we expect students to foster a critical and historical perspective on their work and to develop writing and speaking skills that allow them to clearly communicate that perspective. Fourth, we expect them to learn about business and professional practices in their major area of interest through course work, internships, and other professional contacts and experiences. Finally, we expect students to synthesize their studio and general education experiences as the capstone to their studies. This is accomplished through the presentation of a portfolio or exhibition evaluated by outside professionals and faculty.
All Art and Design BFA majors incorporate 18 credits of studio foundation requirements, 15 credits of art history/theory requirements, 48 credits of studio requirements dedicated to the major, 27 credits of general education (CommonLynx) requirements, with 12 remaining credits of free electives for a total of 120 credits. Roughly 2/3 of the BFA 120 credits are completed through studio based art and design classes, and professional development coursework appropriate to the specific program of study. University-wide General Education Standards are designed to expand students' knowledge and experiences, not only through classroom learning, but through external experiences and interdisciplinary opportunities as well. This credit structure was recently reimagined and redesigned by faculty and administration, and meets the NASAD accreditation standards and guidelines. Each undergraduate program at Lesley University, including the studio BFA programs, strives to meet those standards with specific competencies through a combination of student experiences. Our General Education and Liberal Arts components are offered and taught by Lesley University faculty.
General Education at Lesley University
General Education Outcomes
FOUNDATIONS
- Analysis: Critically analyze, interpret, and evaluate written, oral, and visual texts.
- Communication: Construct written, oral, and visual texts through the iterative process of editing and revision, in order to communicate a message to an audience.
- Collaboration: Develop teamwork and leadership skills to engage in diverse partnerships.
- Quantitative Reasoning: Evaluate quantitative arguments and their visual representations in order to reason and solve problems.
PERSPECTIVES
- Ethical Reasoning, Social Action, Civic Engagement: Apply ethical frameworks to engage in social and civic action.
- Examining Power & Inequity: Critically explore societal, political, and cultural systems to challenge power, privilege, and oppression.
- Local & Global Connections: Examine self and community within the globalized world through explorations of political, cultural, and linguistic diversity.
- Create, Perform, Design: Create and critique original work to express, inquire or inspire.
- Human Relationships to the Natural and Physical World: Examine the complex and interdependent relationship among humans, our societies, and the Earth.
Introductory Course Placement
Students may demonstrate they have met introductory-level course requirements and have a "sufficient base of knowledge" in Humanities, Math, Science, and Social Sciences through such vehicles as AP credit or previous college courses. Students are also eligible to place out of Writing as Thinking and Process (CWRIT 1101) through an AP score of 4 or higher. All students are required to complete Word and Image (CLITR 1100). Students with a mathematics SAT score below 510 must satisfy a quantitative reasoning requirement prior to their math requirement. Students with AP credits for studio art or pre-college art classes may qualify for studio elective credit.
All other students will be advised into the appropriate introductory-level courses to prepare them for advanced breadth and depth of study in the liberal arts and business disciplines. Visual art students will be enrolled in mandatory foundation courses the first year of study.
Academic and Artistic Freedom Policy for Students:
Lesley University supports an atmosphere of academic and artistic freedom in all artistic and scholastic endeavors, and believes that the suppression of free speech or artistic expression is unacceptable where educational inquiry is encouraged. Within such an educational framework, no idea or expression can be forbidden unless it is in violation of federal, state, or local laws. Individual statements and philosophies expressed by students in their work, whether displayed on campus or in the community, should be taken as the statements and philosophies of individuals, not as University sanctioned ideas. In the same spirit, the University encourages an attitude of respect toward all student work, and will take disciplinary action against theft or violation of student artwork or projects.
Experiential Learning
From Lesley University's founding, when Edith Lesley and her colleagues brought their life experiences to develop the Lesley School for training Kindergarten teachers, Lesley has embraced the core intentions of integrating theory with practice and learning from doing.
What is unique about this “experiential learning” today is that it is integrated into the student’s overall program of study. All students complete their General Education requirements, the academic requirements of their major, and the experiential learning component of their major. In this way, all Lesley undergraduates are realizing Edith Lesley’s vision of integrating theory and practice.
There are several modalities of experiential learning available to students (the specific requirements for each major can be found in the Majors section of the catalog):
Internships
An internship is a structured, supervised, credit-bearing work experience designed to enrich and complement the students’ academic program. By interning, students are able to examine their field of study in depth and develop clear career goals. Internships provide students with a greater level of professionalism, opportunities to develop networking and self-promotion skills, to learn new techniques, and gain industry knowledge. Most important, students gain practical skills that can be applied directly to future professional goals.
While many students choose to complete an internship, not all programs require it. Many first-year students engage in an introduction to field experiences; internships are available during the sophomore, junior and senior years. In Art and Design, internships are generally completed throughout junior or senior year. Internship sponsors benefit from the internship arrangement by having the on-site technical skills and expertise provided by the student interns. Students receive supervision from both site supervisor and faculty representative, thereby allowing students opportunities to gain a greater understanding of a current field of interest from both academic and professional perspectives.
Students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to enroll in an internship course.
Study Abroad
Study abroad cultivates understanding of the social, cultural, economic, political, and technological forces that shape today's global society, while also building self-knowledge and appreciation for multiple perspectives. While abroad, students engage in meaningful cultural exchanges and language-learning. They build confidence and analytical skills. The experience also enhances creativity, as well as career potential.
For more information, visit https://lesley.edu/life-at-lesley/global-education/study-abroad. Or contact the Study Abroad Office at studyabroad@lesley.edu.
Undergraduate Education Field Placement Office
The Undergraduate Education Field Placement Office guides students as they individually plan and implement first year, sophomore, junior and senior pre-practicum and/or full practicum field experiences. Students will complete a field application to share their specific classroom preferences and curriculum interests. The team will secure a variety of unique experiences and support is available and provided throughout their time at Lesley. A field liaison also provides ongoing support. These experiences are integrated into the education coursework, and the course professors and the field placement team collaboratively support students as they develop their emerging teaching practice. For further information, see Programs of Study for specific course and practicum requirements. For more information, please contact:
Cheryl Haberman, Ed.M.
Director, Field Placement Office
Undergraduate Education
haberman@lesley.edu
Wendy Kennedy, M.Ed.
Assistant Director, Field Placement Office
Undergraduate Education Department
wkennedy@lesley.edu
Yvonne Zollman Mosca, M.Ed.
Undergraduate Field Liaison
Field Placement Office
Undergraduate Education
ymosca@lesley.edu
Honors Programs
For students in liberal arts and business, education, and mental health and well-being:
Students with a record of academic promise and leadership in high school apply to join the honors program when they apply to enter Lesley University. Others are invited to join afterward, based on their academic record. The goals of this honors program can be separated into three pillars: forming a close-knit intellectual community, fostering scholarly independence, and developing close interaction with faculty.
This honors program seeks to create a strong intellectual community from the start. Most students come into the program in their first year and are strongly encouraged to enroll in the honors section of the writing program, CWRIT 1101 English as Thinking and Process, or the honors section of CLITR 1100 Word and Image. For students in either of these sections, they would complete their first of five required honors courses.
This program also facilitates honors students’ ability to develop into independent scholars through close interaction with faculty. Students have the option of turning any of their regular coursework into an Honors Contract by proposing to complete advanced assignments or an honors project. Planning and completing this work builds relationships between the faculty and the honors students and requires these students to do independent research. Students pursue their passions in close consultation with experts in those fields.
Students complete senior year having built lasting friendships among honors students and the wider Lesley community. Having completed the requirements of five honors courses, they have developed the skills and practice of independent scholars that can plan and execute well-designed research projects that often engage with the community outside the walls of Lesley’s campuses. They graduate having developed close relationships with faculty who have guided their intellectual pursuits and mentored them in how to use those skills and talents in their future careers and their future advocacy efforts.
For more information about this honors program, contact:
Dr. Sonia Pérez-Villanueva
Associate Provost of Liberal Arts and Business
Professor of Spanish Studies and Literature in Translation
sperezvi@lesley.edu
For students in Art & Design:
Students who wish to engage in rigorous, interdisciplinary coursework and dialogue are invited to participate in Lesley's Art & Design Honor's Program.
Students who participate in this program can expect added rigor in project-based courses, integrated and interdisciplinary practice with group project dynamics, and collaborative experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Focused critiques and special events serve to support the development of students' skills as they prepare for lives as creative professionals and active participants in visual culture.
Students will be expected to take an Honors Seminar in their first and second years. First year students who are interested in participating in the Honors program can simply enroll in the Foundation Honors Seminar (INTGR 1000). For more information, please contact First Year Experience Coordinator, Leah Craig, lcraig@lesley.edu.
Students can also petition to take honors-based courses in liberal arts and business by contacting Sonia Pérez-Villanueva (info above).
General Education Program
General education at Lesley is organized according to outcomes designed to define what it means to be an educated person in the 21st century. These outcomes encompass faculty’s shared vision of what students will gain through their coursework. As students progress through the program, they develop skills and perspectives to shape a more just, humane, and sustainable world. The general education program at Lesley is divided into 3 components.
The four Foundations outcomes are intended to strengthen students’ bedrock academic skills. For many learners, these outcomes are associated with required first-year courses. In their first-year seminar courses, students build Collaboration skills to investigate contemporary issues. Through literature, writing, and math courses, students will improve their skills in Analysis, Communication, and Quantitative Reasoning.
In the Breadth & Perspectives component of the program, students will take courses aligned with the five Perspectives outcomes while also working to satisfy their Breadth of Inquiry requirement. In this way students will gain experience in the outcomes, while also experiencing the different ways of asking questions and gaining knowledge that are fundamental to each liberal arts discipline. Every course within this part of the general education program also builds upon one or more Foundations outcomes to ensure students continue to develop these fundamental skills.
A student’s general education experience culminates with the completion of an Applications course. These are transdisciplinary, project-based courses that will require students to apply knowledge and skills from the general education program to a social problem of critical importance. In addition, students will be asked to reflect upon their experience in general education at Lesley and its applicability to their personal and career goals.