PSPA Frequently Asked Questions

What are the PSPA criteria for increasing capacity?
How to withdraw from a course?

What are the PSPA criteria for increasing capacity?

In order to increase capacity in a PSPA course, you must satisfy either of the following conditions:

1- Graduating Senior who needs the course to fulfill the requirements AND has no any other alternative course in PSPA
2- Trying to transfer into PSPA and have to take the course to satisfy the transfer criteria
3- A visiting student for this semester (must be screened by Prof. Antoun)
4- Student minoring in PS or PA with no other options (must prove case)
No any other exceptions will be accepted.
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How to withdraw from a course?

A student can withdraw from only one required course per semester, provided that they do not drop below 12 credits. Students who wish to withdraw from more than one required course in any given semester must petition the appropriate faculty committee for permission to do so.
A student may withdraw from elective courses, down to a minimum of 12 credits, no later than 10 weeks (five weeks in the summer term) from the start of the semester. A student will receive a grade of “W” for the course.

What is my class?

An undergraduate student shall be considered to have completed a class when s/he has taken and passed 30 or more credits beyond the requirements for the previous class.
A student will not be granted a certificate stating that s/he has completed a class until s/he has completed the specified courses in the regular program for that class and has acquired the requisite number of credits.
The credit requirements are as follows:
 

To be considered full-time a student must carry a minimum load of 12 credits per semester. A full-time student who wishes or is forced to reduce his/her load to fewer than 12 credits must first apply to the Administrative Committee for permission to do so. This should be done no later than 10 weeks after the start of the semester (five weeks in the case of summer school). Students can normally register for up to 17 credits per semester and 9 credits during the summer term. English course requirements must be taken as of the first semester at the University. Students who wish to register for more than 17 credits must petition the Administrative Committee for permission to do so. Their requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Students in the following categories will normally be granted permission by the administrative committee to register for more than 17 credits:

• Freshman students intending to go into medicine or engineering, and who have an average of at least 80 in the first semester, may take an additional course in the second semester.

• Graduating senior students in their last semester who have completed their English communication skills

requirements at the level required by their major departments may register for a maximum of 18 credits.

• If the program requires that a student register for more than 17 credits in a particular semester.

English: All new students at AUB are required to sit for an English Placement Test. The results of this test determine the entrance level to the English communication skills sequence (ENGL 102, ENGL 203, ENGL 204). During the freshman year students are required to take a minimum of three credits in
English at level 200 or above (at least ENGL 203).
Arabic: All students who have been admitted to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and whose native language is Arabic must satisfy the Arabic Language Requirement (ALR)--except for those students who have completed their secondary education in a non-Arabic medium program and who receive exemption from the Office of Admissions. Students may apply for exemption to the Office of Admissions any time before September 15. Non-exempted students entering at the level of the freshman class must take three credits in Arabic at the 100 level, and their performance in this course (or in the two freshman
Arabic courses, if taken) determines their required Arabic course at the sophomore level. Non-exempted students entering at the sophomore, junior, or senior levels must take the Arabic Placement Test (APT) and must take one Arabic course as determined by their performance on the APT. Students who are
exempted from Arabic should replace this requirement by taking ARAB 200, ARAB 203, or any other 3-credit course in the humanities.
 

What are the faculty requirements?

In order to complete 30 credits for the freshman class, every freshman student must take at least one course in the following areas of study: humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, plus departmental requirements which allow him/her to qualify for a major beginning with the sophomore year. See Table 1 for the distribution of these requirements in the various academic units of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and other faculties.

What are the requirements to graduate with a BA in PA or PS?

Residency and Total Credit Requirements
• A maximum of eight calendar years is allowed for graduation of students who begin with the freshman class; six calendar years for sophomores; four calendar years for juniors; and two calendar years for seniors. A student who fails to complete his/her degree program within these specified times must petition the Administrative Committee for an extension of time.
• A minimum of seven semesters of residence beginning with the freshman class, or five semesters beginning with the sophomore class, at recognized institutions of higher learning, provided that the final three semesters and 45 credits are completed at AUB. For purposes of this requirement two summer sessions shall be considered equivalent to one semester.
• A minimum of 120 credits for students who enter as freshmen and 90 credits for students who enter as sophomores.
Departmental Requirements
• A minimum of 36 credits in the major department, in courses numbered 200 or above, of which a minimum of 30 credits must be numbered 210 or above; and a cumulative average of 70 in the major department, plus any additional requirements set by the department.
• A student must spend a minimum of one semester in a department as a major before s/he graduates in that major field.
Repeating Courses
A student may repeat any course for which s/he received a grade of less than 70. A student who fails a required course must repeat the course at the earliest opportunity. No course may be taken more than three times. When a course is repeated, the highest grade will be considered in the calculation of the cumulative average. All course grades will remain a part of a student’s permanent record.
Faculty Requirements
Arabic and English Requirements
 

How to transfer to PSPA?

• All undergraduate transfer students from outside AUB to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences must take, after admission to the faculty, a minimum of 21 credits in the major department in order to graduate from AUB.
• Requirements for interdepartmental transfer within FAS: students wishing to transfer from one major to another in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences may do so after they have completed two full semesters of work in their current major and met the requirements for their prospective major (see the table of requirements on the following page).
• Requirements for transfer from other faculties: AUB students wishing to transfer to a major in FAS may do so after they have completed at least two full semesters (minimum 24 credits) of coursework at AUB, attained a minimum cumulative average of 70, as well as a minimum average of 70 in at least 15 credits taken in FAS.

How to work for PS or PA as a second degree?

Students already holding a bachelor’s degree who wish to obtain a different bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours from FAS and must complete departmental requirements for the degree with a minimum average of 70 in those requirements.

Students already holding a bachelor’s degree from another faculty at AUB who wish to obtain a different bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours and must complete faculty and departmental requirements for the degree with a minimum average of 70.

What are the conditions to be placed on the Dean's Honor List?

To be placed on the Dean’s Honor List at the end of the semester, a student must
• be carrying at least 12 credits
• not be on probation
• have passed all courses and attained an overall average of 85 or be ranked in the top 10 percent of the class and have an overall average of 80
• have no failing or incomplete grades in courses which carry credits
• not have been subjected to any disciplinary action within the University during the semester
• be deemed worthy by the dean to be on the Honor List

What is a prospective graduate?

A prospective graduate is reqiored to take up to 18 credits of supplementary undergraduate courses in the intended field of study, to be specified by the PSPA Department. In order to be admitted to the graduate program the applicant should take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and should have completed the supplementary courses with an average of at least 80, based on a minimum of 18 credits in the intended field of study.

Also note that graduate students admitted on 'prospective status'
with a requirement of fulfilling undergraduate course requirements of two or
more courses are NOT allowed to enroll in graduate courses prior to
fulfilling this requirement.