College of General Studies

General Education Core Academic Center for Excellence The Quality Enhancement Plan (“QEP”) Undergraduate Research

Melton Foundation Fellows Military Science Study Abroad

---

General Education Core

---

The core curriculum encompasses the University’s mission and vision and is grounded in the liberal arts. The core is designed to be reflective of the domains of critical thinking, communication, global awareness, citizenship, personal growth and development, and quantitative thinking; enhancing students’ understanding and appreciation of other cultures. Through study in the College of General Studies, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Business, students discover universal thoughts and beliefs that inform their world.

Academic Center for Excellence

The Academic Center for Excellence works to improve the academic success of all students as they matriculate through the first two years of collegiate experience.

The mission of the Academic Center for Excellence a Title III Project, is to ensure that the first-year student’s academic experience at Dillard is satisfying and rewarding. To this end, the Center is proactive in anticipating change and takes steps to provide the services first-year students need and will require in the future.

The Center includes:

First-Year Experience (FYE)

To meet the needs of first-year students the FYE provides the following program that impact matriculation and retention:

Academic Advising (first-year students)

Academic advising is one of the critical components to progression and graduation. All first-year students and transfer students with less than 30 credit hours are advised through the Academic Center for Excellence. Academic Advisors are assigned to students based on their majors.

First-Year Learning Communities (FLC’s)

The FLC model places 25 students who are in the same major in classes together. The learning communities assist students in developing networks with other students with similar academic interests and allow for directed academic advising.

Service Learning

Service learning is an identified high-impact practice focused on creating opportunities for students to become more engaged students and citizens. Service learning is creates opportunities for students to engage with faculty in the application of the knowledge acquired in their courses to real world problems within their communities. Dillard University requires that students complete 30 hours of service-learning to complete their degree requirements for graduation.

Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel DuBois Cook Honors Program

The Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel DuBois Cook Honors Program is dedicated to producing graduates who excel, become world leaders, are broadly educated, culturally aware, and concerned with improving the human condition. Using a highly personalized, learning-centered approach, Dillard University Honors students will meet the competitive demands of a diverse, global, and technologically advanced society.

- “Non Scholae Sed vitae discimus.”
“We learn not for school, but for life.”

The philosophy embedded in “we learn not for school, but for life,” forms the foundation of belief for the Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel DuBois Cook Honors Program at Dillard University. This philosophical basis declares the program’s dual commitment to nurturing the intellectual potential of highly motivated students and to providing a moral and ethical framework for responsible social activism in a multicultural, global context. Honors colloquia and curriculum are interdisciplinary and oriented toward undergraduate research. This Honors design incorporates the creative energies of faculty and students in the academic enterprise so that courses offer greater depth but not more work than regular classes. Each academic college at Dillard University hosts and can create honors courses for discipline-based curricular needs.

- Goals

• Develop advanced skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing.
• Promote a culture of intellectual engagement and academic community.
• Provide a moral and ethical framework for responsible social activism.
• Develop and instill greater cultural awareness and foster greater cultural appreciation in the world.
• Develop innovative models for undergraduate research.
• Enhance student awareness of and competency in the information/digital age.
• Encourage innovative teaching by faculty members.

- Admissions Policy

There are two methods of admission:

- Designation as a University Scholar, or
- Submission of a petition to the Honors Advisory Council

Eligibility Criteria:

- A score of 27 on the ACT or 1220 on the SAT, and
- 3.8 cumulative high school GPA on a 4.0 scale

Continuing Students

- After completing one semester at Dillard University, students who did not enter the program as a First-Time/Full-Time student may apply for admission to the program if you they:
- Have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours at Dillard and earned no more than 59 credit hours;
- Have earned a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA;
- Submit an Honors Program Application

NOTE: Application Deadlines are: Fall Semester - October 1st; Spring Semester - February 1st. The application deadline is a receipt deadline and all information must be received no later than 5:00 pm. Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.

Selection Criteria:

- Application review by Honors Director and the Honors Faculty Advisory Council.
- Successful completion of eligibility requirements.

Continuation Policy

Must maintain minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA.
- Grades are reviewed at the end of each semester.
- Students will receive notice of continued enrollment in the program.

Writing Center

The Writing Center serves as a resource center to assist students in developing their writing skills and to expose them to opportunities to engage in creative writing and literary discussions.

The Quality Enhancement Plan (“QEP”)

Communication Skills Enhancement Grounded in Critical Thinking

Dillard University’s mission is “to produce graduates who excel, become world leaders and are broadly educated.” As a result of discussions of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) since 2006, and, after analyzing institutional data, surveying constituents, conducting focus groups, and reviewing the literature, the majority of the DU community affirmed the topic, Communication Skills Enhancement Grounded in Critical Thinking, as being consistent with the university’s mission. Out of the same discussions emerged the goal, i.e., to ensure the success of all students by enhancing communication skills grounded in critical thinking, and the objectives for designing and implementing the QEP:

1. As a result of acquiring enhanced critical thinking skills, students through engagement, will be able to offer solutions to real-world problems by:
   1. reading analytically
   2. writing critically
   3. speaking and presenting effectively
2. Enhance student engagement in co-curricular and multidisciplinary learning experiences through the application of critical thinking skills.

Broad-based input throughout the process resulted in a program design which meets the needs of all stakeholders. An enhanced first-year experience familiarizes incoming students with the mission of the university and the values of the Dillard community, while preparing them to meet the demands of the larger world. The first-year experience is redirected into an innovative program across campus, the LC3 (Learning Communities, Critical Thinking, Communication) Program. Dillard’s QEP strengthens the current curriculum, especially in the freshman year.

Undergraduate Research

Embedded in the values of the Dillard curriculum is the idea that students participate in research on a collaborative basis with faculty. Collaborating with a faculty mentor on research or creative activities enables students to look deeply into questions and issues in their major fields and to become more sophisticated designers of their own education.

Broadly defined, undergraduate research is an inquiry or investigation, conducted by an undergraduate student, which makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the student’s discipline. Undergraduate research varies from discipline to discipline, even within sub-disciplines, and fosters student engagement in an original investigation or creative work for a significant period of time. It ensures that students are making the most of their undergraduate education at Dillard.

The Office of Undergraduate Research is an initiative of the Office of Academic Affairs. A resource for faculty and students, the office encourages both on-campus and off-campus research opportunities for students. Through initiatives carried out in the Schools and Programs, faculty members share different models for incorporating undergraduate students into research programs and ways of infusing undergraduate research into the curriculum.

Students are encouraged to begin exploring possibilities for research and creative activity as soon as possible after beginning their college career. For guidance and support, each student is matched with a faculty mentor whose research and teaching interests correspond to the student’s academic goals. Advisement is provided throughout a student’s academic career.

Research and creative stimulation funds are available to students for research supplies and travel to present their research or creative work at regional and national conferences. Study abroad opportunities are among the many special privileges afforded to students participating in research and creative activities. Information on eligibility for research funding is available from the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Special Programs

Melton Foundation Fellows

The only American institution in a consortium that consists of four other institutions from Chile, China, Germany, and India, Dillard University has fourteen Melton Fellows that participate in this international fellowship committed to bringing positive change in the world through a network of people from diverse cultures empowered by lasting bonds of friendship, open communication and mutual respect. Each year up to five Dillard University students, designated as Melton Fellows, are selected from a variety of majors. The foundation provides a computer for each fellow and an all-expense paid trip to the annual Melton International Symposium. The location of the symposium rotates among the five member countries.

Military Science

Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)

Army Reserve Training Corps (ROTC) is a comprehensive program of studies through which a student can qualify to be commissioned as an officer in the United States Army, the National Guard, or the United States Army Reserve. Students learn leadership and management skills that will help in any profession. The Army ROTC program consists of a two-year basic course, which is open to freshmen and sophomores only and a two-year advanced course. Non-scholarship students participating in the first two years of ROTC do not incur any obligation to the U.S. Army. A variety of Army ROTC scholarships are offered. These programs provide assistance for tuition and mandatory fees, textbooks, and a monthly stipend.

Admission to ROTC is conditional on meeting academic, physical and age requirements and the approval of the professor of military science. Physical training is an integral part of the ROTC program.

To be commissioned as an officer, a student must complete either the regular four-year program, or a three-year program (requiring completion of the summer ROTC basic camp giving the student credit for the basic course). Advanced placement for ROTC training may be given to veterans and to students with previous ROTC experience. In addition to these requirements, a student must complete at least one course in military history.

Uniforms and equipment are issued without cost to all students. For further information, contact the ROTC office at (504) 865-5594.

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Aerospace Studies

The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) offers two (2) and four (4) year programs through which a student earns a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. The four-year program is divided into two parts: the General Military Science Course (GMC) for freshmen and sophomores and the Professional Officer Course (POC) for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

Students in the General Military Course attend a one-hour class and a one-hour laboratory each week. Dillard University students can complete all aerospace studies classes and laboratory requirements on Thursday afternoons each week during the semester on the Tulane University campus. For further information on class offerings, class schedule, or the AFROTC program, contact the Aerospace Studies office at (504) 865-5394.

The two-year program consists of the Professional Officer Course only. Interested students should apply for the two-year program no later than February in the spring semester of their sophomore year.

Entry into the Professional Officer Course is competitive and is determined in late spring of each year. Prior to entry into the POC, all students in the four-year program must attend a six-week field training session. Field training sessions are normally held in the summer between the sophomore and junior year. All Professional Officer Cadets receive a monthly subsistence allowance.

AFROTC cadets may compete for scholarships that cover tuition and fees, textbooks, and provide a subsistence allowance. Orientation flights in military aircraft and visits to Air Force bases are optional parts of AFROTC training. Light aircraft training is given to qualified seniors who plan to enter pilot training.

Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC)

There are three general programs through which students can qualify for commissions in the naval service: The U. S. Naval Academy, The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Navy or Marine option programs, and direct accession through Officer Candidate School. The NROTC program at Tulane University offers students the opportunity to earn a commission in the Navy or Marine Corps through four-year, three-year, and two-year scholarship programs, and through the NROTC College Program. Students matriculating to Tulane University, who have not already been awarded an NROTC scholarship, may participate in the NROTC College Program and compete for a three year scholarship. These students are selected from applicants each year by the Professor of Naval Science.

NROTC Scholarship Program students are selected annually on a nationwide competitive basis. They receive four-year scholarships that include full tuition, university fees, uniforms, textbook stipend, and a monthly subsistence stipend. Scholarship students participate in paid summer training periods and receive commissions in the Navy or Marine Corps Reserve as Ensigns or Second Lieutenants upon graduation. They have a minimum four-year active duty obligation after commissioning, followed by four years in the inactive reserves.

NROTC College Program students are selected from applicants each year by the professor of naval science. First-year students may apply to participate in the college program any time during their initial year. They participate in a four-year naval science program with one paid summer training period (between the junior and senior years) and receive commissions in the Navy or Marine Corps Reserve upon graduation. They incur a minimum four-year active duty obligation, followed by four years in the inactive reserves. College program students are furnished uniforms and naval science textbooks and a monthly subsistence stipend during their junior and senior years. Additionally, four-year college program students may compete nationally for a three-year NROTC scholarship..

NROTC Two-Year College Scholarship Program participants are selected from local undergraduate applicants. To apply, students should contact the NROTC unit on campus not later than the middle of the first semester of the sophomore year or the first semester of the third year if in a five-year program. Applicants who are qualified and accepted attend the six-week Naval Science Institute at Newport, Rhode Island during the summer prior to entering the program. Travel expenses are paid to and from the institute, and candidates receive a salary, plus meals and lodging for the training period. Upon successful completion of the Naval Science Institute, the students are enrolled in the NROTC program in the fall. Students may receive full tuition scholarships and money per month in subsistence for the remaining two years of college. Active duty obligations are a minimum of four years of active duty followed by four years in the inactive reserves.

Those students who desire a Navy or Marine Corps commission but do not participate in NROTC programs may apply for the direct accession program that leads to a commission upon completion of degree requirements and Officer Candidate School.

The Naval ROTC Unit sponsors many teams in campus intramural sports and many specialty organizations that represent the unit on campus and throughout Louisiana and the southern United States. These include the Drill Team, the Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Color Guard, all of which participate in many Mardi Gras parades and other unit and University events. For more information call the NROTC Unit, Tulane University at 1-800-800-NAVY.

Study Abroad

The Office of International Students and Study Abroad Programs strives to facilitate and engage students in acquiring a broader understanding of the world around them, as well as an increase level of compassion and commitment to international issues of importance by providing them with the opportunity to intern, study and conduct research in a variety of international locations.

The Office of International Students and Study Abroad Programs support the holistic development of students by working with academic divisions to create interdisciplinary study programs. Through study abroad experiences, Dillard students are immersed in foreign language, cultures, academic study and develop personal independence and global awareness. These experiences ultimately foster transnational competencies that enrich the lives of the Dillard University Constituency.

Dillard University students have found that study abroad gives them an advantage in the job market and in applying to graduate schools. Others have discovered direct routes to international careers in business, government, law, and the arts. Students can earn academic credit towards their Dillard degree in all the study abroad programs coordinated by the Office of International Students and Study Abroad Programs.

Speak with your advisor and the study abroad coordinator for more information.

 Back to Top | Print-Friendly Page (opens a new window)