Data, Mathematical and Computational Sciences (DMC)

All incoming students must complete a DMC self-assessment, which is available online through the New-Student Roadmap. This assessment is purely for advisory purposes and is used only to determine placement into your Data Analytics-Foundational level course (DA-F).

 

Writing Proficiency

All incoming students are required to submit a placement essay based on the prompts we provide online via the New-Student Roadmap. Goucher courses require strong writing skills. All first-year students are required to take 4 -5 credits of writing instruction.

 

Foreign Language

Goucher’s Common Graduation Requirements (GCR) include proficiency in a foreign language. Goucher College currently offers the following languages:  Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish. 

All students except native speakers (see below) will satisfy the Foreign Language and Culture (FLC) requirement by taking 10, 8, or 4 credits. All entering students are encouraged to take a language starting their first year. Our placement process:

• Arabic: Contact the program chair, Zahi Khamis, for a placement interview and further information after August 15.
• Chinese: Contact the program chair, Clay Chou, for a placement interview and further information after August 15.
• French: A link to the placement exam will be added to your New Student Roadmap Step 1 Checklist in the Admissions & Financial Aid Status Portal. Please complete this placement test regardless of whether you have any background or previous study in French.
• Spanish: A link to the placement exam will be added to your New Student Roadmap Step 1 Checklist in the Admissions & Financial Aid Status Portal. Please complete this placement test regardless of whether you have any background or previous study in Spanish.

Students who want to take a language not offered at Goucher will need to wait until their sophomore year. They should meet with director of Modern Languages and Cultures sometime during the first year.

Foreign Language Placement Test Notes:

• No dictionaries or other sources may be used during the test.
• Placement exam results have an expiration date of one year. You will need to retake the placement test after two or more semesters if you have not taken the language course you were placed in unless you have opted to satisfy the language requirement with another language altogether.

Native Speaker

A native speaker is usually a student who has completed high school in another country. Native speakers are typically international students and citizens of another nation, were born abroad, and their family often still resides abroad.

Students who are foreign nationals and/or native speakers and writers of a language other than English may be exempted from the language requirement if they provide evidence of their proficiency. Documents serving as evidence include a high school diploma from a school where English is not the primary language and a note from a high school teacher or college faculty member from the student’s home country attesting to the student’s native proficiency in the language.

Please contact Florence Martin, Director of the Center for Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, for more information.

 

Music Theory

You can take Music 101, Fundamentals of Music Theory, with no prerequisite. This class presumes no prior knowledge of music theory. If you can already read music, consider Music 102, Introduction to Music Composition, offered in odd-numbered fall semesters, which combines basic music theory with student-chosen musical examples for study and creative composition projects. If you’re interested in music ensembles auditions will be held in the first week of classes. For further guidance, or any questions about music at Goucher, contact Kendall Kennison at kendall.kennison@goucher.edu.

 

Dance

The Dance placements will take place just prior to the start of the fall semester, during fall orientation. In early August, students who indicate an interest in Dance on the Advising Questionnaire will be emailed with further information about placements. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email linda.garofalo@goucher.edu.

 

Equestrian

The Equestrian placements will take place just prior to the start of the fall semester, during fall orientation. In early August, students who indicate an interest in Equestrian on the Advising Questionnaire will be emailed with further information about placements. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email jennifer.smith@goucher.edu.

If you have any questions about placement exams, contact the Academic Dean's Office at AssociateProvost@goucher.edu or 410-337-6460.