A Guide to Using the 2024-25 APU Catalog

The university’s catalog is a comprehensive source of information to help students throughout their college experience. This guide helps students navigate the catalog by offering a glossary defining, in common language, the various academic terms and acronyms used throughout the catalog.

University Structure

Classroom faculty at APU hold positions in academic departments, which are organized within either a college, a school, or both. 

Degrees

A degree is an academic rank that the university confers on a student who satisfactorily completes a designated program of study. APU grants the following undergraduate (also called baccalaureate degrees), master's and doctoral degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts (BA)
• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
• Bachelor of Music (BM)
• Bachelor of Science (BS)
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
• Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
• Master of Arts (MA)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Business Management (MBM)
• Master of Divinity (MDiv)
• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
• Master of Music (MM)
• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Master of Science (MS)
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
• Master of Social Work (MSW)
• Educational Specialist (EdS)
• Doctor of Divinity (DMin)
• Doctor of Education (EdD)
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Major

A major is an undergraduate program of study that provides students with the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to pursue a specific career or advanced study and leads to an undergraduate degree in that subject. Each major is offered in an academic department or program. Undergraduate applicants to APU can select a major at the time they apply for admission.

For more information and advice regarding academic programs, see the Academic Resources catalog entry.

Concentrations, Emphases, and Tracks

These are groups of courses within a degree program designed to provide specialized knowledge.

Courses

Course descriptions explain the content and scope of each course. The course prefix (an abbreviation that represents the subject or offering department), course number, prerequisites, unit value, and other pertinent information can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinked course number (e.g., MATH 110), which produces a pop-up window with the full description. Alternatively, view a full list of course options under the school, college, or department level by selecting the “Courses” tab.

Electives

These are courses that students can choose from within the parameters set by their departments.

The General Education (GE) Program

The GE program comprises a common set of requirements and provides a common foundation of knowledge for all undergraduate programs. The specific requirements for a particular major degree program are listed under the academic department or program that offers the major.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites are one or more courses that must be completed—or other knowledge, skills, or standards that must be demonstrated—before a student is permitted to take certain courses. Prerequisites (if any) for a course are listed in the course’s description in the catalog.

Some prerequisites have their own prerequisites, forming a string of courses that must be taken in sequence. The catalog course description shows only the last course in the prerequisite string of courses. For example, MATH 460 Topology has a prerequisite of MATH 450 Real Analysis. MATH 450 requires MATH 280 Discrete Mathematics and Proof, which requires MATH 165 Calculus I, which requires MATH 150 Precalculus or an appropriate score on the APU math placement assessment or MATH 149 Fundamentals of Precalculus (which may be taken concurrently; see next paragraph). It is important that students are aware of these prerequisite strings to ensure timely completion of all requirements.

Statements in the catalog course descriptions may also contain the word “concurrently,” which means that two or more courses may be taken in the same term, or “corequisite,” which means that the course or courses must be taken in the same term (or some prior term) as that of the course being described.

If a student does not meet a prerequisite as outlined in a course’s description, but through alternative means can demonstrate to the department offering the course that he or she possesses the necessary knowledge or skills, the department may grant the student permission to enroll in the course with consent of the department chair.

Cross-Listed Courses

These are courses that are shared by two or more academic departments and have identical titles, descriptions, units, and modes of instruction. They are interchangeable for degree requirements. They cannot be repeated for degree credit under separate prefixes.

Topic Courses

Topic courses are shown in the catalog with generic titles and are repeatable with different topics. Specific topic titles appear in the Schedule of Classes and on students’ transcripts. Example: HIST 368 A Year in Time is repeatable with different topics; in this case, the topic varies each term with a focus on different years (e.g., 1492, 1776, 1865, 1968).

Credit Hour

A credit hour—the amount of work established by stated student learning outcomes and achievement—is approximately one hour (or 50-55 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction, plus a minimum of two hours (for undergraduate) or three hours (for graduate) of out-of-class work, each week for a 16-week term (or the equivalent amount of work for a term of a different length). Classroom or direct faculty instruction and out-of-class student work leading to the award of credit hours may vary for courses that require laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, online work, research, guided study, study away, and other academic work to achieve the identified student learning outcomes. In addition, student workload may vary based upon program expectations established by national or regional accrediting bodies.

Semesters and Semester Units

Azusa Pacific is on the semester (term) system, offering three semesters (terms) per calendar year:

• Fall: September through December
• Spring: January through May
• Summer: May through August

Many graduate and undergraduate programs also employ 2, eight-week sessions in each of these terms.

For undergraduates, 24 units per year is considered full time, though a student must average 15 units per semester (30 per year) to complete the 120 total units required for graduation in a traditional four-year period.

For full-time graduate status, refer to the Study Load page in this catalog.