Applied Arts and Sciences, B.A.

The Professional Core

Comprising three courses (12 credits), the Professional Core is required of all students in the BDC program. The three Professional Core courses form the foundation of a general education requirement unique to this program, by including one course in the Humanities, one in the Social Sciences, and one in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). 

All three courses emphasize strengthening the transferable skills employers desire: effective communication (oral and written), critical thinking, ethical judgment and decision making, effective teamwork, the ability to work independently, initiative, proactive planning, and real-world applications.

To create a homogeneous and uniquely Merrimack experience, all students in the BDC program will take these courses at Merrimack College. Students who have earned an associate’s degree are required to take only two Professional Core courses. Previous Merrimack College students who return to the College and have successfully completed the Philosophy and Religious and Theological Studies requirements in the Liberal Studies Core curriculum used in the day-school program do not have to complete HUM1100.

• HUM 1100 - Life, Work and Meaning Credits: 4 (Humanities Course)
• PSY 2600 - Psychology of Happiness Credits: 4 (Social Science Course)
• HSC 2200 - Fundamentals of Well-Being Credits: 4 (STEM Course)

The Arts and Sciences Core

The BDC program allows students to complete their degree by choosing courses based on their interests and goals. All students will complete 40 credits in Applied Arts and Sciences, including a minimum of 20 credits in a specialization, and up to 20 credits in Arts and Sciences Electives. Students may choose to complete two specializations. A minimum of 32 of the credits in the Arts and Sciences Core must be at the 2000-level or higher.

Open Electives

Students must complete 68 credits of open electives. Open electives allow students to explore areas in the curriculum that interests them. Students can study further in their specialization, pursue allied areas of study, or explore entirely new fields. Some open elective credits may be transfer credits or credit for prior learning (see below).

The Capstone Experience

AAS 4000 Applied Arts and Sciences Capstone , the four-credit capstone experience, may be taken once a student has achieved senior status (93 completed credits). This culminating experience provides a unique opportunity for students to bridge the skills they acquired during their post-secondary career with their future goals/aspirations. The capstone will be designed by the student in consultation with the faculty teaching the course. A capstone proposal must be submitted and approved by a member of the faculty. Students are encouraged to start thinking about their capstone as soon as they enroll in the program.

Transfer Credits and Credit for Prior Learning

Transfer Credits

For students in the BDC program, college credits earned at other institutions may be accepted at Merrimack College The course credit acceptance procedures allow for most courses (few exceptions) taken at any time, regardless of date (e.g., no expiration) and at any accredited post-secondary institution to be applied toward the B.A. in APAS. Please see “Optional Academic Programs and Activities” in the College Catalog which addresses policies for transfer credit, off-campus studies, accelerated academic progress including exams (e.g. AP, IB, CLEP); military, government, and corporate training; and departmental exams. A maximum of 16 credits may be earned for life and work experience.

Credit for Prior Learning

Prior learning experiences that may be counted as course credit in the BDC program at Merrimack College include: 

• Professional licensure or certification where there is a body of knowledge and an official transcript made available (such as Police, Fire, and EMT Training Programs); 
• Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and/or Professional Development Points (PDPs). Programs that issue CEUs or PDPs are programs that students participate in without offering college level credit yet nonetheless indicate that learning has taken place; 
• State Licensure and/or Government Certification Programs; 
• ​Work and industry experience that specifically aligns with BDC program outcomes. 

In all cases, the Academic Director of the BDC will make final assessments and, when appropriate, grant approvals of prior learning for credit. When necessary, approvals may be made in consultation with the appropriate faculty member on the BDC Learning Council. 

For professional licensure or certification, the College will require an official transcript; a certificate of completion; or a letter written on the training sponsor’s letterhead outlining the content and connection to a body of knowledge. 

For those seeking credit for CEUs (Continuing Education Units) and/or PDPs (Professional Development Points), the College will require copies of certificates of completion; a program outline with syllabus including assignments and deliverables; and any other documentation that demonstrates a knowledge base and skill set equivalent to that of a college course. 

For those seeking credit for State Licensure and/or Government Certifications, the College will require copies of the license or certificate along with a detailed description of how the knowledge base and skill merits college credit. 

For those seeking credit for prior work experience, the College will require the student to prepare a portfolio that outlines specific job competencies that are connected to program outcomes to demonstrate learning through on the job experiences.

Students may petition for credit for prior learning for work experience by submitting a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Portfolio. Students may submit a portfolio that details college level learning that took place outside of a college or university. This portfolio will be reviewed and college credits may be awarded. Students should first meet with their Education Specialist or Academic Advisor to discuss the process for submitting a portfolio.

1. The portfolio must include:

   1. PLA Portfolio Application.

   2. An autobiographical account that describes in detail the student’s training, work, and life experiences; this must include what the student has learned from these experiences using college-level terminology.

   3.  A statement of how the prior learning relates to the specific course for which the student is requesting credit.

   4. Evidence of understanding of the subject for which the student is requesting credit.

   5. The student should demonstrate an appropriate balance between theory and application.

   6. Any examples of relevant direct verification of learning (e.g., licenses, certificates, authored reports).

   7. An in-depth description of how the student has applied, or plans to apply, the knowledge and skills acquired in other settings.

2. All portfolio material will be submitted electronically.

3. Review Process:

   1. Portfolios will first be reviewed by an Education Specialist to ensure portfolios are complete.

   2. They will then be sent to the chair of the Academic Learning Council who will assign the portfolio to an appropriate member of the BDC Learning Council who will review it and get the input of the chair of the department from which credit is being sought. 

   3. BDC Learning Council members must be trained in Portfolio PLA before they may review a portfolio. The Office of Graduate and Professional Studies will develop a portfolio PLA training process. In reviewing a portfolio, the learning being evaluated must:

      1. Be measurable.

      2. Be at a level of achievement defined by the faculty as college-equivalent or consistent with the learning of other students engaged in college studies.

      3. Be applicable outside the specific job or context in which it was learned.

      4. Demonstrate a knowledge base.

      5. Be reasonably current.

      6. Imply a conceptual or theoretical as well as a practical understanding.

      7. Not repeat learning for which credit has already been awarded.

4. The learning must be related to a specific Merrimack College course.