Undergraduate Curriculum (2024)

In fall 2022, a new curriculum will be launched for new incoming students: both first year students and transfer students.

This change will not impact the degree requirements of students who enrolled prior to 2022. All current students will continue to follow their current academic program. All courses needed to complete their degrees will remain available, including the GBs. Existing programs of study, including the LSM, will remain available. Transferring into the new curriculum will not be possible for returning students.

The curriculum revision introduces the following changes:

• Increasing student flexibility through a smaller, streamlined set of core requirements, the addition of double majors, and the introduction of a flexible set of liberal arts requirements called “Context and Perspectives from the Arts and Sciences.”

• Focusing on inclusive excellence by (1) weaving more substantive DE&I components throughout the curriculum; (2) improving transfer-friendliness, thereby enabling broader access to a more diverse applicant pool; and, (3) offering the Falcon Discovery Seminar, a 3-credit First Year Seminar course in which students acquire essential academic and social skills.

• Updating the foundational structure by replacing the calculus requirement with more flexible math options, revamping the communication sequence (EXP 1 and 2) with new Critical Reading and Writing and Multimodal Communication courses, and changing the GB 112/212 Accounting and Finance sequence into two standalone courses.

In addition, certain elements of the current curriculum have been removed or replaced, including:

• Diversity Intensive and International Intensive requirements: replaced by new the Context and Perspectives requirements in the Race, Gender, and Inequality and Globalization themes

• Liberal Studies Major and Business Studies Major: replaced by the chance to do double majors, as well as coupling a conventional major with the Business Administration major (see below).

• The one-credit First Year Seminar: replaced by the three-credit Falcon Discovery Seminar.

The new core includes four focal areas of study: 1) Foundations; 2) Context and Perspectives from the Arts and Sciences; (3) Business Dynamics; and (4) The Business Environment. You can read more about the structure of the new core on our Undergraduate Programs web page.

The curriculum removes barriers for transfer students in several ways. By standardizing several core requirements, we have eased the path into Bentley from community colleges and other schools.

Courses that were once distinctive to Bentley, and therefore less transfer-friendly, such as the accounting and finance sequence (GB 112/212), the Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (GB 110), and Marketing-Operations Fundamentals (GB 214), have been either converted into more standard courses or moved from the core into the optional Business Administration major.

Furthermore, students need only fulfill any 100-level Math course, rather than the 2-course calculus sequence that is now required of all students.

The last major revision of Bentley’s core (General Education and General Business courses together) occurred in 1995, over 25 years ago. During the intervening years, the General Business Core has been revised, many new programs developed, majors created and revised, but no comprehensive reform undertaken. Prompted by the profound demographic and technological shifts outlined in the 2020-2025 strategic plan, student interest in a more flexible curriculum, and employer demands for graduates with adaptable cognitive and social skills, Bentley embarked on a systematic reassessment of its core curriculum in 2017.

The urgency of Bentley’s curriculum reform was prompted by the upcoming demographic cliff in higher education, especially in the northeast, which will put pressure on our enrollment pipeline. Its importance was highlighted in the institution’s 2020 Strategic Plan, which referenced several headwinds of higher education, as well as by national employer surveys and our career services staff.

Bentley last revised its entire core curriculum in 1996, though some portions of the core were updated since then (the General Business core was revised in 2009). The last 25 years have seen significant industry and technology changes that have altered the needs of our graduates. At the same time, Bentley’s market position has improved, giving us an opportunity to attract the students who might otherwise attend highly selective liberal arts colleges and comprehensive universities.

A smaller core means that students and faculty can adjust to changing social and market conditions via majors and minors, because the governance process at Bentley does not require institutional consensus to change them. They can be altered based on insights from employers, academic researchers, alumni, and staff experts over time. The new curriculum is also favorable to the creation of integrated majors and minors that draw upon the combined strengths of business and A&S faculty.

In fall 2022, a new curriculum will be launched for new incoming students: both first year students and transfer students.

This change will not impact the degree requirements of students who enrolled prior to 2022. All current students will continue to follow their current academic program. All courses needed to complete their degrees will remain available, including the GBs. Existing programs of study, including the LSM, will remain available. Transferring into the new curriculum will not be possible for returning students.

The new curriculum will not impact your degree requirements at Bentley. You will continue to follow your current academic program. Transferring into the new curriculum will not be possible for current students.

The courses that rising sophom*ores, juniors and seniors need to graduate will still be available, including the GBs. Following your current requirements will allow you to graduate on time. If needed, academic advisors will work with students who need substitutions to satisfy requirements for the current curriculum.

All current programs will continue to exist. If you are interested in a particular major, including an LSM (Liberal Studies Major), or minor but have not yet declared that program, you can still do so.

No, students enrolled prior to Fall 2022 will not be able to transfer into the new curriculum.

There are two primary reasons for this. First, there is no one-to-one translation of existing courses and new courses. Because of the requirements in the existing curriculum, jumping to the new curriculum would be unhelpful and expensive for currently enrolled students

Second, when a student enrolls at Bentley, an implied contract is made between their class and the catalogue (which outlines degree requirements) under which they come in. Just as new students cannot graduate under older curriculum requirements, currently enrolled students cannot graduate under new curriculum requirements.

You may be assured that the courses you need to graduate will still be available. Following your current requirements will allow you to graduate on time, and seasoned faculty will continue to teach the courses you need.

All current programs of study will continue to exist. If you are interested in a particular major, including an LSM (Liberal Studies Major), or minor but have not yet declared that program, you can still do so.

Yes, the GBs and all other required courses will continue to be offered for students enrolled prior to fall 2022. All courses that you need to graduate will still be available. Following your current requirements will allow you to graduate on time.

No, double majors are not available to students enrolled prior to fall 2022. However, the Liberal Studies Major (LSM), which is an optional double major, will continue to be available.

The LSM does not stand alone, but is an interdisciplinary second major for students whose primary major is a Bachelor of Science. The LSM is designed to help students increase the value and meaning of their liberal arts education at Bentley by combining some required courses in the general education curriculum with arts and sciences electives and some business electives under the umbrella of a specific theme.

No, the Business Administration Major is not available to students enrolled prior to fall 2022.

Yes, the Liberal Studies Major (LSM), which is an optional double major, will continue to be available for students enrolled prior to fall 2022.

The LSM does not stand alone, but is an interdisciplinary second major for students whose primary major is a Bachelor of Science. The LSM is designed to help students increase the value and meaning of their liberal arts education at Bentley by combining some required courses in the general education curriculum with arts and sciences and business electives under the umbrella of a specific theme.

The curriculum revision introduces the following changes:

• Increased student flexibility through a smaller, streamlined set of core requirements, the addition of double majors, and the introduction of a flexible set of liberal arts requirements called “Context and Perspectives from the Arts and Sciences.”

• Focus on inclusive excellence by (1) weaving more substantive DE&I components throughout the curriculum; (2) improving transfer-friendliness, thereby enabling broader access to a more diverse applicant pool; and, (3) offering the Falcon Discovery Seminar, a 3-credit First Year Seminar course in which students acquire essential academic and social skills.

• Updates to the foundational structure by replacing the calculus requirement with more flexible math options, revamping the communication sequence (Expository Writing 1 and 2) with new Critical Reading and Writing and Multimodal Communication courses, and changing the GB 112/212 Accounting and Finance sequence into two standalone courses.

In addition, certain elements of the current curriculum have been removed or replaced, including:

• Diversity Intensive and International Intensive requirements: replaced by new the Context and Perspectives requirements in the Race, Gender, and Inequality and Globalization themes

• Liberal Studies Major and Business Studies Major: replaced by the chance to do double majors, as well as coupling a conventional major with the Business Administration major (see below).

• The one-credit First Year Seminar: replaced by the three-credit Falcon Discovery Seminar.

Yes, however we will be phasing out certain core courses in the existing curriculum over the next several years. If needed, academic advisors will work with students who need substitutions to satisfy requirements for the current curriculum.

Yes, however we will be phasing out certain core courses in the existing curriculum over the next several years. If needed, academic advisors will work with students who need substitutions to satisfy requirements for the current curriculum.

Yes, however we will be phasing out certain core courses in the existing curriculum over the next several years. If needed, academic advisors will work with students who need substitutions to satisfy requirements for the current curriculum.