Dec 03, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Introduction to Nazareth


 

Mission

Nazareth University fosters integrated learning through action and reflection, educating whole persons who are guided by empathy, committed to equity, and prepared to lead innovation for our time.

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Curriculum

Nazareth University offers more than 89 majors, including education; math and sciences; business and management; visual arts, music, theatre, foreign languages, and other humanities; and a wide array of health and human service programs. Nazareth’s goal is to prepare students not only for one job, but for their life’s work through diverse, high-quality courses, experiential learning, and civic engagement.

Liberal arts courses are about a third of a college student’s investment in time and money, and Nazareth’s approach is to make that part as valuable and rewarding as the classes in your major. The University’s uncommon core curriculum gives you the tools, experience, guidance, and support to be the architect of your education, your career, and your future. This approach also makes Nazareth a good fit for students who are still exploring which major they’ll select, providing a foundation of engaging classes and experiential learning while students also get guidance from professors and academic advisors to find their path.

All students choose courses across a liberal arts menu to build knowledge, pursue interests, and develop the skills most sought by employers - problem solving, critical thinking, and exceptional communication. Along the way, students learn how to analyze engaging questions in different disciplines and then explore a question of their choosing through three courses they select in their integrational studies. Nazareth’s CORE curriculum requires experiential learning in the form of credit-based internships, co-curricular service, fieldwork, research, or leadership roles. The hands-on experiences reinforce coursework, connect students with potential career contacts and employers, and/or help students better understand themselves, the broader world, and current issues. Professors help students integrate the full experience, so that graduates leave college with the knowledge, adaptable skills, and comfort with the complexity necessary to be successful in today’s constantly changing world. More about the core: naz.edu/core

To obtain a baccalaureate degree, students must earn at least 120 credits and fulfill the general curriculum and major requirements.

100% of Nazareth University Students complete some sort of experiential learning opportunity (e.g., internship, student teaching, clinical work, fieldwork, practicum, or service learning), integrating and applying academic skills to real-world experiences.

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Recognition

The 2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges guide ranked Nazareth in the top tier of colleges and universities for Best Regional Universities North. Rankings are based on academic quality indicators such as graduation rates and faculty resources. The region covers 11 states and the District of Columbia.

Nazareth is on Princeton Review’s “Best 388 Colleges” list for the 15th consecutive year as one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education. Nazareth is also No. 11 on the list for LGBTQ-friendly and No. 14 for great town-gown relations.

Nazareth is among a select group of top colleges and universities across the country hand-picked to earn a 2022-2023 Best Colleges of Distinction designation for its commitment to engaged, experiential education.

Colleges of Distinction focuses on institutions like Nazareth that are committed to the undergraduate experience and deliver on four overarching distinctions - student engagement, teaching, community, and outcomes.

Nazareth regularly ranks among the country’s most prestigious colleges and universities for its number of Fulbright scholars, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Nazareth consistently ranks among the best for student civic engagement. Washington Monthly, NASPA (the leading national association of student affairs administrators in higher education), the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, and the Carnegie Foundation have recognized Nazareth’s sophisticated, successful approach to community engagement.

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Commitment to the Future

Preparing students for a world of rapid change, and for careers yet to be defined, is the focus at Nazareth. College graduates must have relevant knowledge, exceptional critical thinking skills, a global mindset, and work experience. Our uncommon core curriculum is student-focused and integrated with students’ career goals. We promote global dexterity through coursework, foreign-language houses, events, a diverse campus community, and dozens of opportunities to travel, study, intern, and experience life overseas. Nazareth stands out for its number of Fulbright scholars, selected to teach around the world, and for its commitment to developing student leaders.

Nazareth’s dynamic learning environment is responsive to the needs of the rapidly changing global workforce and will continue to innovate its curriculum and improve its facilities to address these ever-evolving needs.

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Respect and Diversity

Notice of Non-Discrimination
The University does not permit discrimination or harassment in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, medical condition, genetic information or predisposing characteristic, military or veteran status, political affiliation or belief, arrest or conviction record, marital status or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy or state, local or federal law. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex or gender in its educational, extracurricular, athletic or other programs or in the context of employment.

The University, as an educational community, will respond promptly and equitably to reports of sex discrimination and harassment, sexual harassment, sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence, and sex- or gender-based harassment that does not involve conduct of a sexual nature in order to eliminate the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects on any individual or the community.

Inquiries concerning the application of this policy prescribed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, may be directed to Human Resources at Nazareth University, 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618, 585-389-2060. The University’s Title IX Coordinator (Division of Community and Belonging) coordinates the responsibilities under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and may be contacted at 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618, 585-389-2877. For more information, see the websites of the Title IX Office and the Student Accessibility Services Office.

Statement of Diversity and Inclusion

Preamble
Nazareth University embraces a society that is both diverse and inclusive, and values both respect for the person and freedom of speech.  Respect for the dignity of all people is an essential part of the University’s tradition, mission, and vision for the future as we advance a socially just and equitable community. The University promotes civility and denounces acts of hatred, violence, and/or intolerance.

Statement
We define diversity as a continuum of individual, group, and social differences, both visible and invisible. This definition compels us to confront inherent privilege, power, and marginalization as well as celebrate the inherent strengths & abilities diverse individuals and groups have brought to society and our institution. Diversity at Nazareth is concerned with, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual belief, ability, national origin, veteran status, age, and those individuals with cultural characteristics that have been historically underrepresented and underserved.

Nazareth University is dedicated to inclusion, the active pursuit of conscious and sustained practices and processes that value and respect differences.  This commitment to diversity and inclusion informs our curriculum, teaching, learning, scholarship, creative activities, co-curricular activities, residential life, community involvement, and support of these endeavors by the Nazareth Community.

This commitment includes:

  • engaging in a continual process of appreciation, education, critical self-reflection and dialogue regarding privilege, power, marginalization, as well as the recognition of how diverse groups have successfully navigated society across historical and current contexts,
  • promoting greater access and inclusion through systemic and structural change,
  • ensuring that all students, faculty, and staff reach their fullest potential individually and collectively,
  • and facilitating an authentic sense of belonging for all students, faculty, and staff as members of our community.

This endeavor is essential in meeting the goal of preparing our students and ourselves for meaningful lives in a diverse and global society.

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Graduation Rate Report (Cohort Survival Survey)*

The most recent IPEDS Graduation Rate Report completed in Spring 2024 indicated that out of 550 full-time, first-time freshmen entering Nazareth in the fall of 2017 (adjusted for allowable exclusions), 401 or 73% graduated from Nazareth University - 354 by 2021; 42 by 2022; 5 by 2023; and 116 students or 21% transferred out. Of the 121 entering transfers in Fall 2017, 109 or 79% graduated from Nazareth University.

* Further information concerning graduation and completion rates is available in the Office of Institutional Research.

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NYS Teacher Certification Exams, Annual Institution Report (2021-2022)*

Total number of students taking tests: 136/Total number passing 131

Pass rate equals 96%  

* In accordance with Title II of the Higher Education Act, Nazareth University has a report available on our teacher preparation programs which includes information on the pass rate of program graduates on required New York State certification examinations. If you would like more information, please contact the certification office at 585-389-2592.

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Additional Resources

This catalog should be read in conjunction with other important resources and documents, which provide valuable information regarding student services, student obligations, course offerings and key deadlines. These include Student Accessibility Services, Academic Calendar, and the Student Handbook.

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