Concordia College

FAQs

1. What if I’m not sure about a major?
Many first-year students aren’t sure right away what they’d like to study. Our liberal arts curriculum provides the opportunity to explore different academic areas to help you decide on a major. In fact, sometimes it’s a good idea to start college with an open mind about exploring your interests. You may find that a few classes capture your interest and lead you to consider new career possibilities.


2. Can I double major?
Definitely. Concordia offers 78 majors and 12 preprofessional programs and many of our students double major. We’ll help you put together the programs you need to help you prepare for your exciting future.


3. What degrees does Concordia offer?
Concordia offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees, as well as a new Master of Education in world language instruction.


4. Does Concordia have a study abroad program?
We sure do! In fact, Concordia ranks fifth nationally among liberal arts colleges in the number of students studying abroad and 54 percent of our students travel abroad at least once during their four years – that’s 25 times the national average. Each year, hundreds of Concordia students and faculty travel on 10-day Exploration Seminars during spring break and month-long May Seminars to countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America to gain an appreciation and understanding of other cultures. There are also semester-long and yearlong programs in several countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia and the Baltic, Malta, India and Greece.


5. How does Concordia’s credit system work?
One course credit at Concordia is equated as four semester (or semester-hour) credits, or six quarter credits. A full course, which is worth one course credit, is designed to occupy about one-fourth of a student’s schedule per semester. A normal class load is considered to be four credits per semester, with a maximum registration of 4.25 credits. The registrar occasionally makes exceptions to the maximum.


6. How many credits do I need to graduate?
At least 31.5 credits are required for graduation. Students earning four credits per semester will graduate with 32 credits.


7. What are the requirements to graduate with honors?
The required GPA scale for graduation honors is 3.5 for cum laude, 3.7 for magna cum laude and 3.9 for summa cum laude. Individual departmental honors are also available. Honors listed in the commencement program are based on grades up to but not including the current semester. The final honors status is determined after all grades are known.


8. What can the Tri-College University offer me?
Concordia is part of a three-college consortium known as the Tri-College University. Through this program, you may take one course per semester at either Minnesota State University Moorhead or North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. You may earn a minor through the Tri-College.  Many students use the multiple course offerings of Tri-College to take courses not available on their home campus. All the resources of each library are also available, as well as the opportunity to take in cultural and sporting events at all of the campuses.


9. What’s on the academic calendar for the coming year?
Check our calendar.


10.  I studied a second language in high school. How do I test for proper placement in Concordia language classes, once I’ve been accepted for admission?
Concordia uses an online test for global language placement testing in French, German or Spanish. You can find the instructions online and the test takes about 30 minutes. The test determines class placement only, not credit.

The test is not available online for Norwegian, Russian or Latin. If you’ve studied one of those languages, contact the departments for placement testing information.