The Department of Physical Education and Athletics is the academic department within the college charged with developing students' knowledge and skills in physical activities. This base of knowledge and skills of physical activity is considered an essential component of the liberal arts education at Wellesley College and is required of all students for completion of their undergraduate degree.
To complete the College degree
requirement in physical education and athletics, a student
must earn 8 credit points, the equivalent of two semester
courses. Students are strongly urged to complete the requirement
by the end of the sophomore year. These credits do not
count as academic units toward the degree, but are required
for graduation. There are no exceptions to the degree
requirement in physical education.
The faculty provide two
chief approaches to help students develop these physical
skills and knowledge:
Physical Education Classes -- Students receive beginning and intermediate levels of instruction in fitness activities, sports, aquatics, dance, and wellness through physical education classes;
Intercollegiate Athletics -- Students receive advanced skill level instruction in sports and leadership development through participation on the varsity athletic teams.
Physical education activity classes are scheduled either for a semester (12 weeks) or a term (6 weeks). Physical education classes offered for a semester count as 4 credit points while a term course counts 2 credit points toward completing the 8-point requirement. All classes are graded on a Credit-No Credit basis. Credit for a class is earned from attendance and active participation for the whole class.
Wellesley courses include different skill levels in fitness, sports, aquatics, dance and other activitity programs:
AQUATICS DANCE FITNESS |
MARTIAL
ARTS SPORTS YOGA |
Five Registrations occur during each academic year. All students will receive a Physical Education course schedule and registration instructions through campus mail at least one week prior to each Physical Education Registration.
Students registered for a class must attend the first session to hold their spots. If a student does not attend the first class, she is deleted from the roster. Students unable to enroll in a class during Registration may attend the first class to see if space is available.
Courses may be taken only once for credit. Students who have already received credit for the semester version of a given class (e.g., Semester Golf) are not eligible to receive credit for its term version (Term Golf). However, students who have already earned credit for the term version of a class are eligible to receive credit for its semester version. Partial credit is not awarded for partial completion of a class.
New Policy: Students who have already completed the PE Requirement (“auditors”) are able to register for classes online on the second day of each registration. There is no limit to the number of classes a student can audit during her time at Wellesley.
Fees may be charged for some activities on and off campus or for instructional materials used in class. Information may be obtained from the Physical Education Registrar, ext. 2004, or at the first class meeting.
The student is expected to assume the responsibility for the content of the course, for regular attendance and for keeping the Instructor informed in matters relating to attendance.
Grades for PE courses are as follows:
CR - Credit for course completed satisfactorily.
NC - No Credit. The student has not completed the course satisfactorily. Inadequate familiarity with the content of the course or excessive absence may result in an NC grade.
Students with medical restrictions must meet with the College Health Services Staff to be placed on the Department's Medical Restrictions List. Assistance in choosing appropriate courses is available from the Department Health Services Liaison. In cases where appropriate activities are not available in the curriculum, a Modified Program may be arranged individually through the Physical Education Department Liaison. No student is exempt from the physical education requirement.
While most Wellesley physical education classes do not require pre-requisites, those that do are noted in the course catalogue, pages 5-10. In addition, certain nautical activities may require one or both of the following:
Swim Test
A Swim test is required for any activity on the lake and is granted upon successful completion of a swim test offered during recreational swimming. You may take the swim test whenever there are two lifeguards on duty and fewer than 10 people swimming. The test consists of jumping into the water wearing a sweat suit (provided) and treading water for five minutes. After one minute, while continuing to tread, take off the sweat suit. Tread for the remainder of the five minutes and then swim two continuous widths of the pool. Demonstrate the ability to put on a life jacket while in the water.
Upon successful completion of the test, the lifeguard will give you a card. Save this slip of paper to present to the Boat House staff or PE instructor before taking out a canoe or sailboat for the rest of that term. After you have passed the swim test, you will be placed on a master list, and you will stay on the list throughout your time at Wellesley College. A student may present a valid Lifeguard Training, or Water Safety Instructor Certificate in place of the swim test. The swim test is administered during Recreational pool hours, which can be found here or by calling x2019.
Sailing Test
Light Wind Rating: Required to use a sail boat during recreational hours in light winds. Test: Written test on terminology; demonstration of knowledge of basic knots, rigging a boat, sailing a short course and landing boat satisfactorily. A crew is optional.
Heavy Wind Rating: Required to sail a boat during recreational hours in a wind over 10 knots. Test: Some dinghy racing experience on or off campus required. Demonstration of ability to handle Tech dinghy in winds over 10 knots.
Members of Wellesley College intercollegiate athletic teams are eligible to earn physical education credit torwards completing the eight-point requirement. Each Head Coach distributes notices of organizational meetings and subsequent tryouts each year. Only students selected to the team by the Head Coach are eligible for physical education credit.
The Intercollegiate Athletic program offers 13 sports in which a student may earn up to four points of physical education credit each year.
Sport |
Season |
Basketball |
Winter |
Crew (Novice and Varsity) |
Fall and Spring |
Cross Country |
Fall |
Fencing |
Winter |
Field Hockey |
Fall |
Golf |
Fall and Spring |
Lacrosse |
Spring |
Soccer |
Fall |
Softball |
Spring |
Squash |
Winter |
Swimming and Diving |
Winter |
Tennis |
Fall and Spring |
Volleyball |
Fall |
The independent study option is limited to exceptional or highly skilled students. Independent programs may be pursued either on- or off-campus under the direction of a trained supervisor approved by the Department's Independent Study Advisor. Proposals for independent programs must be submitted in writing to the Department's Independent Study Advisor prior to the start of the program, typically during the first week of the term/semester for which the student desires credit. Credit will not be awarded retroactively. Students may not receive both academic and physical education credit for the same activity. No more than 4 points may be earned via this option.
Students may earn 2 credit points by practicing for and participating in the intramural Dorm Crew race in November or the intramural Class Crew race in April. While students are welcome to participate in these races as many times as they like, they may only earn credit once, for a total of 2 points. Organizational meetings for Dorm Crew are held each September; meetings for Class Crew are in early March. Contact the Varsity Crew Coach for details. Prequisite: Swim Test.
Students who have completed six of the eight required credits through regular physical education classes may earn 2 credits for participation on a club sport team. As with indepedent study, each student must submit a written proposal to the Physical Education Registrar prior to her involvement with a club if she wishes to receive credit for the activity. Club captains are responsible for maintaining and submitting accurate attendance records at the conclusion of their seasons to assist the Physical Education Department in awarding credit. Club credit will not be awarded retroactively.
Students may earn credit for a physical education classes taken at other colleges by asking the host institution's Physical Education Department to send a letter to the Wellesley Physical Education Registrar confirming the students' satisfactory completion the class. This policy applies to M.I.T., all schools in the 12-College Exchange and any certified institution of higher learning at which students may study abroad, provided the courses are part of the respective Physical Education Department's curriculum and taught by faculty members of that department.
Transfer students are admitted as if they have completed some credit points in physical education prior to admission at Wellesley. The number of physical education points awarded to a student depends on the number of academic credits she earned at her previous institution. In general, students admitted as first-semester sophomores (with 8 academic credits) usually receive 4 credit points, which means they must earn 4 more points to meet the graduation requirement. Students admitted as first-semester juniors (with 16 academic credits) usually receive 8 credit points, which fulfills the requirement. Transfer students may petition the Department for additional credit.
| Chair of Physical Education and Athletics | Bridget Belgiovine | x2001 |
| Medical Restrictions/Sports Medicine Class | Connie Bauman | x2015 |
| Independent Study, Club Sports, Senior Advisor | Kathy Hagerstrom | x2013 |
| Physical Education Registrar/CreditRecords | Tom Wilson | x2004 |
| Swimming and Sailing Tests | Bonnie Dix | x2021 |
