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Academic Requirements

Shattuck-St. Mary’s diploma requirements

All transfer students will submit their transcript of previous work to the office of the Registrar, where an analysis will be performed to determine the number of credits the student can apply toward SSM graduation requirements. Semester courses receive 0.5 credit and year-long courses receive 1 credit. Final course grades below D- will earn no credit in either semester or year-long courses. In addition, if a course is a year-long course, and a student either fails to complete the course, drops the course, is suspended from the course, or in any other manner fails to complete all coursework required to receive a passing grade for the entire year, the student will receive no credit for the course.

Each student at Shattuck-St. Mary’s must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 academic courses each semester. Students may achieve 5 courses by doubling in a department with the approval of the chair of the doubled department. Any exception to this policy must be approved by the Director of Studies.

Students are required to take a minimum of 20.5 credits during the regular academic program. One-semester courses receive 0.5 credit and year-long courses receive 1 credit. The 20.5 credits must satisfy the specific requirements described below:

  • English:4 credits; students must be enrolled in English each semester.
  • Performing and Visual Arts: 2 credits, with 0.5 credits earned for every year of enrollment.
  • History: 3 credits, including 1 credit of United States History or Advanced United States History.
  • Science: 3 credits, including 1 credit in Biology and 1 credit in either Chemistry or Physics.
  • Religious Studies: 0.5 credit to be fulfilled during the junior year if the student has not already taken a religion course in grades 9-12; approval to fulfill this requirement during sophomore or senior year must be granted by the Director of Studies.
  • World Language: 3 credits in the same language for 3 consecutive years during grades 9-12.
  • Mathematics: 3 credits, including a minimum of 1 credit each in Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry or courses advanced beyond these levels; students must be enrolled in Mathematics each semester.
  • Two additional elective credits from any department

SSM offers a total of 18 Advanced Placement (AP) courses across all of the academic disciplines. For students seeking to further delve into specific subject areas, the AP approach offers rigorous options.

The Health and Wellness program at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School has been developed to be a comprehensive curriculum.

Sixth through 8th-grade students receive instruction during their community period, with 6th and 7th grades completing this during winter term and the 8th grade completing it during fall term. All 9th-grade students are required to take a one term Health and Wellness course that is a required credit for graduation.

The 10th through 12th graders receive specialized, grade-level instruction during a one hour community period that takes place on Wednesdays throughout the School year. Instruction is delivered by qualified faculty members and guest speakers that include the school counselors, school nurses, and consulting physicians. The curriculum is augmented by additional activities such as the bi-annual Health Fair and Health/Wellness modules.

Diploma Requirements for International Students

The diploma requirements listed previously apply to international students with the following provisions. An international student whose first language is not English may qualify for a Shattuck-St. Mary’s diploma by passing ESL or English during each year of attendance and exiting ESL prior to senior year. All international students are expected to complete at least one year of mainstream English instruction, and exit from ESL is a prerequisite for these courses.

Initial ESL placement is determined by a series of assessments, including incoming TOEFL scores, on campus testing and an interview, during orientation; placement for subsequent years is evaluated each spring. ESL exit is determined by the student’s ability to speak, write, read, and listen to English. These skills will be evaluated by the ESL Department through an examination of grades, written work, and standardized tests.

The Director of Studies and the Director of ESL will review the academic performance of students who are not making sufficient progress in their ESL program and will make a recommendation to the Associate Head of School regarding the student’s potential to satisfy graduation requirements. Depending on the severity of the situation, recommendations may include mandatory additional Shattuck-St. Mary’s ESL instruction during the school year and/or summer, repeating a grade year, or dismissal.

A student in the ESL program’s native language will be exempted from the Shattuck-St. Mary’s World Language requirement; however, further language study is recommended for students who exit ESL.