Butler Cultural Requirement
Overview
Butler University has a rich set of cultural activities in the form of artistic performances, seminars and public lectures that collectively comprise one of our most remarkable educational resources. The aim of the Butler Cultural Requirement is to engage students in these most valuable and exciting learning opportunities, and to encourage students to develop habits of participation in artistic and cultural events that will lead to lifelong engagement with the creative arts and public intellectual life.
For a list of approved events, please check the BCR calendar. The BCR calendar is updated throughout the semester. Please check back regularly for new events.
Requirement Structure
All Butler students must attend eight or more BCR events as part of their graduation requirements. Transfer students must complete at least one BCR credit for each semester enrolled at Butler University. Founder’s College students must attend four or more BCR events during their time at Butler.
Effective fall 2025, students who are graduating in December must have their BCR requirement completed by the first Friday in December. Effective spring 2026, students who are graduating in May or August must have their BCR requirement completed by the second Friday in April.
Exemptions
No Exemption
All JCA students have arts events attendance requirements regardless of area of study; this includes primary majors and secondary majors, but not students who are pursuing only a JCA minor. Effective spring 2016, students pursuing a primary or secondary major in JCA have fulfilled the University BCR requirement by completing the arts events attendance requirements as required by their area of study in JCA.
Receiving BCR Credit
When attending a BCR event, students must either scan a QR code or retrieve a tinyURL which automatically captures their attendance. QR codes/URLs are unique, event-specific and timed. Only students attending a specific event may claim credit, and students must attend the entire event to receive credit.
In past semesters, students would “scan in” and also “scan out” to receive BCR credit. Now, the QR code or tinyURL will be made available during the event by the event host—at the beginning, middle or end.
Note: There are no alternative make-up options for those missing BCRs preventing graduation.
NOTE: If you mark yourself as attended outside of a BCR event timeline, your attendance credit will not register in your my.butler.edu student record. Additionally, if claiming BCR credit for two concurrent events, both credits will be marked invalid.
Disability-Related Accommodations for Events
For accessibility information or to request disability-related accommodations, please visit butler.edu/academic-services/disability/event-accommodations.
Event coordinators need to contact Student Disability Services at 317-940-9308 or in Jordan Hall 136 to discuss all accommodation requests and accessibility questions in order to help ensure they are properly addressed.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact the Core Curriculum Office and we will be happy to assist you further!
Attend events with the BCR designation and claim your BCR credit. During a designated BCR event, event hosts will post a unique QR code or URL which automatically captures attendance. These links are timed and unique to each event, and students are expected to attend the entire event for credit.
- For in-person events, you need a personal smart device to register attendance. Look for a posted QR code. Scan the QR code, sign-in using your Butler Credentials, and your attendance is automatically captured. In some instances, students may already be signed into the system and are automatically registered. Look for a small blue confirmation bar at the bottom of the screen.
- For livestreamed events, watch for a posted TinyURL on a slide or in a chat. This may appear either at the beginning, middle or end of the event. Go to the link, sign-in using your Butler Credentials, and your attendance is automatically captured. In some instances, students may already be signed into the system and are automatically registered. Look for a small blue confirmation bar at the bottom of the screen.
NOTE: If you mark yourself as attended outside of a BCR event timeline, your attendance credit will not register in your my.butler.edu student record. Additionally, if claiming BCR credit for 2 concurrent events, both credits will be marked invalid.
- For in-person events, you need a personal smart device to register attendance. Look for a posted QR code. Scan the QR code, sign-in using your Butler Credentials, and your attendance is automatically captured.
- For livestreamed events, watch for a posted TinyURL on a slide or in a chat. This may appear either at the beginning, middle or end of the event. Go to the link, sign-in using your Butler Credentials, and your attendance is automatically captured. In some instances, students may already be signed into the system and their attendance is automatically captured. Look for a small blue confirmation bar at the bottom of the screen. Questions: Contact bcr@butler.edu.
If a student does not own a smartphone or device and cannot record BCR attendance during an event, please contact the Core Curriculum office at bcr@butler.edu or 317-940-9480 for alternative instructions.
For accessibility information or to request disability-related accommodations, please visit butler.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion/student-disability-services/event-accommodations.
Event coordinators need to contact Student Disability Services at 317-940-9308 or in Jordan Hall 136 to discuss all accommodation requests and accessibility questions in order to help ensure they are properly addressed.
Transfer students must complete at least one BCR credit for each semester enrolled at Butler University.
View the list of BCR events.
In addition to keeping track of the number of attended events, the online graduation audit will indicate the number of events you have attended. Please view instructions on how to track the number of events you have attended. If you believe the report is in error, contact the Core Curriculum office as soon as possible at bcr@butler.edu or 317-940-9480.
All JCA students have arts events attendance requirements regardless of area of study; this includes primary majors and secondary majors but not students who are pursuing only a JCA minor. Effective spring 2016, students pursuing a primary or secondary major in JCA have fulfilled the university BCR requirement by completing the arts events attendance requirements as required by their area of study in JCA.
Students who complete their degree work in less than 4 years still need eight BCR credits for graduation.