Fundamental Skills Competency Requirements
Course Distribution Requirements
Completing B.G.S. Concentration Requirements
Completing Elective Requirements
Minors and Certificates

Fundamental Skills Competency Requirements

For both the A.A. in General Studies and B.G.S., you must meet Fundamental Skills Competency Requirements that demonstrate college-level competency in four areas: written communication, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, and computer literacy. (The general requirements for the A.A. in General Studies or B.G.S. may encompass many of these fundamental skills requirements. See requirements for Associate of Arts in General Studies and Bachelor of General Studies.) You may demonstrate fundamental skills competency by completing an appropriate college-level nonremedial course or its transfer equivalent in English composition/writing, speech/communication, quantitative reasoning, and computer science or by exercising other options, including departmental, CLEP, or DANTES exams.

A course that fulfills one of the four competency requirements at any Indiana University campus fulfills that requirement for the General Studies Degree Program at any other Indiana University campus. Acceptable grades for courses meeting competency requirements must be consistent with the campus's requirements.

Many independent study courses are available to fulfill competency requirements. Important: Consult with your General Studies Degree Program counselor to determine which courses fulfill competency requirements on your campus.

Return to Top

Course Distribution Requirements

To complete either general studies degree, you complete course work in three learning areas: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. These requirements give you broad exposure to the humanities and sciences. To fulfill the requirements, you may choose from a variety of subject fields within each learning area. These subject fields are described below. You also complete additional hours of elective credit.

Important: The subject fields grouped under the three learning areas may vary among Indiana University campuses. Consult your general studies counselor for your campus's specific requirements.

Arts and Humanities
Arts and humanities courses provide knowledge and interpretive frameworks through which you may reflect on the complexity of human history, assess the difficulties of determining moral values, appreciate the range and value of human emotion and thought, and be sensitive to the varieties of aesthetic expression.

Science and Mathematics
Science and mathematics courses give you an appreciation of the physical and biological environment, introduce the discipline of systematic inquiry, provide insight into experimental methods and results, and illustrate the role and methods of the mathematical sciences.

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and behavioral sciences courses give you the means to analyze and understand the social institutions in which you live, as well as the behavior of individuals as they relate to one another and the world.

Following are some of the departments that offer courses that fulfill the distribution requirements:

Arts and Humanities

Afro-American Studies American Studies Classical Studies Comparative Literature English Fine Arts Folklore Foreign Languages

History History & Philosophy of Science Musicology & Music History Philosophy Religious Studies Speech Theatre & Drama

Science and Mathematics

Anatomy & Physiology Astronomy Biology Chemistry Computer Science Geology

Mathematics Microbiology Physics Plant Sciences Zoology

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Anthropology Economics History Political Science Sociology

Criminal Justice Geography Linguistics Psychology

Return to Top

Completing B.G.S. Concentration Requirements

To complete your concentration for the B.G.S., you must

• complete an additional 18 credit hours in one of three learning areas: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, or social and behavioral sciences.
• complete courses from at least two departments in the learning area you select for your concentration area.
• earn a minimum grade of C- in the courses you use to fulfill the concentration requirement. You may use passing grades below C- only as elective credit.