College of Arts and Sciences

General Studies Program

Academic Standards

Degrees Awarded with Distinction

The General Studies Program recognizes outstanding performance in course work by awarding degrees with three levels of distinction: distinction, high distinction, and highest distinction. In order to graduate with distinction, students must have 60 graded IU credit hours for the B.G.S. degree. (Pass/fail and self-acquired competency credits and courses not applicable to the degrees [e.g., remedial courses] are not counted in calculating the number of credit hours.) Courses with S grades (not self-acquired competency) are counted in these 60 hours.

The levels of distinction, which are printed on both the student's transcript and IU diploma, are determined by the overall cumulative grade point average of each graduating class and generally approximates the following GPAs:

  • 3.50-3.74 distinction
  • 3.75-3.89 high distinction
  • 3.90-4.00 highest distinction

Academic Bulletins

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