Undergraduate
Bachelor's Degree Programs
General Studies
The General Studies program is designed to meet the needs of adult learners. In fact, nearly all General Studies students at IUPUI are 21 years old or older with work, previous college credits, and life experience.
The General Studies Degree Program, extends to students the opportunity to pursue a college education regardless of work schedules, domestic responsibilities, or location. Students may fulfill degree requirements by taking on-campus courses, web, or a combination of both.
The core of each general studies degree is a broadly based education encompassing a.) the arts and humanities; b.) the social and behavioral sciences; and c.) mathematics and natural sciences. The curriculum expands students body of knowledge and awareness of major areas of human experience. A general studies education is not limited in scope; it establishes the foundation for a lifetime of learning and serves as the framework for a productive professional and personal life.
Students who complete the general studies undergraduate program will achieve the following objectives:
General Studies Core Competencies
- Communication/Written/Oral: Students effectively communicate in written or spoken language to diverse audiences. Students comprehend, evaluate and respectfully respond to the ideas of others.
- Diversity: Students appreciate local and global diversity and are respectful and empathetic during personal interactions. Students effectively collaborate and resolve conflicts.
- Mathematical/ Quantitative Reasoning: Students demonstrate the ability to use symbolic, graphical, numerical, and written representations of mathematical ideas. Students compute, organize data and effectively problem-solve using quantitative tools.
- Computer: Students locate, critically evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information in various traditional and new media formats. Students understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to information and its use.
The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) provides basic preparation for many careers and graduate programs. B.G.S. graduates are employed in various professional fields, including education, law, government and social service, real estate, and private industry. Many B.G.S. recipients have gone on to graduate programs in fields such as anthropology, business, divinity studies, education, fine arts, international affairs, law, library science, management, medicine, nursing, public health, and social work. B.G.S. graduates have earned masters degrees and doctorates at Indiana University and other prestigious universities.
In addition to enrolling in regular session courses at any Indiana University campus, students may fulfill general studies degree requirements in various ways, including credit by examination, credit for educational programs in noncollegiate organizations, military service credit, and credit for courses completed at other regionally accredited institutions.
Requirements
39 credits hours selected from Arts and Science academic departments, of which:
- 18 credit hours selected from one area below.
- Credit hours earned must be from two or more different academic departments with a C- or higher.
- No more than 21 credit hours are allowed from each department
Arts and Science Academic Departments
Arts and Humanities
- Africana Studies (AFRO)
- American Sign Language/English Interpreting (ASL)
- American Studies (AMST)
- Classical Studies (CLAS)
- Communication Studies (COMM)
- East Asian Languages, Chinese and Japanese (EALC)
- English (ENG)
- Film Studies (FILM)
- Folklore (FOLK)
- French (FREN)
- German (GER)
- Herron School of Art (HER)
- Journalism and Public Relations (JOUR)
- Latino Studies (LATS)
- Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS)
- Museum Studies (MSTD)
- Music (MUS)
- Near Eastern Language and Culture, Arabic (NELC)
- Philanthropic Studies (PHST)
- Philosophy (PHIL)
- Religious Studies (REL)
- Spanish (SPAN)
- Technical Communications (TCM)
- World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)
Science and Math
- Astronomy (AST)
- Biology (BIOL, MICR, BITN-all count as one department)
- Chemistry (CHEM)
- Computer Science (CSCI)
- Forensic Science (FIS)
- General Science (SCI)
- Geology (GEOL)
- Mathematics (MATH, STAT-all count as one department)
- Microbiology (MICR)
- Physics (PHYS)
Social Science
- Anthropology (ANTH)
- Criminal Justice (SPEA-J)
- Economics (ECON)
- Geography (GEOG)
- History (HIST)
- Political Science (POLS)
- Psychology (PSY)
- Sociology (SOC)
- Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST)
- 21 additional credits selected from anywhere in the Arts and Science academic departments
- 51 credit hours in general electives. Courses can be selected from Professional Schools and Arts and Science academic departments.
Professional Schools
- Business (BUS)
- Dental Assisting (DAST)
- Dental Hygiene (DHYG)
- Education (EDUC)
- Emergency Medical (EMER)
- Foods and Nutrition (FN)
- Health Information Management (HIM)
- Herron Schhol of Art (ART)
- Informatics (INFO)
- Library and Information Science (SLIS)
- Labor Studies (LSTU)
- Medicine
- Military (MIL)
- Music (MUS)*
- New Media (NEWM)
- Nursing (NURS)
- Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS)
- Philanthropic Studies (PHST)
- Physical Education (HPER)
- Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA)
- Social Work (SWK)
- Technical Communications (TCM)
- Tourism, Convention and Event Management (TCEM)
School of Engineering/Technology (maximum 30 credit hours from any combination of departments below)
- Computer Graphics Technology (CGT)
- Computer and Information Technology (CIT)
- Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technology (CIMT)
- Construction Technology (CNT)
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET)
- Engineering (ECE, ME, ENGR)
- Industrial Engineering Technology (IET)
- Interior Design (INTR)
- Mechanical Enginerring Technology (MET)
Minimum 18 credit hours completed after official admission to the General Studies Degree program
Minimum 30 credit hours completed at Indiana University (any campus)
Minimum 30 credit hours of upper level coursework (courses numbered 300-400 level) No more than 21 credit hours from a single Arts and Science academic department and/or 30 credit hours from a single professional school
Must complete one of the following courses during last term before graduation:
- GNST-G 399 General Studies Internship OR GNST-G 400 General Studies Capstone
- Maximum 90 transfer credits accepted from colleges/universities awarding baccalaureate degrees
- Maximum 64 transfer credits accepted from two-year and community colleges
