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Bachelor of General Studies

Degree Map | Arts and Humanities >> see department
Degree Map | Science and Mathematics >> see department
Degree Map | Social and Behavioral Sciences >> see department

About the Bachelor of General Studies

Students earn General Studies degrees for both personal enrichment and professional advancement. General Studies alumni are employed in most fields including business, education, public administration, sales, and social service. Twenty-five percent have earned graduate degrees in such fields as business administration, counseling, education, law, medicine, ministry, and social work.

Academic Advising

College policy on academic advising requires that students meet with their academic advisor at least once each year, and in some departments, prior to each semester's enrollment. Advising holds are reset following advising appointments. Students with a declared major are usually advised in their academic unit. To determine who your advisor is and how to contact them, see One.IU.

Degree Requirements (120 cr.)

Students receiving the Bachelor of General Studies must complete 120 total credit hours including:

• IU South Bend Campuswide General-Education Curriculum (A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in the following General Education requirement areas: Writing, Oral Communication, Quantitative Reasoning, Computer Literacy, Non-Western Cultures, and Diversity in United States Society
• Additional Bachelor of General Studies requirements
• Arts and Sciences Foundation requirements (69 cr.)
• General Electives (51 cr.)

• 30 minimum credit hours at the 300- or 400-level required
• 30 minimum IU South Bend credit hours required
• 30 maximum credits may be awarded for successful completion of external exams such as AP, CLEP, DSST and Regents College. Additional credits may be earned with successful completion of university exams as approved by IU South Bend.  Additional credits may also be granted for successful completion of exams and training documented from military service and from accredited licensure examinations as approved by the American Council on Education (ACE); or The National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS). Please note that credits awarded based on external exams or training programs are considered transfer credit.
• 90 maximum credit hours accepted in transfer from other colleges and universities, to include no more than 60 from junior and/or community colleges
• 2.0 minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA)
• Because a key objective of the Bachelor of General Studies degree is to encourage the development of a comprehensive curriculum, a maximum of 21 credit hours in any single department in the College of Arts and Sciences, and a maximum of 30 credits hours in any one of the professional schools of the university, may be applied to the Bachelor of General Studies. Students who minor in an area may take up to six additional credits beyond the minor requirements in order to complete the minor.

Additional Bachelor of General Studies Requirements

Basic competence must be demonstrated through completion of an approved course with a minimum grade of C (2.0) in those areas marked with an asterisk (*).

• GNST-G 203 Introduction to General Studies* | Prerequisite: Admission to General Studies or program consent. GNST-G 203 must be completed either prior to or within the first 12 credit hours after admission to the Bachelor of General Studies degree program.
• Quantitative Reasoning* | One required course; students may not test out of the Quantitative Reasoning requirement.
• Second-level Writing* | The second-level writing requirement can be met with ENG-W courses above ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I or any course designated as fulfilling the CLAS second-level writing in the Schedule of Classes.
• GNST-G 400 Senior Capstone Seminar* | Must be completed during the final semester prior to graduation. This course gives students the opportunity to make an assessment of their degree in the light of university degree requirements and their personal and professional goals.

Arts and Sciences Foundation (69 cr.)

The Arts and Sciences Foundation requires completing credits in:

• the three subject areas
• a concentration in the student’s subject area of choice
• arts and sciences electives.

A minimum grade of C- is required for all credits in areas A, B, C, and the concentration.

The credits in the three subject areas (A, B, and C) must be completed in at least two separate academic disciplines in each area as follows:

A. Arts and Humanities (12 cr.)

African American Studies (AFAM: A150) | American Studies (AMST) | Art History (AHST) | Classical Studies (CLAS) | Comparative Literature (CMLT) | English (ENG) [ENG-W must be W131 or higher] | Fine Arts (FINA) | Folklore (FOLK) | History (HIST) | History and Philosophy of Science (HPSC) | Integrated New Media Studies (INMS) | Philosophy (PHIL) | Religious Studies (REL) | Speech (SPCH) | Telecommunications (TEL) | Theatre and Dance (THTR) | Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS: B260, B342, H260, L207, P394, W201) | World Languages (EALC, FREN, GER, SPAN, etc.)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• A190, A390, A399 Arts, Aesthetics and Creativity
• T190, T390 Literary & Intellectual Traditions

B. Science and Mathematics (12 cr.)

Anatomy (ANAT) | Astronomy (AST) | Biology (BIOL) | Chemistry (CHEM) | Computer Science (CSCI) | Geology (GEOL) | Informatics (INFO: I101, 201, I210, I211, I450, I451) | Mathematics (MATH) [MATH-M 108 or higher level] | Microbiology (MICR) | Physics (PHYS) | Physiology (PHSL) | Plant Sciences (PLSC) | Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS: N200) | Zoology (ZOOL)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• N190, N390 The Natural World
• Computer Literacy
• Quantitative Reasoning

C. Social and Behavioral Sciences (12 cr.)

Anthropology (ANTH) | Criminal Justice (CJUS) | Economics (ECON) | Geography (GEOG) | Informatics (INFO: I202) | Political Science (POLS) | Psychology (PSY) | Sociology (SOC) | Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS: E391, P391, P460, S310, S338, S349, S410, W201, W240, W301)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• B190, B399 Human Behavior and Social Institutions

Concentration Area (18 cr.)

Concentration area courses must be earned in at least two separate disciplines in one of the three subject areas A, B, or C.

D. Arts and Sciences Electives (15 cr.)

Arts and Sciences electives may be earned in any of the three subject areas, A, B, or C or additional Arts and Sciences disciplines as follows:

African American Studies (AFAM courses not used above) | Cognitive Science (COGS) | College of Arts & Sciences (COAS) | General Studies (GNST) | Gerontology (GERN) | Honors (HON) | International Studies (INTL) | Sustainability (SUST) | Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS courses not used above)

General Electives (51 cr.)

Certain courses offered by INFO, MUS, and SPEA may be used in other areas depending on course content.

General electives may be selected from Areas A, B, C, D or any of the professional schools of the university:

Allied Health (AHLT) | Business (BUS, BUSE) | Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) | Continuing Studies (SCS) | Dental Hygiene (DAED, DAST, DHYG) | Education (EDUC) | Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) | Health Sciences (HSC) | Informatics (INFO) | Journalism (JOUR) | Labor Studies (LSTU) | Library and Information Science (ILS, SLIS) | Mass Communications (MASS) | Military Science (MIL) | Music (MUS) | Nursing (NURS) | Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) | Purdue Polytechnic  (CGT, CNIT, ECET, IT, MET, MFET, TECH, TLI) | Purdue School of Supervision (OLS) | Social Work (SWK) | Undistributed (UNDI)