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Bachelor of General Studies

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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 (Courses will also satisfy either Arts and Sciences Foundation requirements or General Electives, counting toward the required 120 credit hours.)
• Additional Bachelor of General Studies requirements (Courses will also satisfy either Arts and Sciences Foundation requirements or General Electives, counting toward the required 120 credit hours.)
• Arts and Sciences Foundation requirements (69 cr.)
• General Electives (51 cr.)

• A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
• A minimum of 30 credit hours through IU South Bend.
• A maximum of 30 credit hours may be applied toward the degree for successful completion of external examinations such as AP, CLEP, DSST, and Excelsior University (UExcel). Credit awarded based on external exams is considered transfer credit.
• Additional transfer credit may be applied toward the degree for: 1) noncollegiate or company-sponsored training programs, as recommended and certified by the American Council on Education (ACE) or the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS), and 2) educational experiences gained during military service by submitting the Joint Services Transcript to Admissions.
• IU special credits may be applied toward the degree by passing certain university departmental examinations.
• A maximum of six graduate credit hours may be applied toward the degree (courses numbered 500+).
• A maximum of 24 credit hours in any single Arts and Sciences discipline and a maximum of 30 credit hours in any one of the professional schools of the university may be applied to the degree. This ensures that the Bachelor of General Studies key objective that students earn a broad-based, multidisciplinary education is fulfilled.

Additional Bachelor of General Studies Requirements

• GNST-G 203 Introduction to General Studies | Prerequisite: Admission to General Studies or program consent. Must be completed either prior to or within the first 12 credit hours after admission to the Bachelor of General Studies degree program. Minimum grade of C (2.0) or higher is required.
• Intensive Writing | Writing clear English is one of the defining characteristics of a liberal arts graduate. Complete one class from the approved course list for CLAS Intensive Writing. This course may be taken any time after completing ENG-W 131 with a grade of C or higher. Minimum grade of C- or higher is required.
• GNST-G 400 Senior Capstone Seminar | Must be completed during the final semester prior to graduation. This course gives students the opportunity to assess their degree in the light of university degree requirements and their personal and professional goals. Minimum grade of C (2.0) or higher is required.

Arts and Sciences Foundation (69 cr.)

The Arts and Sciences Foundation requires completing credits in:

• the three foundational areas (Arts and Humanities; Science and Mathematics; and Social and Behavioral Sciences)
• a concentration in the student’s foundational 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. A minimum grade point average of 2.0 is required for the 30 credits in the foundational area of concentration.

The credits in the three foundational areas (A, B, and C) must be completed in at least two separate disciplines within each foundational area.

The distribution of Arts and Sciences disciplines into areas A, B, C, and D is determined by the specific discipline and its correlating subject code. For example, History (HIST) is a discipline used to fulfill Area A. Arts and Humanities; and Biology (BIOL) is a discipline used to fulfill Area B. Science and Mathematics. See the assigned distribution of disciplines under each area A, B, C, and D as follows:

A. Arts and Humanities (12 cr.)

African American Studies (AFAM: A150) | American Studies (AMST) | Art History (AHST) | Classical Studies (CLAS) | Communication and Culture (CMCL) | 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 and Gender Studies (WGS: B260, B342, H260, L207, P394, W201) | World Languages (EALC, FREN, GER, SPAN, etc.)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• Common Core | Arts, Aesthetics and Creativity (A190, A390, A399)
• Common Core | Literary and Intellectual Traditions (T190, T390)

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 and Gender Studies (WGS: N200) | Zoology (ZOOL)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• Common Core | The Natural World (N190, N390)
• 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 and Gender Studies (WGS: E391, P391, P460, S310, S338, S349, S410, W201, W240, W301)

Courses that meet the following General Education requirements:

• Common Core | Human Behavior and Social Institutions (B190, B399)

Concentration Area (18 cr.)

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

D. Arts and Sciences Electives (15 cr.)

Arts and Sciences electives may be earned in any of the three foundational 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 and Sciences (COAS) | General Studies (GNST) | Gerontology (GERN) | Honors (HON) | International Studies (INTL) | Sustainability (SUST) | Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS courses not used above)

E. General Electives (51 cr.)

Certain courses offered by professional schools (as listed below) may be used in areas A, B, C, or D depending on course content and as specifically noted above, under each of those areas.

General electives may be selected from the disciplines of areas A, B, C, or D, or from any of the professional schools of the university as follows:

Allied Health (AHLT) | Applied Health Science (AHSC) | 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) | Palliative Care (PALC) | Social Work (SWK) | Speech Language Pathology (SLHS) | Undistributed (UNDI)