General Requirements
The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) requires a total of 121 semester hours of successfully completed credits. In addition, 42 of those 121 credit hours must be at the upper-division (30000-40000) level. Students must complete the degree with minimum 2.00
accumulative GPA.

Students pursuing the B.G.S. must complete the university’s Liberal Education Requirements (LER) and diversity and writing-intensive course requirements as described on Pages 85-95 of this Catalog.

(1) Minimum 3 semester credit hours in mathematics, logic or computer science; and (2) minimum one laboratory science within the 6-credit-hour basic sciences LER category. Courses taken to satisfy the social sciences must be taken in at least two curricular areas (e.g., ANTH, ECON, etc.). Courses taken to satisfy the LER should be carefully chosen to fit in with the overall B.G.S. program. University and college requirements apply to this degree.

Coursework Restrictions
All of the limitations on the applicability of credit described on Page 169 apply to the B.G.S. These limitations affect applied and nontraditional coursework, applied music and music ensembles, native languages other than English, physical education activity courses and ROTC courses.

No more than 24 semester credit hours in any one department may be counted toward the 121 credit hours required for graduation. When two or more disciplines are housed in one department (such as French and Spanish), they may be counted separately.

Students who already have completed the course or hour requirement for another major may not be admitted to the B.G.S. program unless given special permission by the College of Arts and Sciences. Students who already have earned a baccalaureate degree are not eligible to pursue the B.G.S. degree.

No credit will be allowed for duplication of courses. No credit will be allowed for duplication of certain series of courses as stated elsewhere in this Catalog.

Admission
Students who wish to become candidates for the B.G.S. must make a special application to the College of Arts and Sciences. Students should begin the process for evaluation and program review at or near the time they achieve junior standing. The formal application must be submitted by application deadlines prior to the term before students begin the last 30 credit hours of academic work. July 1 is the application deadline for program approval for the fall term; November 1 is the application deadline for program approval for the spring term; and April 1 is the application deadline for program approval for the summer term.

To be admitted to candidacy for the B.G.S. degree, follow the guidelines listed below:

1.  Visit the college office, 105 Bowman Hall, for an initial conference with a B.G.S.
     advisor. This conference may include or be followed by an evaluation of course credit
     and further advising as appropriate. Students may be required to produce evidence of consultation with the
     Office of Career Services in order to develop an appropriate course plan to meet educational and/or career
     objectives.

2.  The following application steps must be completed: (1) application form, including date of expected
     graduation; (2) program rationale; and (3) proposed program plan, to the College of Arts and Sciences,
     requesting admission to the B.G.S. degree program. The rationale should state the interdisciplinary focus of
     the program design; reasons for seeking the degree; expectations concerning the usefulness of the degree
     for employment or for further education; acknowledgement of the nontraditional nature of the degree,
     recognition that the degree falls outside the pattern of standard degrees; and a statement declaring full
     responsibility for one’s B.G.S. program.

    Submit a proposed program plan of study, consisting of minimum three academic departments, of which
    minimum one must be housed in the College of Arts and Sciences (e.g., history, theatre and sociology)
    from which courses will be selected. Maximum 30 credit hours from the College of Business Administration
    may be counted toward stated degree requirements. The program plan will provide a formula of academic
    departments from which courses are selected to meet remaining requirements (e.g., 9 credit hours history + 6
    credit hours theatre + 12 credit hours sociology + 3 credit hours electives). The plan must include remaining
    Liberal Education Requirements (LER) and diversity and writing-intensive course requirements. In planning
    the proposed program of study, allowance should be made for the total number of credit hours and the total
    number of upper-division hours needed to complete the degree. A maximum of 6 credit hours of
    electives—courses to meet hourly totals but not bound by an academic department classification—may be
    permitted as part of the program plan formula. Not every course is suitable for the B.G.S. program. The
    B.G.S. advisor will inform students which courses are not available.
  
   However, regardless of remaining total and upper-division requirements, the program plan MUST include a
   minimum of 12 upper-division semester credit hours and a minimum total of 30 semester credit hours.
  
   Courses taken as part of the B.G.S. program plan are excluded from the Pass/Fail grading option.
 
3.  When the proposed program of study and rationale have been approved by the college, complete a Change
     of Program form in the college office. The signing of this form completes admission to the program.

Advising
Because the B.G.S. is a nontraditional degree program, it is essential that students pursuing this degree 
plan their programs with care. Careful planning demands close consultation with advisors in the college 
office and with faculty advisors in the departments where the student plans to concentrate coursework, as 
well as with advisors in Career Services to research potential educational and career goals. Extensive 
advising is especially important for students who plan to pursue advanced studies after completing the 
B.G.S. degree.

Students pursuing the B.G.S. degree are officially advised in the college office. All decisions regarding students’ program plans are made in the college office, including approval of any alteration in the departmental formulas provided in the original program plan.

All changes must be requested in writing at least six weeks prior to course registration and must include a revised program rationale.

Not every course is suitable for the B.G.S. program. The B.G.S. advisor will inform students which courses are not available.