UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES — GENERAL STUDIES PROGRAM

Academic Counseling
As a student in the General Studies Degree Program, you receive guidance from an academic advisor. Consult with your advisor as an integral part of your School of Continuing Studies enrollment process. The advisor helps you formulate a plan of study, which includes the required and elective courses you must take to earn your degree.

Talk to your advisor about the most effective way(s) to fulfill your course distribution and fundamental skills (competency) requirements. Options include taking specific courses; completing a self-acquired competency (SAC) portfolio; taking College-Level Examination Programs (CLEP), Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES) examinations, Excelsior college examinations, or departmental examinations; and departmental exemption. See Credits.

Important: Although you are encouraged to seek the advice of your general studies advisor, you are responsible for planning your own program and for meeting the degree requirements for graduation. Familiarize yourself with the requirements for the A.A. in General Studies, requirements for the B.G.S., course distribution requirements, and fundamental skills competency requirements (below).

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A.A. in General Studies Degree Requirements

1. You must successfully complete a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit to graduate.
   
2. You may apply no more than 15 credit hours in any one academic department — including credits earned on the basis of a self-acquired competency (SAC) portfolio — toward the 60 required credit hours.
   
3. You must successfully complete at least 15 of the 60 required credit hours at Indiana University or through the Indiana University Independent Study Program. You may not apply credits earned by self-acquired competency, Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), and College-Level Examination Programs (CLEP) to this 15 credit hour requirement.
   
4. You must complete at least 10 of the 15 required semester hours of credit after admission to the General Studies Degree Program. Credits you earn by self-acquired competency, Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), and College-Level Examination Programs (CLEP) may not be applied to this 10 credit hour requirement.
   
5. You must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all courses considered for the A.A. in General Studies and on all courses completed after admission to the School of Continuing Studies. The minimum grade we accept for any course completed to satisfy course distribution requirements is C-.
   
6. You must also fulfill the fundamental skills (competency) requirements and A.A. in General Studies course distribution requirements.

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A.A. in General Studies Course Distribution Requirements
To earn the A.A. in General Studies, you complete 12 credit hours in each of three learning areas: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. The 12 credit hours required in each learning area must include courses from at least two academic departments.

You must complete an additional 24 hours of elective credit to fulfill A.A. in General Studies requirements.

A chart showing how Independent Study Program courses satisfy the course distribution requirements and fundamental skills (competency) requirements is available.

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Bachelor of General Studies Degree Requirements

1. You must successfully complete a minimum of 120 semester hours to graduate.
   
2. You must successfully complete at least 69 of the 120 required credit hours in the arts and sciences. You may earn no more than 21 of these 69 credit hours — including credits earned on the basis of a self-acquired competency (SAC) portfolio — in a single arts and sciences department or subject area. In addition, you may earn no more than 30 of the 51 credit hours allowed outside the arts and sciences — including credits earned on the basis of a SAC portfolio — in any one professional school or technical program.
   
3. You must successfully complete at least 30 of the 120 required credit hours at Indiana University or through the Indiana University Independent Study Program. You may not apply credits earned by self-acquired competency, Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), and College-Level Examination Programs (CLEP) to this 30 credit hour requirement.
   
4. You must complete at least 20 of the 30 semester hours of required credit after admission to the General Studies Degree Program. You may not apply credits you earned by self-acquired competency, Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), and College-Level Examination Programs (CLEP) to this 20 credit hour requirement.
   
5. You must successfully complete at least 30 of the 120 required credit hours at the 300 and 400 upper-division level.
   
6. You must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all courses considered for the B.G.S. and on all courses you complete after being admitted to the School of Continuing Studies. The minimum grade we accept for any course completed to satisfy course distribution requirements is C-.
   
7. You must also fulfill the fundamental skills (competency) requirements and B.G.S. course distribution requirements.
   
8. If you pursue the B.G.S. after completing the A.A. in General Studies, you must fulfill the B.G.S requirements that are in effect when we admit you to the bachelor's program.
   

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Bachelor of General Studies Course Distribution Requirements
To earn the B.G.S., you complete 12 credit hours in each of three learning areas: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. You also complete an 18 credit hour concentration in one of these three learning areas. The 12 credit hours required in each learning area, as well as the 18 credit hour concentration, must include courses from at least two academic departments.

You also complete an additional 66 hours of elective credit — including a minimum of 15 additional credit hours in the arts and sciences. No more than 30 credit hours in any one school or technical program can be applied to this 66-hour requirement.

Charts showing how Independent Study Program courses satisfy the course distribution requirements and fundamental skills (competency) requirements are available.

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Fundamental Skills (Competency) Requirements
For both the A.A. in General Studies and B.G.S., you must meet Fundamental Skills Competency Requirements that demonstrate college-level competency in four areas: written communication, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, and computer literacy. You may demonstrate fundamental skills competency by completing an appropriate college-level nonremedial course or its transfer equivalent in English composition/writing, speech/communication, quantitative reasoning, and computer science or by exercising other options, including departmental, CLEP, DANTES, or Excelsior exams.

Charts showing how Independent Study Program courses satisfy the course distribution requirements and fundamental skills (competency) requirements are available.

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