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Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.)
120 Credits
A Bachelor of General Studies offers students the quality of an IU degree along with the most flexibility of any academic program. This degree allows graduates to have nearly endless career choices—a must for today’s changing workforce.
Select a concentration in Arts and Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, or Natural Science and Mathematics. Then choose those courses that interest you the most. This is an excellent option for working adults, transfer students, or anyone who has a broad interest in the liberal arts.
Degree Requirements
Concentration Requirements (18 cr)
Select one concentration and choose 18 credits of courses within the designated disciplines.
Arts & Humanities*
- Choose courses from:
Natural Science & Mathematics**
- Choose courses from:
Behavioral & Social Sciences*
- Choose courses from:
* This concentration is offered through IU East’s School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS). Please contact the HSS advisor if you’d like to concentrate in this area.
** This concentration is offered through IU East’s School of Natural Science and Mathematics (NSM). Please contact the NSM advisor if you’d like to concentrate in this area.
Additional Degree Requirements
General Electives (63 cr)
- Choose 15 credit hours from the Arts & Sciences disciplines.
- Choose 48 credit hours in courses from a variety of disciplines to attain your educational goals (consult advisor for assistance).
Additional Guidelines
- No more than 21 credit hours may be taken in a single arts and sciences area.
- No more than 30 credit hours in a single discipline outside the arts and sciences will be counted towards this degree (Business, Education, Human Services, Nursing, Social Work or SPEA-V courses).
- At least 30 credit hours must be taken at the 300-400 level.
- Consult with your advisor for grade requirements specific to this degree.
Additional coursework required for Learning Areas (9-10 cr)
The degree requires completion of 12 credit hours in each of three Learning Areas: Arts & Humanities, Natural Science and Math, and Behavioral and Social Sciences. These areas often overlap with the General Education requirements described above. Choose additional coursework to fulfill the remaining requirements:
- 3-4 additional credit hours total from Natural Sciences and/ or Quantitative Reasoning disciplines (list above)
- 6 additional credit hours total from Social-Behavioral disciplines (list above)
- All coursework applied to the Learning Areas must be completed with a C- or higher. As a result, students may need additional courses toward this requirement. See your advisor for more information.
Program Requirements
First-Year Seminar (0-2 cr)
- UCOL-U101 First Year Seminar or
- HON-H100 Freshman Honors Seminar
A passing grade is required in the First Year Seminar course. This course is mandatory for all beginning freshmen and for transfer students with no more than 12 credit hours of transferring coursework. This course must be taken in the first semester after admission to Indiana University East.
Additional Requirements
Information Literacy (3 cr)
- CSCI-A110 Introduction to Computers & Computing (or equivalent)
Multicultural Awareness (3 cr)
- One course taken to fulfill degree requirements must come from this list. See your advisor for more information.
Ethical Reasoning (3 cr)
- One course taken to fulfill degree requirements must come from this list. See your advisor for more information.
Capstone (3 cr)
- GNST-G 400 General Studies Capstone