Bachelor of General Studies (BGS)

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General Studies is a multidisciplinary degree that bridges academic disciplines to facilitate degree completion. This degree is designed for students with significant college credit and/or complex curricular interests. This degree requires [120] credits, [42] of which are upper-division credits.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the Bachelor of General Studies will:

Demonstrate knowledge in focus areas
Demonstrate the capacity to integrate knowledge and modes of thinking from two or more disciplines
Demonstrate an ability to think creatively about complex problems in order to construct, evaluate, and implement innovative possible solutions
Demonstrate an ability to communicate to academic or professional audiences in written, oral, and digital form as appropriate to specific disciplines and interdisciplinary fields
Demonstrate higher-order thinking skills such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation, synthesis, creative generation, and innovation

The Four Year Degree Plan below demonstrates the flexibility of the Bachelor of General Studies; which is particularly valuable for transfer students with high student credit hours. However, this degree is not designed for first year students. The degree requires intensive advising before it can be declared as a major. Addendum I includes a degree check-list which may be more useful for degree planning

University Studies Program

This degree requires that The University Studies Program 2015 requirements are met before graduation. Some of the courses required for this major fulfill USP requirements, but not all. Students should check their degree evaluations and consult with their assigned academic advisor to discuss their specific course plan.

C 1 - Communication 1 Credits: 3
C 2 - Communication 2 Credits: 3
C 3 - Communication 3 Credits: 3
Q - - Quantitative Reasoning Credits: 3
PN - - Physical and Natural World (1) Credits: 3
PN - - Physical and Natural World (2) Credits: 3
H - - Human Culture (1) Credits: 3
H - - Human Culture (2) Credits: 3
V - - U.S. & WY Constitution Credits: 3
FYS or USP Elective - - Any 3-credit hour of FYS or 3-credit hours of USP electives Credits: 3

Focus Areas (Each requires 18 hours)

A minimum of 6 hours in each Focus Area must be Upper Division

Focus Areas Listed by College

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources

Biomedical Sciences: Animal Science (ANSC), Family and Consumer Science (FCSC), Food Science (FDSC), LIFE Program (LIFE), Microbiology (MICR), Molecular Biology (MOLB), Pathobiology (PATB), Zoo/Physiology (ZOO).
Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences: Agroecology (AECL), Agricultural Economics (AGEC), Animal Science (ANSC), Botany (BOT), Entomology (ENTO), Ecosystem Science and Management (ESM), LIFE Program (LIFE), Plant Sciences (PLNT), REWM, Renewable Resources (RNEW), Soil Science (SOIL), Zoo/Physiology (ZOO),
Human Sciences and Public Policy: Agricultural Economics (AGEC), Agriculture (AGRI), Family and Consumer Sciences (FCSC), Food Science (FDSC)

College of Arts and Sciences:

Humanities: African American and Diaspora Studies (AADS), American Studies (AMST), Anthropology (ANTH), Art & Art History (ART), English (ENGL), Gender and Women’s Studies (GWST), History (HIST), International Studies (INST), Modern and Classical Languages (LANG), Latina/o Studies (LTST), Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS), Philosophy (PHIL), Religious Studies (RELI), ,Theatre and Dance (THEA)
Fine Arts: Art and Art History (ART), ), African American and Diaspora Studies (AADS), Creative Writing (CW), English (ENGL), Gender and Women’s Studies (GWST), Latina/o Studies (LTST), Music (MUSC), Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS), Theatre and Dance (THEA)
Social Sciences: African American and Diaspora Studies (AADS), American Studies (AMST), Anthropology (ANTH), Communications and Journalism (COMM/COJO), Criminal Justice (CRMJ), Geography (GEOG), Gender and Women’s Studies (GWST), History (HIST), International Studies (INST), Latina/o Studies (LTST), Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS), Political Science (POLS), Psychology (PSYC), Religious Studies, (RELI), Sociology (SOC)
Sciences: Anthropology (ANTH), Geography (GEOG) Psychology (PSYC),

College of Business

*Management, Marketing, and Decision Science: Decision Science (DSCI), Management (MGT), Marketing (MKT),
*Accounting and Finance: Accounting (ACCT), Finance (FIN)
Economics: Economics (ECON)

*Due to accreditation requirements, a student may not choose both the “Management, Marketing, and Decision Science” and the “Accounting and Finance” focus areas to comprise their Bachelor of General Studies major.

College of Education:

+Elementary Education: Early Childhood (EDEC), Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI), Elementary Education (ELED),
+Education and Society: Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI), Exceptional Children (EDEX), Educational Studies (EDST), Instructional Technology (ITEC),

+The Bachelor of General Studies does not satisfy the requirements for teacher licensure through the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board.

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences:

*Engineering Studies: Architectural Engineering (ARE), Civil Engineering (CE), , Chemical Engineering (CHE), Electrical Engineering (EE), Engineering Science (ES), Energy Systems Engineering (ESE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Petroleum Engineering (PETE)
Math and Sciences: Chemistry (CHEM), Geology (GEOL), Mathematics, (MATH), Physics and Astronomy (ASTR), Physics (PHYS), Statistics (STAT)
*Applied Science Studies: Atmospheric Science (ATSC), Computer Science (COSC)

College of Health Sciences:

Community and Public Health: Health Education (HLED), Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND)

School of Environment and Natural Resources:

Environment and Natural Resources: Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), Environmental Systems Science (ESS)

School of Energy Resources:

Energy Resource Systems (ERS)

Upper Division

21 in major/42 total

Additional Information

Degree Structure: The Bachelor of General Studies is comprised of two curricular focus areas and one 3 credit capstone that fulfills the University Studies Program (USP) “Communications Skills 3” (C3) requirement. Each focus area is defined by subject area, fielded by a specific college, and comprised of at least 18 credit hours. Students can choose from a menu of 16 focus areas across the university. Of the 39 credits required for the major, 21 credits must be upper division with a minimum of 6 upper division credits in each focus area. As a university-wide degree, all USP and university-wide requirements must be met.

No course can count toward more than one area of focus. Students must earn a C or better for all credits counting toward the major. One USP “Human Culture” (H) course and one “Physical & Natural World” (PN) course may also count toward the major. No college core applies to the degree. To declare this major, students must receive intensive advising from the assigned advisor located in the ACES office.

Focus Areas: Each of the focus areas identifies a knowledge domain that includes courses from a range of disciplines within a particular college. Focus areas include all courses from each of the disciplinary prefixes/subject areas or programs specified as belonging to the focus area (no course exceptions or course lists will be maintained). This will make advising for the degree manageable and will ensure access to needed coursework. Students should choose courses from within the focus area thematically to gain a breadth and depth of knowledge appropriate to the curricular or professional interest that ties together the two focus areas of the student’s major. Students should work with the assigned advisor to ensure that their coursework includes the skills and methods necessary for expertise in the substantive area of interest.