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Degree Requirements for WIU's Bachelor of Arts in General Studies

All degree requirements relevant to the BGS program can be found within the WIU undergraduate catalog  http://www.wiu.edu/catalog/. To ensure your success in the program, please make sure you are familiar with all necessary degree requirements.

Minimum Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Arts in General Studies

Complete the 120 semester hour requirement for the baccalaureate degree. The 120 semester hours will include:

  • 40 hours earned at the upper-division (junior/senior) level from a regionally accredited senior (usually 4-year) institution
  • a general education component

Only 30 hours to be successfully completed through Western Illinois University courses with at least 16 of these hours carrying upper-division credit.

An associate of arts (AA) or an associate of science (AS) degree from a regionally accredited college or university satisfies the general education requirement if all the general education components are met. Specific courses in other associate degree programs such as an associate of applied science (AAS), an associate of general studies (AGS), an associate of arts in business (AAB), an associate of arts in business administration (AABA), etc. may also satisfy these requirements, but credits are transferred into the program on an individual course by course basis.

To meet the general education component of the degree program, students choose either the WIU General Education Requirements  OR  the IAI General Education Requirements.

WIU General Education Requirements

Basic Skills:  9 semester hours
Three courses, including a two-course sequence in writing (6 semester hours) and one course in oral communication (3 semester hours). A grade of "C" or better will be required for satisfactory completion of the writing requirements.

Mathematics Competency:  3 semester hours (One course)

Natural Science and Mathematics:  10 semester hours
Courses must be from two different departments and include one laboratory course.

Social Science:  9 semester hours
Courses must be from two different departments.

Humanities and Fine Arts:  9 semester hours
3 semester hours must be fine arts and 3 semester hours must be humanities, with the remaining 3 semester hours coming from either humanities or fine arts.

Human Well Being:  3 semester hours
Courses must be from two different departments.

Multicultural Studies:  3 semester hours (One course)

IAI General Education Requirements

Communication:  9 semester hours
Three courses, including a two-course sequence in writing (6 semester hours) and one course in oral communication (3 semester hours). A grade of "C" or better will be required for satisfactory completion of the writing requirements.

Mathematics:  3 semester hours (One course)

Physical and Life Sciences:  7 semester hours
Two courses, with one selected from the life sciences and one course from the physical sciences and including at least one laboratory course.

Humanities and Fine Arts:  9 semester hours
Three courses with at least one course selected from humanities and at least one course from the fine arts.

Social and Behavior Sciences:  9 semester hours
Three courses with courses selected from at least two disciplines.

Further Information

For WIU and IAI general education requirements students must:

  • Earn a passing letter grade in each course used to fulfill the requirements. No more than two courses from any one discipline can be used to fulfill general education curriculum requirements

Additional Degree Requirements

  • Earn a minimum overall WIU GPA of 2.00 on a 4.00 basis (A 2.00 GPA is comparable to a "C" average).
  • Foreign Language/Global Issues graduation requirement may be fulfilled by successfully completing one of the following:
          1.  an intermediate foreign language requirement;
          2.  a General Education global issues course;
          3.  any major's discipline-specific global issues course; or
          4.  an approved study abroad program.
  • Successfully complete one of the following: 
           1.  A university writing-in-the-discipline (WID) requirement, or 2.  A BGS Online Writing Course (BC&J 350, BC&J 351, BC&J 352, CS 320, ECON 351, FS 484, FS 485, HIST 316, PHIL 330, SOC 300, SOC 360, UNIV 490, WS 355, WS 360).
  • Western Illinois University students with 11 or fewer semester hours completed must enroll in and pass two First Year Experiences (FYE) courses.
  • Students with 12-23 hours completed must enroll in and pass one FYE course.

First Year Experience (FYE)

The First Year Experience (FYE) program is intended to create a positive transition to college and to encourage students to become more active and enthusiastic learners. Applies upon initial or re-entry and full-time enrollment at WIU for students with fewer than 24 semester hours completed.