The BGS degree program is open to students in good standing (overall grade point average 2.0 or above) except for students in the Honors Program or in the Residential College, neither of which make any provision for the BGS degree.

The BGS is not designed for students who lack a specific educational purpose or direction. Such students ultimately flounder in the freedom of the BGS program for lack of clarity of purpose.

Instead of a concentration, the BGS requries that you take half of your degree (60 credits) in upper divison classes. That is, classes numbered 300 or higher. Within these 60 credits, you may count no more than 20 upper level credits from a single division (SUBJECT). This means that you must involve at least (and probably more) three different academic departments.

No more than 20 credits of upper-level courses from a single department can be counted toward the minimum 60 credits required for the BGS degree. If an academic department has several divisions (and therefore division numbers), a BGS student may count up to 20 credits of upper-level courses from each division toward the minimum total 60 credits of upper-level courses. Not more than a total of 60 credits of courses (upper-level and lower-level) elected in all divisions of a department taken as a whole can be applied toward the 120 credits required for a BGS degree. Of the 60 upper-level required for the BGS degree, at least 40 upper-level credits must be completed in LS&A courses.

A total of 20 credits of non-LS&A course work (not 20 credits from each separate academic unit) may be incorporated into a BGS degree program. In order to be certain that particular non-LS&A work is acceptable for degree credit, BGS students should consult with a BGS advisor (1255 Angell Hall) before choosing non-LS&A courses.