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 Degree Requirements

Bachelor in General Studies


Some students may want to consider the Bachelor in General Studies (BGS) degree as an alternative to the Bachelor of Arts (AB) or the Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees, particularly if they are not interested in concentrating their studies in a specific area. The BGS degree program, seeking primarily to attract students with interdisciplinary interests, is more flexible and potentially less structured than either the AB or BS programs. It gives qualified students greater freedom and responsibility for their educational choice and, if used responsibly, can afford a liberal arts education in the truest sense.

There are no foreign language or distribution requirements in the BGS program. BGS students do need to fulfill the college writing, quantitative reasoning, and race & ethnicity requirements. The primary requirement is 60 credits of upper-level course work (defined as study in courses numbered 300 and above at the University of Michigan), with no more than 20 credits of that upper-level work in one department. For further information on the BGS program, see the LS&A Bulletin.

Along with the advantages of the BGS program, however, there are some disadvantages for certain students. These should be carefully assessed by students who will need a considerable number of credits of lower-level course work, such as pre-medical or pre-dental students.

The basic requirements for a Bachelor in General Studies (BGS) degree in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts are:

  1. Completion of 120 semester credit-hours of course work, of these 100 must be LS&A courses, with an average of at least at least "C" (GPA>=2.000).
  2. Completion of the Introductory Composition and Junior/Senior Writing Requirement. See page 18. (Neither Advanced Standing nor Advanced Placement credit can be applied toward this requirement.)
  3. Race and Ethnicity (R&E) Requirement. See page 19. (AP credit can not be applied toward this requirement. Credits transferred from another college or university do not meet the requirement, except by successful petition to the Academic Standards Board.)
  4. Quantitative Reasoning Requirement. See page 20. (AP credit can not be applied toward this requirement.)
  5. Completion of 60 credits of courses numbered 300 or higher with an average of at least "C" (GPA>=2.000). Within these 60 credits no more than 20 may be elected from any one division (e.g., French, Cultural Anthropology, or Classical Archaeology).