Study in the Liberal Arts
Degree Structure & Requirements

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. Students in good standing may switch from one degree program to another within the College, so long as they can meet the appropriate degree requirements.

The following requirements for the BGS degree have been designed to ensure that they are consistent with current LS&A academic policies and regulations while at the same time offering to individual students in the program maximum flexibility for determining the content and direction of their undergraduate education.

  • Completion of at least 120 credits (130 credits with a secondary teaching certificate) indicating at least 60 credits of courses elected at the 300 level and above (or equivalent).
  • 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
  • At least three divisions must be represented in the 60 credits of upper-level course work required for the BGS degree.
  • Completion of the total academic program in good academic standing (overall minimum 2.0 grade point average (GPA) for all courses and at least a 2.0 GPA in all successfully completed upper-level course work).
  • Completion of the LS&A composition requirements. This requirement includes first-year writing requirement and the upper-level writing requirement usually elected in a department in which a student is completing some upper-level courses.
  • Completion of the LSA Race & Ethnicity requirement. The requirement is met when, at some point before graduation, the student has received credit for one course from a list of approved courses. Students who are working towards a BGS degree may elect a course to meet the Race & Ethnicity requirement that also counts among their 60 credits of courses numbered 300 or above.
  • Completion of the LSA Quantitative Reasoning requirement. The requirement is met when, at some point before graduation, the student has received credit for one full QR (QR/1) course or two half-QR (QR/2) courses from a list of approved courses. Courses approved to meet the Quantitative Reasoning requirement develop proficiency in using and analyzing quantitative information. Students who are working towards a BGS degree may elect a course to meet the QR requirement that also counts among their 60 credits of courses numbered 300 or above.
  • Distribution, Concentration, and Second Languages are not required.
  • Academic Minors are not available to BGS students

Non-LS&A Coursework. A maximum of 20 credits of acceptable non-LS&A courses, lower-level or upper-level, can be applied toward a 120 credit degree program. Any such course work that is upper-level may be applied toward the minimum 60 credits of upper-level credit required for the degree. Non-LS&A course work is defined as course work elected in other academic units (i.e., School of Education, College of Engineering, School of Natural Resources and Environment, Business School) of the University of Michigan. 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

BGS Upper-Level Hour Worksheet (PDF)

worksheet used to assign BGS upper level credits to various SUBJECTs (no more than 20 credits in one SUBJECT)