General Studies

Program Director
Christopher Josey

Faculty members are housed in departments and schools throughout the University of Missouri.

• BGS in General Studies

The Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) is designed for students who want to build an individualized major to meet their educational and career objectives. The BGS degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours. Students complete all University graduation requirements, including University general education.

The BGS major is comprised of 45 credit hours across three areas of study, or component areas. Component areas consist of coursework either from a single program, or from thematically-related coursework across multiple programs. Component courses may come from any department or program at MU, or through approved transfer coursework.

Component area requirements:

• 15 credit hours per component
• A minimum of 6 credit hours per component numbered 3000 or above
• A minimum C- grade in each course within each component area
• A minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in each component area
• A capstone, which may be taken within the 15 credit hours of a single component, or as part of the 120 hours required for graduation

The BGS degree is intended for students pursuing a first bachelor’s degree and will not be approved as a second bachelor’s degree. A student who has earned a degree in General Studies may not pursue a second degree in a field used as a component of the first degree.

While the College of Arts & Science does not offer a graduate degree in general studies, the College does offer graduate degrees, certificates and minors in a number of multidisciplinary areas. The catalog provides a complete list of these degree options for all Schools and Colleges at the University of Missouri.