General Studies

School of Arts and Communication
Associate Dean Robert A. Taylor, Ph.D., Head

The general studies program provides a common freshman-year curriculum for students planning to major in communication, humanities, psychology or business, but are uncertain about which major to choose. Courses representative of these majors are taken during the freshman year, allowing students to obtain a general understanding of each area of study. All courses listed below are applicable toward degrees in all of these majors.

Students are encouraged to choose a degree program before registering for the third semester of full-time coursework, and must do so within the first 45 credit hours. These criteria are adjusted for transfer students. General studies students are advised by faculty in each of the programs noted above, and are assigned a new advisor in the appropriate academic unit when they choose a degree program. No degree is awarded in general studies.

Admission

Criteria for admission are based on those established for the majors listed above. Details are provided in the sections of this catalog that describe these majors. Transfer students with more than 45 credit hours are normally required to choose a degree program rather than general studies before admission.

Admission to the general studies curriculum allows selection of any of the participating degree programs at any time before completion of 45 credit hours, unless the student has been academically dismissed. No additional admission procedures are required to declare a degree program, except for processing a Change of Major request online.