This tutorial is designed to help you discover if the General Studies major is right for you, and how you can complete it through SUU.

Bachelor of Arts/Science

in General Studies Tutorial

“The General Studies major provides maximum flexibility for the student who wishes to embrace a broad

educational program of study while maintaining a focus on personal, career or professional goals.”

This tutorial is designed to help you discover if the General Studies major is right for you, and how you can complete it through SUU.

General Studies: What and Why?

General Studies is a design-your-own major that is especially geared toward students who have

accumulated credits in various areas and may not be close to finishing a more “traditional” major. General

Studies allows students to pull in as many disciplines as they wish in order to fulfill their degree requirements. Students may also elect for the General Studies major if they wish to earn a bachelor’s degree from SUU but are not able to take on-campus courses.

Marketing General Studies

Students may worry about how to market a General Studies major when they graduate. Many employers will not care what major a student has completed, as long as it is a

bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution—but other employers will. To that end, all students in the General

Studies major should seriously think about how they will explain their major to people who ask. Sometimes it helps to create a “theme” out of the credits chosen for the General Studies major requirements.

All students are also HIGHLY encouraged to use SUU’s Career Café, where they can get free resume and cover letter

guidance, participate in mock interviews, develop an “elevator pitch,” access job postings, and more.

Overall Requirements

As with all bachelor’s degrees at SUU, students who choose General Studies must complete the following overall

requirements:

0 General Education (http://goo.gl/ezjLJd) 0 EDGE Program (http://goo.gl/Hp1dwt) 0 120 total credits

0 40 upper-division credits

0 Arts or Science requirements, depending on the degree chosen

The General Studies major is

NOT

a way to “get

out” of completing requirements such as math

or the EDGE.

It is intended to be as rigorous a

Interested?

If you are interested in pursuing the

General Studies major, let’s go over some

very important information step-by-step:

Step 1: Eligibility Requirements

0 Be a student in good standing at SUU. 0 Have at least 60* completed credits.

0 Not be within 15 credits of a more “traditional”

major.**

* If you do not have 60 completed credits yet, you may continue taking classes toward the General Studies major, then declare when you do.

** If you do not meet this criterion, you may still be able to declare General Studies with the permission of the

Step 2: Common Core Courses

You will be required to complete two “common core” courses in order to graduate with the General Studies major:

0 UNIV 4010 Contemporary Issues (3 cr.)

0 UNIV 4020 Interdisciplinary Seminar (3 cr.)

Both classes are offered online. UNIV 4010 is currently only offered in Fall semesters, and UNIV 4020 only in Spring semesters. You must complete UNIV 4010 before you take UNIV 4020.

You MUST successfully complete both courses. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Step 3: Major-Specific Requirements

credits_{. These 54 credits include the 6-credit Common Core.}

That leaves you with 48 credits to identify from courses you have already taken or will take to complete your major.

Of the 54 major credits, 21 of them must be upper-division (courses numbered 3000-4999). Since the Common Core gives you 6 credits of upper-division, you will only need to identify a minimum of 15 credits for this requirement. All courses used for the General Studies major must be

graded (e.g., not pass/fail). C- is the minimum grade needed to use a course in the major.

Step 4: “Residency” Requirements

In order to get a bachelor’s degree from SUU, you must

complete at least 30 credits through SUU. This is called

a “residency requirement.”

 20 _{of those 30 credits} MUST _{be upper-division}

(courses numbered 3000-4999).

 10 _{of those 20 upper-division courses} MUST _be

counted in the General Studies major. (6 of these 10 will come from the Common Core.)

You may already have 120 credits with 40 upper-division, but if less than 30 of those credits were earned from SUU,

Step 5: Determining Age of Credits

Credits used toward General Education requirements and electives are essentially good forever, with no

expiration date.

However, you may only use credits toward the General Studies major that will be less than 20 years old by

the time you graduate_{. EXAMPLE: If you have classes}

than are currently 19 years old but it would take you 2 years to graduate, those courses would no longer work in the major.

NOTE: You MAY be able to use older credits with the permission of the appropriate dean over the credits, as well as the permission of the Provost, but you must write an appeal letter and list every course you wish to use.

Step 6: Reading Your Transcript(s)

1. Start with looking at your transcripts and highlighting the

courses you would want to use in your General Studies major. It may be helpful to keep a theme in mind. If you are

completely stumped, think about the courses you’ve taken that have interested you over the years, have a connection to your current or desired career field, and/or are related in some way to other courses you’ve taken.

2. Make sure to notate any courses that are 20 years old or older,

or approaching that limit, if applicable.

3. Add up the credits. Make sure you’re not counting any P/F

courses or ones with grades lower than C-. If you’re not anywhere close to 48 credits, that’s fine—your advisor can help you determine more credits, either from your

transcript(s) or from new courses.

4. Figure out where the majority of the credits on your list are

Step 7: Determining Your Advisor

The academic advisor you would work with is

determined by where the majority of your credits are coming from. There is no set definition of “majority” in this case, so use your best judgment.

The list of advisors: http://suu.edu/uc/advisors.html. If you are completely stumped, contact Katya Konkle

([email protected]) for help. If you are a current or former SUU student, please include your T-Number. If you have never attended SUU, please include unofficial copies of your transcript(s).

Step 8: Meeting Your Advisor

straight away.

You can make an appointment by calling the Advising Office at (435) 586-5420. Both in-person and phone appointments are available. For the most productive appointment, email your transcripts/list of courses prior to the appointment, or bring them with you.

You DO NOT have to be a current SUU student to talk to an advisor!

Your advisor can help you figure out what classes you would have left to complete and give you an estimated graduation date.

Final Step

After you’ve spoken to your advisor and determined how long it may take you to graduate with a General Studies major, the final step is to determine whether or not you want to complete a General Studies major.

If you do and are not a current student, you will need to apply for admission to SUU here:

http://suu.edu/prostu/apply.html.

If you do and are a current student with at least 60

completed credits, you may work with your advisor to officially change your major. If you are a current student who doesn’t have 60 credits, you will need to wait to

declare the General Studies major but may still continue to work with your advisor on the major.