Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.)

Dr. Lane DesAutels, BGS Coordinator
ldesautels@missouriwestern.edu
(816) 271-5686
missouriwestern.edu/completion/bgs

The Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree is an undergraduate degree specifically for adult learners who have delayed or interrupted their studies, or for whom their original major is no longer appropriate.  Your path to a bachelor's degree will be built around your unique college credit history, and, if applicable, incorporate transfer credits and mast major-specific work.  

The BGS degree will allow you to build a custom concentration out of two minors, or a custom concentration area rather than a single content focus, while meeting all bachelor's degree requirements.  It is designed to be multidisciplinary and have maximum flexibility to suit the needs of a wide variety of students.

All general education requirements can be met with online courses, and several minors are also offered online, including:

• General Business
• Criminal Justice
• Psychology
• Childhood Studies

Admission Requirements

1. Successful completion of 60 credit hours.
2. Overall GPA of 2.0 or higher
3. Completion of General Studies Math and English requirements.

Students who choose this bachelor degree program will have no more than 6 years from admission or subsequent declaration to meet the requirements listed below. If certification, accreditation or statutory requirements change and additional requirements become effective during this time, the new requirements take precedence. 

Applied Learning Courses List can be found here.

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See link above for list of Applied Learning Courses

Concentration Areas Options:

Option 1:

• The first concentration must be an existing MWSU minor consisting of 18-24 credit hours
• The second concentration must be an existing MWSU minor consisting of 18-24 credit hours

Option 2:

• The first concentration must be an existing MWSU minor consisting of 18-24 credit hours
• The second concentration is a Custom concentration consisting of a minimum of 18 credit hours

Option 3:

• A Custom Concentration Area consisting of a minimum of 36 credit hours.

Major Requirements

• Custom minors or concentration areas require departmental approval
• Options 1 and 2 must each contain a minimum of 18 unduplicated credit hours
• Options 1, 2, and 3 may not contain more than 54 credit hours in a single discipline
• Students must earn a minimum of 15 credit hours in upper division courses
• Students must complete an approved applied learning course for a minimum of 1 credit hour
• No more than two (2) D's are allowed in major coursework

Program Graduation Requirements

1. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.