Program Requirements

To earn a Bachelor of General Studies degree, students must complete the following requirements.

• A minimum of 120 semester hours of earned credit, which breaks down as follows:
  
  

  Required Credit Hours
  Student Development 100 Independent Study Course	1 hour
  University Core      General Education      Religious Education	30 to 70 hours 14 hours
  Emphasis Requirements	30 hours
  Student Development 490 Independent Study Course	2 hours
  General Electives	3 to 43 hours

  
  
• At least 30 credit hours earned in residency on the BYU campus in Provo as an admitted day student (completed before BGS admission [exam credit excluded]).
  
  
• A minimum of 40 credit hours of upper-division credit (300- and 400-level courses), including at least 15 in the emphasis.

The following policies also apply:

• A minimum of 10 credit hours in the emphasis must be enrolled in and completed through BYU after formal admission to the BGS program.
• All courses taken after admission to BGS must be BYU courses.
• Students must earn a minimum 2.0 BYU grade point average and a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
• The program must be completed in eight years or fewer.

Student Development 100 (StDev 100) Independent Study Course
In addition to introducing you to the Aims of a BYU Education, the purpose of this Independent Study course is to help prepare you to succeed in the BGS program. You will learn test-taking strategies and also identify the type of learner you are and be taught ways to adapt to teachers and learning situations that employ other learning methods. You will brush up on study skills and learn how to manage your life in order to make time in your already busy and full schedule to devote to completing your degree. Another critical element of this course is to teach you how to determine exactly which classes you must take to complete your BGS degree requirements. You will prepare an academic plan that, when approved, will be your guide to completing your BGS degree. This course must be taken through BYU Independent Study. The version that is sometimes offered on campus differs in content.

University Core Requirements
The Bachelor of General Studies degree requires the same university core courses as all other BYU degrees. The university core consists of both general education and religious education requirements. The university core courses listed to fill the requirements are those offered through BYU Independent Study. Should you be able to come to campus during spring or summer terms, take BYU Evening Classes, or attend the BYU Salt Lake Center, you may consult the full listing of courses that satisfy the core as found in the class schedule online.

It has always been the view of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that education is not complete without proper integration of secular and religious knowledge and values. Generally, 14 hours of religion credit are needed to graduate (depending on the number of transfer credits). Eight of those hours will come from two Book of Mormon (Rel A 121 and 122), one New Testament (either Rel A 211 or 212), and one Doctrine and Covenants (either Rel C 324 or 325) courses; the other 6 religion credit hours may be selected from other available religion courses. No more than 4 hours of religion credit a semester may be counted toward the religion requirement. No more than 18 total hours of religion credit may be counted toward the BGS degree. View religion requirements online.