General Studies is often taken by adult learners who wish to go back to school in the hopes of finally earning a bachelor’s degree.
The courses covered here are somewhat similar to those covered by a Bachelor of Arts degree except that with the former, there is no major concentration.
The courses help students develop their skills in a variety of fields: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioral Science, Natural Science and Mathematics.
There are a number of universities around the United States that offer a Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies and some of them have made their courses available to online learners.
Now, if you are an adult learner with hardly a minute to spare for other activities, online courses for General Studies could work for you.
Online Courses for General Studies: Course Selection
These days, a Bachelor of General Studies is not the only option with regards to General Studies. You also have the Associate of Arts in General Studies as your other option.
Now, depending on the school where you will be enrolling for your General Studies degree, required credit hours can be 60 for the Associate of Arts in General Studies and 120 for the Bachelor of General Studies degree.
The Division of Continuing Studies of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne offers both the Associate of Arts in General Studies and the Bachelor of General Arts degrees and these are both available online.
Associate of Arts in General Studies
The university’s Associate of Arts in General Studies is a 2-year program that requires sixty credit hours: thirty-six credit hours for Arts and Sciences courses and twenty-four credit hours for Electives.
For Arts and Sciences, you must complete twelve credit hours each in the following areas: Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Mathematics and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
If you wish to do so, you may continue on to a Bachelor of General Studies degree after your completion of the Associate degree.
Bachelor of General Studies
This is a 4-year course that requires students to complete one hundred and twenty credit hours.
Apart from the required thirty-six credit hours in Arts and Sciences – twelve each for the following: Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Mathematics and Social and Behavioral Sciences; students are required to complete additional eighteen credit hours in one of these areas.
Sixty-six credit hours are required for Electives.
Competency courses are also required for both the Associate and Bachelor degrees: English Composition, Communications, Mathematics, Computer Science, 2nd Writing Course and Diversity Course.