Northern Illinois University
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Students seeking the degree Bachelor of General Studies satisfy the requirements of a major by completing:

• A minimum of 85 semester hours in course work offered or approved by NIU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
• A minimum of 30 semester hours of upper-division credit in course work offered or approved by NIU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
• A minimum of 15 semester hours in each of the following three categories: behavioral and social sciences; life, mathematical, and physical sciences; humanities; (course work used to fulfill the English, mathematics, and speech requirement of the university's general education program will not be credited to any of these areas).
• No more than 25 semester hours in any one department.
• At least 30 semester hours of credit after entry in the program.

Graduation Requirements

• Complete 120 semester hours of course work.
• 40 semester hours of upper-division course work (courses at the 300-400 level).
• Complete the last 30 hours semester hours through NIU.
• Attain a 2.00 grade point average or better in all course work completed at NIU.
• Complete the university's general education program, human diversity and writing infused requirements.
• Complete the requirements of a major.

Consult the current Northern Illinois University Undergraduate Catalog for additional information.

"She (Judy Santacaterina) made me feel like we were going to cross the finish line together and went above and beyond to help with questions and concerns. I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful she is and I credit her for my accomplishment at NIU."by Julia Coates, BGS graduate 2016