Undergraduate Bulletin 2016-2017 Download

General Studies

Faculty/Staff

Andrew Smith, Advisor

Cristina Thomsen, Advisor

Alfredo Vergel, Advisor

Descriptions of the Programs

The General Studies program at Southwestern Adventist University is designed for two categories of students: 1) First-time students who are exploring major options and 2) Students whose main goal is to earn a college degree with an area of emphasis but without specializing in a major or minor field.  Students will be able to choose from a wide selection of classes while meeting the requirements of the General Education Program.

The Interdisciplinary Studies program allows students, with planning, to enhance their education program by including an area of emphasis not offered on campus.  Students wishing to pursue an Interdisciplinary Studies degree must complete the program application process prior to admission into the program.

Southwestern’s Quality Enhancement Plan remains integral to the completion of a General Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies major.  All requirements for the QEP as they pertain to the B.A. and B.S. degrees will be completed by General Studies students.

Programs

  • Associate of Science
  • B.S. General Studies
  • B.A./B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies

Associate of Science

The Associate of Science degree consists of all general education courses required for the Bachelor of Science degree, with the following exception: 6 hours of religion instead of 12, and no upper division credits are required.. The Associate of Science degree is neither awarded en route to nor concurrently with a bachelor’s degree at Southwestern. However, a student who has earned an Associate of Science degree at Southwestern may elect to complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

B.S. in General Studies

The B.S. in General Studies requires the following:

  1. Meet the University’s general education and baccalaureate degree requirements.
  2. Complete one area of emphasis of 42 hours (18 hours upper division) or two areas of emphasis of 24 hours each (9 hours upper division in each emphasis). Areas of emphasis will typically be determined by course prefix, and will include only classes that would be applicable to a major.
  3. After earning a Bachelor of Science in General Studies, a student may return to earn a second Bachelor’s degree. However, an area of emphasis may only be used as a major in the second degree if there are 30 additional hours available in the major.

B.A./B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies

B.A./B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies

A student who has a specific career goal not included in the list of majors and minors offered by Southwestern must initiate the request for a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with the Vice President for Academic Administration. Since this is a planned course of study, which may include courses not offered on our campus, approval must be sought and granted before completion of 60 semester hours. The development of this plan is done in consultation with a selected faculty advisor and with one or more selected faculty members from separate academic disciplines who then comprise the faculty committee for the program. A degree proposal must be submitted to the Records Office which includes the following:

  1. A short essay (3-5 pages) which explains the proposed course of study.
  2. Identification of two areas of emphasis which include a minimum of 24 hours each (9 hours upper division from each emphasis) or three areas of emphasis which include a minimum of 18 hours each (6 hours upper division from each emphasis). Areas of emphasis will typically be determined by course prefix.
  3. Courses must be grouped by general education, areas of emphasis, and electives under the headings of Courses Completed, Courses In-progress and Proposed Courses.  Courses must also be identified which meet the QEP requirements.  Upper division courses should be identified with an asterisk (*) and must total a minimum of 40 hours.
  4. All courses taken or planned to be taken off-campus must be identified as such.
  5. Signatures by each faculty member of the committee, the Registrar, and the Vice President for Academic Administration.

The approved program will become the student’s major, and the Registrar will determine the student’s readiness for graduation by checking compliance with all components of the degree. An abstract (120 words) of the program which can be included with the student’s transcript must be submitted prior to graduation.