Academics

Bachelor Degrees

Common requirements for all bachelor’s degrees include the following:

A minimum of 120 semester credit hours in courses numbered 1000 - 4999.
Of the minimum total hours, 40 semester hours must be in upper-division courses (3000 - 4999).
Minimum GPA requirements for course work in the major and a minimum GPA of 2.0 overall in work taken at SUU as well as a combined SUU and transfer GPA.
Completion of SUU general education, major and/or minor requirements.
Candidates for a bachelor’s degree must complete at least 30 credits at SUU or through classes offered by distance education through SUU. A minimum of 20 of these credits must be completed in upper-division courses, of which at least 10 credits must be completed in courses required by the student’s major. Each major may have residency requirements in addition to SUU requirements.
**Candidates for an associate’s degree must complete 24 of the final 30 hours at SUU or through classes offered by distance education through SUU.
Completion of specific requirements for one of the bachelor’s degrees offered by the university:
A major, a composite major or dual major are required.

Bachelor of Arts

This degree must include a foreign language or ASL (American Sign Language) requirement which may be met by one of the following:

A minimum of 16 semester credit hours in one foreign language.
Documentation of language proficiency through an examination administered by the language and literature department or through an examination by a recognized testing agency.
Students for whom English is a second language may meet the BA foreign language requirement by verifying their proficiency in their (non-English) native language in cooperation with the language and literature department and verifying their proficiency in English as a second language by either passing an ESL exit test or passing the ESL special examination.
Documentation of a minimum proficiency level in American Sign Language through an examination administered by any accredited institution of higher education. The signer must produce and maintain American Sign Language with continuity and precision.

Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science in Nursing

This degree must include successful completion of 12 credit hours in mathematics or laboratory science that emphasize scientific inquiry through experimental, analytical or statistical methods. It may include the completion of Math 1010 (Math 1010 will not count toward a general education requirement). Electives, GE, or required courses in the major or minor may satisfy this requirement. The additional science/math courses requirement for the BS degree can be met by successfully completing courses in agriculture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science and information systems, geology, mathematics, physics, nutrition and food science, and kinesiology (PE 3060).

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art & Design

This degree is the initial professional degree in art and design. It focuses on intensive work in art or design supported by a program of general studies. At least 65% of the degree is in the creation and study of art and design in order to develop the knowledge, skills, concepts, and sensibilities essential to the professional artist or designer. Consequently, neither the language requirement of the BA, nor the additional science/math courses for the BS are required. In any of the roles as creator, scholar, or teacher, the artist or designer must function as a practitioner who exhibits technical competence, broad knowledge of art/design and art/design history, an understanding of style and its implications, critical thinking, an insight into the role of art and design in the life of humankind, and the ability to identify and solve problems.

Admission to a BFA program is subject to portfolio review after 24 credits in ART and ARTH are taken (or in progress) as outlined in the department policies. The candidate must demonstrate visual talent, art/design sensibilities, academic capacity, and a strong sense of commitment.

The necessary components of a program leading to the professional undergraduate degree are as follows:

Studio: Studies, practice, and experiences in studio subjects are of prime importance in the preparation of students for professional careers in art and design. Students must gain functional competence with principles of visual organization, including the ability to work with visual elements in three dimensions; color theory and its applications; and drawing. Students must present work that demonstrates perceptual acuity, conceptual understanding, and technical facility at a professional entry level. They must also become familiar with the inherited achievements, current major issues, processes, and directions of the field(s).
Art/Design History:
Through comprehensive courses in the history of art/design, students must learn to analyze works of art/design perceptively and to evaluate them critically. They must develop an understanding of the common elements and vocabulary of art/design and of the interaction of these elements, and be able to employ this knowledge in analysis. They must be able to place works of art/design in historical and stylistic context and have some understanding of the cultural milieu in which they were created.
General Education Requirements: 5. Review the individual degree requirements as some of the General Education requirements are specified by the department.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre/Bachelor of Music

Please refer to the Theatre Arts & Dance or Music department requirements for admission and program requirements.

Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

This degree serves students in an individualized academic program across diverse fields of study. Graduates from this degree cannot be approved for state certification as a teacher.

The Interdisciplinary Studies Degree was designed to allow students to develop, with directed faculty assistance and appropriate administrative approval, a composite major which is interdisciplinary and which is not currently an approved major at SUU. While this program offering is intended to be somewhat flexible, no request will be approved unless the student candidate and faculty advisor have jointly planned and organized the proposed composite major which constitutes the Interdisciplinary Studies Degree

For this reason, a Proposed Program Outline must be submitted by the student, with faculty advisor approval, to the head of the department in which most of his/her courses are to be taken for his/her approval. This Proposed Program Outline should be submitted as early as possible in the student's undergraduate career and must include all courses which are to constitute the composite interdisciplinary major (44 to 67 credits as outlined below).

If the Proposed Program Outline is approved, the student will submit a formal application to the department chair for the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree by outlining all proposed coursework (composite major, general education, and elective classes) on a Graduation Worksheet form obtained from the Registrar's Office. This formal application must be approved by the department chair and the dean. It should be submitted as soon as possible in the student's career; however, the requirement that at least 20 upper division credit hours of the proposed composite major must be "directed study approved by faculty advisor, department head and dean" mandates that the formal application be approved at least two semesters in advanced of baccalaureate program completion.

The degree's general guidelines are as follows:

Courses may be drawn from all existing University Courses which fill Bachelor's Degree requirements.
The composite major of the program must be interdisciplinary in nature and not, therefore, a major traditionally taken in an academic department or currently approved at SUU.
The selection of the faculty advisor by the student is subject to mutual agreement, except that the advisor must be in the subject-matter discipline and department in which most of the composite major courses are located. Such an assignment also determines the department chair and dean for approval purposes.
For record-keeping purposes, the student is coded into the respective department and College whose department chair and dean approve the proposed interdisciplinary program. This coding does not imply, however that the student or the program is covered by all the regulations of the department for its traditional majors.
Interdisciplinary Studies students are governed by the University's general requirements for graduation:
1. Completion of an interdisciplinary composite major of 44 to 67 credits (no minor is required for Interdisciplinary Studies major);
2. At least 20 of the credits required for the composite major must be upper division credits which are to be completed at SUU after the formal application for an interdisciplinary Studies Degree program has been approved by the department chair and the dean;
3. Only classes with grades of "C-" or higher will be counted within the composite major;
4. No courses with pass/fail grading may be used for the composite major, unless approved at the time the formal application is submitted;
5. No more than 40 hours from any single department can be counted toward the composite major;
6. Two options exist for the 44 to 67 credit hours in the composite major;
  1. The student must take at least 17 credit hours in each of two different disciplines at SUU,
    (the total of the two disciplines equaling 44 or more credits).
    OR
  2. The student must take at least, respectively, 17, 10, and 7 credit hours from at least three
    different disciplines at SUU (the total of the three disciplines equaling 44 or more credit hours).

Second Bachelor Degree

Students seeking a second Bachelor's Degree must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours earned after the first degree (when one degree is completed and awarded), and must meet department major requirements in which the degree is sought, including residency. That is: completion of at least 20 upper division credits at SUU. In addition, at least 50 percent of the credit hours required for the second major must be completed at SUU.

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