The Major in General Studies

The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in General Studies provide students a pathway through a broad educational foundation while adhering to the strong standards of a CMU degree.

The General Studies major covers both intercollegiate breadth and discipline-specific knowledge. The intercollegiate educational requirements expose students to a variety of intellectual and cultural approaches and provide serviceable knowledge on a range of topics. In addition to this liberal arts style foundation, students are required to declare and complete an academic minor. This concentrated study equips students with in-depth knowledge of a given professional field. Students are challenged to move beyond base assumptions and to demonstrate higher-order creativity, analysis, and application. Further, the academic minor sends a concrete signal to future employers to indicate areas of interest and experience.
Near the end of their degree, General Studies students synthesize their educational pursuits. They are required to register for a 3+ unit, graded Capstone to create a culminating project/paper. 

Eligibility and Approval

A student cannot independently pursue this degree. Any student expressing interest in transferring to the General Studies major must discuss their motivation and alternative options with their academic advisor, receive approval from their college’s Assistant/Associate Dean, and then be approved by the General Studies Academic Advisory Committee as a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science based on the curriculum proposal. Students must work with their Assistant/Associate Dean to first exhaust the following options:

• maintaining their current degree path,
• changing majors in one’s home college, or
• transferring to another college at CMU.

In order to be considered for the General Studies major program, a student must fulfill all the criteria: 

1.  A student must have successfully completed at least 180 units, 75% of which were completed at CMU.
2.   A student must have passed the University’s first-year writing and “Core@CMU.” requirements. See table below for full listing of courses that can satisfy the writing requirement.
3. A student must demonstrate the ability to be successful in their intended minor. Students must be on track to complete at least 50% of the minor’s coursework at the point of application.
4.  A student must create a curricular plan with their advisor. This plan must include monthly meetings with their academic advisor, outline a plan for continual satisfactory academic progress, and be approved by their Assistant/Associate Dean. 

If all the above criteria are met, the request to pursue the major is brought to the General Studies Academic Advisory Committee and must receive a majority vote to advance the major change. Upon approval of the General Studies Academic Advisory Committee, the student remains in their home college for academic advising and support; students follow academic regulations of their home college. 

Degree Structure and Graduation Requirements

In accordance with Carnegie Mellon’s standards and degree norms, all candidates must complete the following requirements in order to graduate with a General Studies major:

1. Apply and be approved by the General Studies Academic Advisory Committee as a General Studies Major.
2. Adhere to and make progress toward the agreed-upon curricular plans.

General Studies students should have a well-rounded education that fulfills Middle States Accreditation requirements for general education, demonstrating learning in each of seven categories. Students will work with their advisor and associate dean (or equivalent) to guarantee that each category is fulfilled, recognizing what they have done while exploring other degrees across departments and colleges. Courses counting for the general studies breadth and depth major requirements and/or minor requirements can be used to fulfill the general education requirements. Double counting across the general education categories is not permitted.

Graduation requirements are broadly defined as follows, and outlined in the following Curriculum section: 

a. Earn a minimum of 360 units. Students may count up to 40 non-factorable units with a maximum of 9 total non-factorable units of StuCo, ROTC, and P/E.

b. Students must have a minimum of 45 units in upper level courses, as defined by the course’s home department (generally 300 level or above).

c. Pass/fail courses may not be used for the major or minor requirements (for courses that are otherwise letter graded).  Pass/fail courses may not be used for the general education requirements of the degree unless approved by the General Studies Academic Advisory Committee.

d. Earn a QPA of at least 2.0 for all courses taken (For undergraduate students who enrolled at Carnegie Mellon as first-year students and whose first-year grades cause the cumulative QPA to fall below 2.00, this requirement is modified to be a cumulative QPA of at least 2.00 for all courses taken after the first year.)

Declare and complete an academic minor in their home college or in another college. (Transfer credit acceptance will be determined by the equivalent CMU department).

e. Additional minors will not be considered unless the secondary minor’s units are in addition to all of the General Studies degree requirements.

f. An additional major can be substituted for an academic minor if the studies are only available as an additional major to all students on campus (e.g., environmental and sustainability studies, biomedical engineering).
 
g. Student-defined minors are able to be proposed for students pursuing the general studies major. However, students must meet all deadlines and requirements of the student-defined minor process.

Curriculum

Minimum units required for B.A./B.S. in General Studies360

First-Year Writing Requirement