About the General Studies Bachelor’s Program
The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) is a unique program for students who wish to study multiple fields in equivalent depth. As an interdisciplinary liberal arts degree, it requires similar but slightly different general requirements as the Bachelor of Arts degree. Instead of a major and minor, the student selects three concentration areas, each of which meets the minimum requirements of an existing departmental or interdisciplinary minor. Together, the three concentration areas (minor fields) formulate a coherent specialization of interest to the student that is unavailable elsewhere in the university as an organized program of study. The student chooses the three concentrations in consultation with the College of Visual and Performing Arts academic advisor and, as necessary, the departmental or program advisors overseeing the minor areas. At least two of the three concentration areas must reside in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Each concentration area consists of a minimum of 18 hours in the chosen discipline, for a total of 54 hours minimum across the three areas. Through these self-selected concentration areas combined with forming an integrated specialization and receiving a liberal arts foundation, the B.G.S. degree can prepare a student to pursue an intellectual and/or artistic interest, a career goal, or further study at the graduate or professional level.
The college is developing innovative new tracks within the existing B.G.S. degree. The first of these is the interdisciplinary design, arts and technology (IDAT) track, a unique liberal arts track featuring specialized training in the arts with an orientation toward technology and design. IDAT may be of particular interest to students preparing for growing career opportunities combining or integrating such fields as art direction, game design, event design, interactive and convergent media, animation, app design, song writing, sound design for time-based media, and concept art. The track would also be appropriate for students who want to produce technologyoriented work that crosses boundaries between fine art and design or between theatre, music and the visual arts. The interdisciplinary technology concentration (ITC) is the cornerstone of the IDAT track, and includes VPA 2310 ,18 hours of courses selected from communication, technology and interdisciplinary courses, and VPA 4110 , which is the IDAT capstone course. The second concentration is chosen from existing minors in art, music, or theatre and dance. The third concentration is selected in close consultation with the college advisor and a faculty mentor from courses within or outside the college that support the student’s broader interdisciplinary interests. The IDAT course of study culminates in the one-credit capstone course, taken concurrently with two credits in an appropriate 4000- level independent study with the faculty mentor. At least 36 credit hours must be in courses within the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Declaration of Major. Students declare the general studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts just as they do any major. A visit with the academic advisor (806.742.0700 or cvpa.advisors@ ttu.edu) is the best place to start, followed by visits to program advisors representing the three intended concentration areas.
Graduation Requirements. Requirements for the B.G.S. degree in the College of Visual and Performing Arts are as follows:
- 120 credit hours minimum
- Minimum total of 40 junior/senior hours.
- Three concentration areas to total at least 54 hours, each comprising an existing departmental or interdisciplinary minor of at least 18 hours each; minimum 6 junior/senior hours in each concentration; courses may be credited in only one concentration area; at least two of the concentration areas must come from the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
- Optional research project as independent studies within concentration area(s).
- Specified general degree requirements as shown.
- English: 6-12 Semester Hours
- Oral Communication: 3 Semester Hours
- United States and Texas Government: 6 Semester Hours
- United States History: 6 Semester Hours
- Mathematics: 6 Semester Hours
- Life and Physical Sciences: 8 Semester Hours
- Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3-6 Semester Hours
- Language, Philosophy, and Culture: 3-6 Semester Hours
- Creative Arts: satisfied in concentrations
- Personal Fitness and Wellness: 0-2 Semester Hours
- Foreign Language: 0-10 Semester Hours. Entering students are expected to have had four semesters credit of a single foreign language in high school. Students who do not meet this requirement will be required to complete one year (or the equivalent) of a single foreign language taken at the college level. For more detailed information, refer to the “Foreign Language Requirement ” listing in the Academic Requirements section of this catalog.
- Multicultural Requirement: 3 Semester Hours
- Communication Literacy Requirement: Students attending Texas Tech University for the first time in the Fall 2017 term or later will complete a Communication Literacy requirement in their program(s) of study. Texas Tech University’s transition from the Writing Intensive requirement to the Communication Literacy requirement signals the university’s awareness that in addition to the fundamental role that writing plays in enabling students to explore, develop, focus, and organize a message, other types of communication must also be taught as appropriate for a student’s discipline. Throughout each program of study, then, students must be given ample opportunity to develop their skills in forms of communication central to that program. For information on courses meeting the CL requirement for the General Studies major, please see an advisor.
- TOTAL FOR DEGREE: 120
Total Hours: 120
* Choose from the university’s core curriculum .
† Entering students are expected to have had four semesters credit of a single foreign language in high school. Students who do not meet this requirement will be required to complete one year (or the equivalent) of a single foreign language taken at the college level. For more information, refer to the “Foreign Language Requirement ” in the Academic Requirements section of the catalog.
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