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Bachelor of Arts Degree

The Bachelor of Arts Degree is designed for individuals pursuing careers in scientific application areas such as public policy, technical sales, law, and communications. The Bachelor of Arts requires more humanities and social science credits to be completed than a Bachelor of Science, providing greater balance between science and non-science credits in its 120 credit program.  In addition, general elective courses usually will be needed to reach 120 (123) credits.

The following list is for informational purposes. Students are expected to check with their advisor at least once each year to discuss program planning and course selection.

Information for persons with disabilities.

Degree Requirements

General degree requirements
University requirements
College of Natural Science requirements
Zoology Department requirements
Electives

GENERAL DEGREE Requirements:

• 120 Credits minimum to graduate (123 minimum for students who took MTH 1825 at MSU)
• 30 Credits minimum of 300-400 level courses
• 2.0 minimum Overall GPA
• 2.0 minimum GPA in the major

UNIVERSITY Requirements:

NOTE: A minimum of two [of the four required] ISS or IAH courses must emphasize diversity. This Integrated Studies Diversity requirement is fulfilled with the completion of at least one “N” course and one “I” course. A “D” course may substitute for either one “N” or one “I” course, but not for both.

"I" - emphasizes international and multicultural diversity
"N" - emphasizes national diversity
"D" - emphasizes both international/multicultural and national diversity.

Thus, the Diversity requirement is satisfied in one of two ways:

a. by taking one course designated "I" and one course designated "N" or
b. by taking one course designated "D" and one course designated either "I" or "N".

The course designation of I, N or D is in parentheses at the end of the course title in the MSU Course Descriptions catalog. (Example: IAH 201 is a "D" emphasis course.) If none of these letters is present, the course will not satisfy the Integrated Studies Diversity requirement.

COLLEGE of NATURAL SCIENCE Requirements:

Prerequisite MTH courses: When you enter MSU, you must take a MTH placement test. Your score on this test may not be high enough to place you into the calculus classes listed above. In this case, you must enroll in pre-calculus classes.

If you place into MTH 1825, Intermediate Algebra, you must start you MTH sequence with this course. Once you pass this course, you may move on to the next pre-calculus classes, MTH 116 OR MTH 103 and 114.

f you receive a placement score of 9 - 14, your MTH sequence starts with mastering both College Algebra and Trigonometry. This knowledge is obtained by completing ONE of the options below:

• MTH 116 College Algebra and Trigonometry
• MTH 103 College Algebra AND MTH 114 Trigonometry.

The Zoology Department prefers that its students to complete both College Algebra and Trigonometry, as this provides the optimum preparation for calculus and statistics, as well as for upper level science courses. Here are a few factors to consider when choosing your pre-calculus options:

• MTH 116 is a 5 credit course for one semester. This means it meets 5 days a week, with the expectation that you complete homework and readings for each day. For some students, this may be too intense of a schedule.
• MTH 103 and MTH 114 are taken in two consecutive semesters: MTH 103 the first semester and MTH 114 the second. Each class is a 3 credit course, meeting 3 days a week, with the expectation that you complete homework and readings for class meeting.

DEPARTMENT of ZOOLOGY Requirements:

Tier II Writing in the Major: Must complete two Tier II Zoology courses (W). Fulfilled by completion of ZOL 355L and ZOL 457.

Complete a minimum of 12 credits of 300-400 level courses offered by the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Business, Communications Arts & Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Complete one of the following options (1 or 2):

1. Second year competency in a foreign language. (At MSU, this means completion of 202.)
2. First year competency in a foreign language (at MSU, this means completion of 102);
   AND
   CSE 101 or 131 ;
   AND
   MTH 124 or 132;
   AND
   STT 201 or  224 or 231 or 421.

Students who choose option 2 may use MTH 124 or 132 and STT 201, 224, 231, or 421 to satisfy both this requirement and the College of Natural Science math requirement listed above.

General ELECTIVES:

Most of the 120 (or 123) credits required for a MSU Bachelor’s degree come from the required University, College and department courses. Additional credits, however, may be needed to reach the total 120 (123) credits. These credits are called elective credits and may be taken in any discipline or any level. Elective courses can be chosen to:

• develop or expand skills, such as writing and analytical thinking.
• provide vocational skills, such as accounting or computer skills.
• explore topics you have always been interested in learning more about.
• complement your major and interests. For example, for a student interested in environmental issues, courses from Fisheries and Wildlife, Geography or Resource Development might be good choices. Other science-based options might include: Animal Science; Biochemistry: Entomology; Forestry; Microbiology & Molecular Genetics or Physiology. Psychology or Anthropology courses often complement Zoology courses well.
• complete an additional major, specialization or second degree.

• 5.1: FAQ
• 5.2: Undergraduate Degrees
  • 5.2.1: Bachelor of Science
  • 5.2.2: B.S. Environmental Biology

  • Current page is 5.2.3: Bachelor of Arts

• 5.3: Advising
  • 5.3.1: prepare for advisor meeting
• 5.4: Pre-Professionals
• 5.5: Careers
  • 5.5.1: Career Exploration
• 5.6: Experience
• 5.7: Academic Resources
  • 5.7.1: Study Abroad
  • 5.7.2: Scholarships
  • 5.7.3: Honor's College FAQ
  • 5.7.4: "Minors" & 2nd degrees
  • 5.7.5: Repeats
  • 5.7.6: Transfer courses
  • 5.7.7: Internship Manual
  • 5.7.8: Grad Studies FAQ
• 5.8: Extracurricular
• 5.9: Accessibility

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