General Studies (B.G.S.)

College Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs.  The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings.  Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program.  That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?151102-Purdue-University-Fort-Wayne&fos_code=2401&fos_credential=1

Program Requirements:

General Studies 4-Yr. Plan  

General Studies (B.G.S.) Articulation with Rhodes State College, Requirements & 2-Yr Plan  

General Education: Credits 30

Effective Fall 2025, the General Education program at PFW requires 30 credits to be completed, such that students pass each course listed below with a grade of C- or better:

• Category A. Foundational Intellectual Skills (Foundational Intellectual Skills Course Lists)   
  • One course in A1. Written Communication Cr. 3. 
  • One course in A2. Speaking and Listening Cr. 3.
  • One course in A3. Quantitative Reasoning Cr. 3.
• Category B. Ways of Knowing (Ways of Knowing Course Lists)   
  • One course in B4. Scientific Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
  • One course in B5. Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
  • One course in B6. Humanistic Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
  • One course in B7. Artistic Ways or Knowing Cr. 3.
  • One course in B8. Interdisciplinary Ways of Knowing Cr. 3.
• Six additional credits from any Foundational Skills (A1-A3) or Ways of Knowing (B4-B8) categories
• At least one Ways of Knowing course that is designated as having a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and/or global awareness

Some programs recommend courses and/or require a specific course as part of the major that may also be used to fulfill General Education requirements. Please see below or your Academic Advisor for courses that fulfill both purposes.  You can familiarize yourself with other program regulations at General Education Requirements .

Required Areas of Learning: Credits 54

Area A: Arts & Humanities: Credits 12

A grade of C- or above is required.  Must include at least two different subjects.

Area B: Science & Mathematics: Credits 12

A grade of C- or above is required.  Must include at least two different subjects.

Area C: Social & Behavioral Sciences: Credits 12

A grade of C- or above is required. Must include at least two different subjects.

Choose four courses in the following Social & Behavioral Sciences area:

• Anthropology
• Communication Sciences & Disorders
• CRIM 10100 (ONLY)
• Economics
• Geography
• Gerontology
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
• Linguistics
• Peace & Conflict Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies

Area D: Choose ONE Area of Learning: Credits 18

Choose ONE Area of Learning (Area A or B or C) and complete 18 additional credits from that area. A grade of C- or above is required. Must include at least two different subjects from the selected Area of Learning.

    Area A: Arts & Humanities: (Credits 18)

• Art & Design
• Classical Studies
• Communication
• Comparative Literature
• Dance
• English (except 15000, 19000, 12900, P131, R150, R190, W115, W116, W129, W130)
• Film & Video Studies
• Folklore
• History
• International Languages & Culture Studies
• International Languages
• International Studies
• Medieval & Renissance Studies
• Music (unless used as a professional school)
• Philosophy
• Religious Studies
• Theatre

OR

    Area B: Science & Mathematics: (Credits 18)

• ANTH 20001, 44500 (ONLY)
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science (Includes BUS 20101)
• CRIM 30000 (ONLY)
• Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences
• ECON 20101, 27000 (ONLY)
• Entomology
• Forestry & Natural Resources
• GEOG 10700, 10900, 31500 (ONLY)
• Horticulture
• Industrial Engineering Technology 20500, 35000 (ONLY)
• Information System Technology
• Mathematics (Except MA 11100, 12401)
• NUTR 30300 (ONLY)
• PCTX 20100 (ONLY)
• Physics
• PSY 12000, 20100, 31000, 31100, 31400, 31700, 32900, 41600 (ONLY)
• SOC 35100 (ONLY)
• Statistics

OR

    Area C: Social & Behavioral Sciences: (Credits 18)

• Anthropology
• Communication Sciences & Disorders
• CRIM 10100 (ONLY)
• Economics
• Geography
• Gerontology
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
• Linguistics
• Peace & Conflict Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies

General Electives:

Sufficient additional credits to bring the total to 120

Students may choose from any available subjects/courses that they meet the prerequistes for and have not already taken.  Courses with a D- or higher will be accepted in electives.

General Studies Capstone: Credits 3

A grade of C- or above is required.

• IDIS 41700 - General Studies Degree Capstone Cr. 3.

Additional Program Requirements

Residency Requirement:

• A minimum of 32 credits at the 200-level or above must be completed at PFW.

Upper-Level Requirement: 30 Credits

• A minimum of 30 credits at the 30000-40000 level must be completed, including at least 15 credits at the 300 level or above in courses applicable to the major.

Computer Literacy: 1-3 Credits

Choose one of the following:

• Anything in Computer Science
• Anything in Information System Technology
• AD 10502 - Digital Imaging Cr. 3.
• AD 20301 - Web Design I: Introduction To Web Design Cr. 3.
• BUS 20101 - The Computer In Business Cr. 3.
• EDU 20002 - Using Computers For Education Cr. 1-3. 
• ETCS 10600 - Introduction To Computers Cr. 3.
• OLS 28000 - Computer Applications For Supervisors Cr. 3. 

Diversity Requirement: 1-3 Credits

• AFRO (ANY)
• ANTH 10501, 20002, 20003, 30000, 31001, 33000, 35001, 35600, 37001, 37500, 44500, 45500, 45700, 47000
• BIOL 25000
• BUS 20400, 30000, 30200, 49001, 49400
• CLCS (ANY)
• CMPL 21700
• COM 21200, 30300, 31200, 32400, 41000, 42200, 52700, 59000
• CRIM 30500
• CSD 11500, 18100, 18200, 28300, 28400, 30600
• EALC (ANY)
• ECON 40800, 43000
• EDU 30500, 30700, 34001, 35201, 37001, 40001, 41000
• ENGL 10700, 37202, 38101, 38800, 39201, 46201, 46401, 46901,47800, 47901
• FOLK 11100, 25400, 30500, 35200
• FR (ANY)
• GEOG 10700
• GER (ANY)
• GERN 23100
• HIST 10001, 11300, 11400, 20101, 22200, 23200, 31001, 31002, 31101, 31102, 32503 (***), 32701, 33101, 33201, 33503, 34201, 34502, 34601, 35102, 35202, 35501, 36102, 38601, 38801, 39301, 40201, 42501 (***), 42601 (***), 43200
• IDIS 20200
• ILCS 20800, 35000
• INTL (ANY)
• INTD 33000
• LGBT (ANY)
• LING 46000
• LSTU 10100, 21000, 29000 (***), 33000, 38500, 39000 (***)
• MUSC 10500, 20103, 39300
• NELC (ANY)
• NUR 30900
• NUTR 20400
• OLS 25200, 45400
• POL 10700, 10900, 20001 (***), 32400, 32800, 33501, 33900, 34000, 35001, 36001, 37101, 37600, 40100 (***), 49001 (***)
• PSY 24000, 33400, 33500, 34500, 36500, 37100
• REL 11200, 23000, 23100, 29300 (***), 30100, 30500, 30600, 30700, 31100, 31200, 31500, 32100, 37500, 37800, 38100
• SOC 16300, 30000
• SPAN (ANY)
• WOST (ANY)

       ***See your academic advisor to have variable topic courses approved for diversity

Course Subject Limits

- 3 credit limit in each of the following:  ENG W135*, MA 149*

- 21 credit limit in each of the following department/subject areas: AD, AFRO, ANTH, ASTR, BIOL, CHM, CLCS, CMPL, COM, CS, CSD, DANC, EALC, EAPS, ECON, ENGL, ETCS, FINA*/VART*/VCD*, FOLK, FR, FVS, GEOG, GER, GERN, HIST, HONR, HORT, ILCS, INTL, IST, JOUR*, LGBT, LING, MA, MARS, MUSC (unless used as a professional school, see professional school areas below. Only 10 credits in any MUSC 0xxxx classes), NELC, PACS, PCTX, PHIL, PHYS, POL, PSY, REL, SOC, SPAN, STAT, THTR, WOST.

- 30 credit limit in each of the following professional school/college disciplines: BUS, CRIM/PPOL/SPEA, DAST*/DHYG*/DLTP*, EDU/EDUA*/EDUC*, HPER (only 1 course allowed in an athletes participating sport), HSRV, IDIS, INTD, LSTU, MSL/MIL, MUSC (if used as a professional school, which only counts as electives with only 10 credits in any MUSC 0xxxx classes), NUR, OLS (unless paired with other classes/subjects within the School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science; see below), PHRM, RADX, VM.

- 30 credit limit in each of the following professional school areas, but only 21 credits in each subject within the school/college:

• Engineering Technology and Computer Science (30 total; 21 allowed in each, except OLS): ARET , CE, CET, CEPT, CNET, ECET, ECE, ENGR, ET, IET, IT, IM, ITC, ME, MET, SE, TECH, and up to 30 in OLS unless paired with any of the above for a total of 30 within the college/school
• Consumer and Family Sciences (30 total; 21 allowed in each): CDFS, CFS, FNN*/NUTR, HTM
• Agriculture (30 total; 21 allowed in each): AGRI, ANSC, ENTM, FNR, HORT

- 30 credit limit in the following situations: 

• Credit by exams:  AP/CLEP
• Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)
• Older credit that begins with the letter “T”:  TBUS/TENG/TPSY etc.

- 48 credit Limit in the following subject area:  AHLT*/CHHS*/HSCI

*Courses no longer offered at PFW.

Total Credits: 120

All students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 or higher to graduate.

Student Responsibility

You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career. If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean. 

Additional Course Use

Courses listed below may also be considered in meeting specific degree requirements.

The following old course subject codes will be accepted into Area A Requirement:

• AFRO
• AFRI
• AAAD
• CLAS
• CMLT
• ENG
• FILM
• FINA
• FREN
• FRIT
• HISP
• JOUR
• RUSS
• SLAV
• VCD

The following old course subject codes will be accepted into Area B Requirement:

• CHEM
• GEOL
• EAS
• GEOS
• PHSL
• SCI

The following old course subject codes will be accepted into Area C Requirement:

• AGEC 217
• POLS

The following old course subject codes will be accepted into the Diversity Requirement:

• AFRO
• AMST (A200, A301, A441)
• CMLT (C340)
• ECON (E323, E346)
• ENG (G104, G310, L107, L113, L207, L364, L369, L378, L379, L381, L388, L392, W372, W462)
• EDUC (H340, K201, K205, K206, K305, K306, K307, K350, K351, K352, K360, K370, K410, Q400)
• FINA (A170, A270)
• FOLK (F350, F354, F378)
• FWAS (H201, H202)
• LSTU (L101, L385)
• POLS (Y337, Y374, Y496)
• SLAV

The following old course subject codes will be accepted into the Math Competency Requirement:

• MA 21300
• MATH (M118, 150, 163, 164, 261)
• POLS Y395