Communications

More students will earn timely degrees with USF's Bachelor of General Studies and Bachelor of Science in Applied Science expansion

November 2023

The Office of Undergraduate Studies (UGS) is expanding and creating degree opportunities for more students. UGS offers two degree programs, the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) and the Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences (BSAS). These degrees are the only bachelor’s degrees offered outside of the University of South Florida academic colleges with 189 students graduating in the last academic year. Recently the programs have opened up to allow more students to be admitted to the BGS and BSAS degrees in order to help students successfully graduate on time.

Originally, these degree programs were only offered to post-traditional students who were 25 and older, had 60 credits, earned an associate degree, and decided to take the next step working towards a bachelor's degree. Many post-traditional students find that they have limited promotional opportunities without a degree. Having a bachelor's degree opens up higher-level options at their workplace as well as the workforce in general. Also, many students return to finish a bachelor's degree which has been an unrealized personal goal.

As part of serving post-traditional students, USF partnered with TECO to provide programming for a cohort of employees every two years. USF provides the TECO cohort with online or in-person courses. As they earn their bachelor's degree, they are able to apply for positions they weren't previously qualified for.

Through the last several years the Bachelor of General Studies degree has grown to help more students. For example, a student pursuing an education degree in the State of Florida needs to pass the Florida Teacher Certification Exam to teach and receive an education degree. If the student doesn’t pass the state exam but has taken the credits for a degree, they can apply the credits to a Bachelor of General Studies with an Educational Foundations concentration. The student still earns a degree after fulfilling the requirements.

“Start as a Bull, and graduate as a Bull” is Beth Taylor’s philosophy on students. Taylor is the Associate Director of Academic Programs and oversees the team responsible for ensuring students who start their academic journey at the University of South Florida will have options to graduate with a bachelor's degree.

The newest expansions include lifting the grade point average limit for admission to the BGS program. This allows students who need to reselect a major due to a low Grade Point Average (GPA) to pursue the BGS degree and remain in school while working towards improving their grades and graduating. Students still need a 2.0 GPA to graduate.

Another expansion of BGS is offering it as an option to athletes who transfer schools while playing college sports. These athletes may come to USF with credits that may not fit one major. The BGS is a general degree with 12 concentrations. One of these concentrations typically accommodates the credits students bring to USF. This is another pathway to graduation if the student prefers to graduate and not extend the time to graduation to take the extra credits to complete a more specialized degree.

Looking forward to the Fall of 2024, Undergraduate Studies will offer two more concentrations for both the BGS and BSAS degree programs, the Applied Behavior Analysis and Hospitality & Restaurant Management concentrations.