Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Throughout the undergraduate catalog, the phrase “hours earned at MTSU” refers to courses taken at the Murfreesboro campus as well as all forms of distance learning courses including TN eCampus course credit earned through offerings by MTSU.

Baccalaureate Degrees, General Requirements for

To graduate from MTSU with a bachelor’s degree, a student must meet the following requirements.

1. Students must complete a minimum of 120 semester hours with a 2.00 grade point average. (Some programs may require more than 120 hours.)
2. A minimum of 25 percent of credit for each degree awarded by MTSU must be earned through offerings by the University. Typically, a minimum of 30 hours earned through MTSU is required; however, in degree programs of more than 120 semester hours a greater number of hours would be required.
3. At least 42 semester hours of junior and senior (3000-4000 level) courses must be completed with an average grade of C (2.00 GPA) or better. Courses numbered 1000 and 2000 which are substituted for 3000- or 4000-level courses may not be used in the calculation of the 42 upper-division hours. A minimum of 30 semester hours of junior and senior (3000-4000 level) courses must be completed through MTSU.
4. With approval of the dean of the college in which the student is pursuing the major, a candidate may complete six of the last 18 hours at another college or university or by CLEP.
5. No more than 60 semester hours completed by credit-by-examination, credit for service-related experience, and flight training may be counted for credit in a degree.
6. Students must complete at least nine semester hours at the upper-division level through MTSU in each major and at least three semester hours at the upper-division level through MTSU in each minor. Additionally, no course used to satisfy a requirement in a major or minor may be used in another major or minor.
7. The student who seeks a second concentration in a major must complete a minimum of nine (9) hours that do not duplicate hours in the first major/concentration.
8. A minimum of 60 semester hours of senior college credit will be required of all students who transfer from colleges of less than four-year designation.
9. A minimum 2.00 GPA will be required in a major pursued as a graduation requirement and a minimum 2.00 is required in some minors.
10. All candidates must meet the General Education  requirements as outlined and satisfy a technology requirement as outlined below.
    NOTE: Information applicable to transfer students may be found below.
11. No more than 25 percent of the credits for nonbusiness degrees may be in courses commonly found in a school of business. Additionally, a student can have only one business minor.
12. During priority registration when two semesters are remaining for graduation, students must complete upper-division and Intent to Graduate forms and file them with their graduation coordinators. Both forms may be obtained from the office of the head of the department/school in which the student expects to major. A minimum 2.00 GPA in the major field and on all work attempted is required for unconditional admittance to the upper division and to candidacy, unless otherwise stated by a program, for the bachelor’s degree. Some programs require formal approval with additional requirements for admission to candidacy.
13. Any or all students may be required to take one or more tests designed to measure general education achievement and/or achievement in selected major areas as a prerequisite to graduation for the purpose of evaluation of academic programs. Unless otherwise provided by an individual program, no minimum score or level of achievement is required for graduation. Participation in testing may be required for all students, for students in selected programs, and for students selected on a sample basis.
14. In compliance with SACSCOC accreditation standards, all students will have training in and use of technology.

NOTE: In all instances, meeting the requirements for graduation is the responsibility of the student. In addition to the general requirements above, candidates for the various degrees must meet certain specific requirements. Students may review progress toward degree using Degree Works in PipelineMT.

Bachelor of Arts Degree

Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree must meet the following requirements:

1. The major must be completed in one of the approved disciplines or concentrations. It must be identified as an approved degree in the academic inventory (see Majors A-Z ) and described in this catalog by the department concerned.
2. One minor is required. Students wishing to be licensed to teach at the secondary level must meet the requirements for a Secondary Education Minor . All other students must choose from the list of disciplines and concentrations in (4) below or from Interdisciplinary Majors and Minors .
3. Students who receive the B.A. degree must demonstrate proficiency in a world language equivalent to two years of college-level coursework. To meet the requirement, students must successfully complete 2010 and 2020 or any courses numbered above the 2000 level in a single world language. Students are eligible to register for these courses after successfully completing four high school units of the same language, a score on a language placement test equivalent to proficiency of a year of college-level study of the same world language, or the successful completion of 1010 and 1020. Students who wish to use study abroad credits to fulfill the world language requirement must see the chair of Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures  for approval of the courses. For further information, see Procedures for World Language Credit through Placement Testing/Study Abroad .
4. At least 90 of the minimum 120 hours required for graduation must be in courses with the following rubrics, but no more than 36 hours will be accepted from any one rubric:

Bachelor of Business Administration

See Requirements for the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business  

Bachelor of Fine Arts

See Requirements for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in the Department of Art and Design .

Bachelor of Music

See requirements for the Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree in the School of Music .

Bachelor of Science

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree must meet the following requirements:

1. Complete a major with a minimum of 24 semester hours.
2. Many degree programs require a minor or minors of 15 credit hours or more. Specific requirements in the various departments must be met as listed in the colleges section in this catalog.
3. The B.S. degree may be granted to a student who completes six semesters of college work before entering an advanced health-related or engineering professional school upon evidence of satisfactory completion of the first year’s work and the unconditional admittance to the second year, if applicable, provided that
   1. the minimum requirement for entrance to the professional school is 60 semester hours of college work;
   2. the professional school is an integral part of a university accredited by the appropriate regional association or the professional school is accredited by the recognized national association in its field;
   3. the last two semesters of pre-professional work are done at Middle Tennessee State University;
   4. the candidate completes a minimum of 90 semester hours in required pre-professional courses;
   5. the candidate completes, in the pre-professional work, at least 24 semester hours in upper-division courses, including at least 6 semester hours in his/her major field;
   6. the candidate meets all general requirements of the degree curriculum.
4. Students seeking financial aid assistance for the final year of the Three-and-One Program should confer with the new institution regarding financial aid eligibility requirements. During the final year at another institution, the MTSU Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will not be awarding federal, state, or institutional financial aid.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

See requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) in the School of Nursing .

Bachelor of Social Work

See requirements for the Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)  degree or contact the Department of Social Work .

Computation of Grade Point Average for Checking Degree Requirements

Major Average-If a student has more courses in a major area than are actually required, only those courses specifically required for the major will be used to determine the required 2.00. Courses not meeting minimum course grade requirements or with letter grade of W, F, FA, X, N, I, or NC are not used in calculating the major GPA average.

Minor Average-For those minors which require a 2.00 grade point average (GPA), only those courses specifically required for the minor will be used to determine the required 2.00. Courses not meeting minimum course grade requirements or with letter grade of W, F, FA, X, N, I, or NC are not used in calculating the major GPA average.

Upper-Division Average- A 2.00 GPA is required in 42 upper-division hours.

Excessive Repeats-Attempts in excess of one are figured in the overall and overall combined GPAs. See Repeated Courses  for additional information.

Overall Average-The overall average includes all GPA hours from MTSU and transfer credit posted prior to Summer 2015. This is the undergraduate college-level GPA which is used to determine graduation and graduation with honors (ends August 2019). The first attempt of a repeated course is excluded. Even if a course does not count toward a specific graduation requirement, it will be counted in the overall average GPA.

Other GPA Computations

Teacher Education-Guidelines for computation of grade point averages for admission to the teacher education program, for eligibility to student teaching, and for subject area endorsement may be obtained in the administrative offices of the College of Education. Additional information can be found under Licensure of Teachers in the College of Education .

Overall Combined Average–Developmental courses are calculated into the overall combined GPA to determine retention; however, the developmental courses do not count toward degree requirements, and the grades are not used to determine the 2.00 GPA required for a degree.

Effective Summer 2015, students transferring new credits will have transfer grades posted with a leading ‘T’ and transfer grades will NOT be calculated in certain GPAs. Starting with Summer 2015 graduation, students who had transfer work posted (regardless of term completed) prior to May 11, 2015 (Summer term), will be calculated in the various GPAs.  Students who apply/readmit Summer 2015 or after with new transfer credit will not be included in certain GPAs. Students with transfer credits previously posted and new credits posted Summer 2015 or after will have a combination of some transfer credits being included and some not being included.

The major, minor, upper-division, excessive repeats, and overall/overall combined GPAs will not include new transfer credits posted Summer 2015 and after. The hours earned will count toward the hour requirement; however, no grade will be included in the 2.0 grade point average calculation.

Inclusive and inclusive combined GPAs will be displayed including all institutional and transfer credits regardless of the timing of posting. This GPA will not display on transcripts, but a link in PipelineMT will display the “inclusive” GPAs. The “inclusive” GPAs will be used to determine admission to the University, admission to specific degree programs, and athletic eligibility. NOTE: Beginning Fall 2019 inclusive GPAs will be used to determine graduation with honors.

TN eCampus

Middle Tennessee State University is a participating institution in TN eCampus. This program brings college courses to students at home, in the library, in the office, or on the road. Courses completed in the program are entirely online. These courses comprise the same content and rigor as courses on campus. Student assistance such as advising, library services, student support, bookstore, and other student services are also offered online. Technical support for accessing course materials is available 24 hours, 7 days per week.

If a student is admitted to MTSU and enrolls in a TN eCampus course, the course is counted as offered through MTSU regardless of the delivery institution and will appear on the student’s transcript as MTSU credit.

Note: Authorization to take TN eCampus courses is required for all majors. Acceptance of TN eCampus courses as fulfilling requirements of standard degree programs is at the discretion of the individual department.

Undergraduate degrees offered by MTSU using TN eCampus courses include

• Bachelor of Science with a major in Professional Studies (concentrations in Information Technology, Organizational Leadership, Health Administration, or International Organizational Leadership) 
• Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Integrated Studies

Students must earn a minimum of 120 hours; meet MTSU upper-division, residency, senior hour, General Education, and GPA requirements; and complete the courses outlined in the specific degree program. Information about course requirements can be found at www.tnecampus.org/.

Advisement is available through the University College  at (615) 494-7714.

Second Bachelor’s Degree

Candidates for a second bachelor’s degree must meet the following requirements:

1. A bachelor’s degree previously earned must have been awarded by an institution of higher learning. Considerations for institutions of higher learning may be found under Acceptance of Transfer Credit .
2. Complete a minimum of 30 semester hours at MTSU with a minimum of 15 hours at MTSU since the first bachelor’s degree. Credit by assessment may not be used toward this minimum hour requirement.
3. All requirements for the major program in the new degree must be met, including a minimum of 9 upper-division hours taken through MTSU, and the entire major for the second bachelor’s degree must be approved by the major department chair and by the dean whose college houses the program. Accounting majors must complete MATH 1630. Minor(s) required by the major must include 3 hours of upper-division work taken through MTSU in each minor. 
4. The General Education requirements for a first degree from a U.S. institution will satisfy MTSU’s General Education requirements for the second degree. For students whose first degree is from a non-U.S. institution, the General Education requirements will apply and course equivalencies with MTSU’s General Education program will be determined by the dean of the college of the student’s major of the second degree.
5. A minimum overall 2.00 GPA must be attained.
6. A minimum 2.00 GPA is required in the major pursued as a graduation requirement.
7. Students seeking a second bachelor’s degree must complete an application for admission to upper division.
8. Pursuing a concentration under a major in which a student has already completed degree requirements will be considered as the pursuit of an add-on concentration, not a second bachelor’s degree.
   NOTE: The Admissions Office does not evaluate transcripts of students who have already received a bachelor’s degree.

University Common Catalog Statement Regarding General Education

Effective Fall Semester 2004, all public colleges and universities in Tennessee will share a common lower-division (freshman and sophomore) general education core curriculum of forty-one (41) semester hours for baccalaureate degrees and the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. The courses composing the general education curriculum are contained within the following subject categories:

Baccalaureate Degrees*

*Foreign language courses are an additional requirement for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. The B.A. degree requires proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to completion of two years of college-level work.
**Six hours of English composition and three hours in English oral presentational communication are required.
***Students who plan to transfer to colleges and universities other than Tennessee public institutions should check requirements and take the appropriate courses.

Although the courses designated by individual Tennessee public colleges and universities to fulfill the requirements of the general education subject categories vary, transfer of the courses is assured through the following means:

• If a student has earned an A.A. or A.S. degree using a 2004 Undergraduate Catalog (or later) from a TBR institution, the requirements of the lower-division general education core will be complete and accepted by MTSU in the transfer process; however, institutional/departmental requirements of the grade of C (2.00) will be honored and enforced.
• If an A.A. or A.S. is not obtained, transfer of general education courses will be based upon fulfillment of complete subject categories. (Example: if all eight hours in the category of Natural Sciences are complete, then this block of the general education core is complete.) When a subject category is incomplete, course-by-course evaluation will be conducted. The provision of block fulfillment pertains also to students who transfer among Tennessee’s public colleges and universities.
• Certain majors require specific courses to be taken in general education. Check the departmental catalog section(s) for major requirements that must be fulfilled under lower-division general education.

See General Education  for Middle Tennessee State University requirements. A complete listing of the courses fulfilling general education requirements for all TBR institutions is available on the Web site (www.tbr.edu/academics/transfer-and-articulation).

Transfer Students

Regardless of the receipt of an associate’s degree, transfer students will be required to meet the MTSU General Education requirements as stated in the MTSU catalog under which the student chooses to graduate.