Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Throughout the undergraduate catalog, the phrase “hours earned at MTSU” refers to courses offered by the University on campus, at off-campus sites, and through all forms of distance learning.

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 36 semester hours of junior and senior (3000-4000 level) courses must be completed. Courses numbered 1000 and 2000 which are substituted for 3000- or 4000-level courses may not be used in the calculation of the 36 upper-division hours.
4. With approval of the dean of the college in which the student is pursuing the major, a candidate may complete 12 of the last 30 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 12 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. Students may not major and minor in the same discipline.
9. A minimum of 50 semester hours of senior college credit will be required of all students who transfer from colleges of less than four-year designation.
10. 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.
11. All candidates must meet the General Education  requirements as outlined and satisfy a technology requirement.
    NOTE: Information applicable to transfer students may be found below.
12. 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.
13. During priority registration when two semesters are remaining for graduation, students must submit a completed Intent to Graduate form, and if required, an upper-division form to their graduation analyst. Students should contact their college advisors or the college advising office of their major for the appropriate process within their colleges. Some programs require formal approval with additional requirements for admission to candidacy.
14. 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.
15. 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 should regularly monitor progress toward degree using DegreeWorks on 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. All students must choose from the list of disciplines, concentrations, or interdisciplinary majors and minors in (4) below. Additionally, students wishing to be licensed to teach at the secondary level must also meet the requirements for a Secondary Education Minor .
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. See Approved Minors for Bachelor of Arts Degrees .

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.  

1. The B.S. degree may be granted to a student who completes six semesters of college work before entering an advanced health-related 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 an appropriate institutional 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.

2. 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.) .

Bachelor of Social Work

See requirements for the Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) .

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 minor GPA average.
NOTE: A minor is a component of a degree and is not a stand-alone credential. A minor cannot be earned unless a student is enrolled in a degree program.

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. 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, 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 includes all institutional and transfer credits regardless of the timing of posting. This GPA will not display on transcripts, but the GPAs link on PipelineMT will display the “inclusive” GPAs. The “inclusive” GPAs will be used to determine admission to the University, admission to specific degree programs, athletic eligibility, and graduation with Latin honors.

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 hours at MTSU (of which 12 hours must be at the upper-division level in the major field) for each baccalaureate degree sought beyond the first (earned at MTSU or another institution). Credit by assessment may not be used toward this minimum hour requirement. Additional bachelor’s degree students must meet the requirements of the degree/major as listed in the catalog at the time of admission for the additional degree.
3. All requirements for the major program in the new degree must be met, including a minimum of 12 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. Tennessee Code Annotated 49-7-110 requires that no person be granted a baccalaureate degree from a Tennessee public institution of higher education without having earned at least 6 semester hours of credit in American history (up to 3 of those hours may be in Tennessee history). This requirement is to be enforced for all students, including those seeking their first or any subsequent bachelor’s degree, regardless of whether their high school degree comes from a U.S. or international institution, and regardless of their citizenship status. This requirement does not apply, however, to students who have earned 1 unit of American history in high school. Please note that this requirement is separate from the current General Education history requirement.
6. A minimum overall 2.00 GPA must be attained.
7. A minimum 2.00 GPA is required in the major pursued as a graduation requirement.
8. Students seeking a second bachelor’s degree must complete an application for admission, have the additional courses to be used approved by the major department chair and by the dean whose college houses the program, and file an upper-division form and intent to graduate form.
9. 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.
• Check the departmental catalog section(s) for major requirements that may 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.