University Studies, B.U.S.

Eligibility requirements to enroll in the B.U.S. degree program are as follows:

1. Must be admissible or re-admissible to the university
2. Cannot already hold a bachelor’s degree
3. Must have completed a minimum of 90 degree-applicable credit hours (no more than 60 can be used from a 2-year college; repeated courses only count once)
4. Must meet one of the following enrollment pathways:
   • • Pathway 1 — Cannot have attended any college or university for the past 24 consecutive months.
     • Pathway 2 — Have not been out of school for two years but earned 90 degree-applicable hours by the end of 2017 (no more than 60 can be used from a 2-year college; repeated courses only count once).
     • Pathway 3 — Have not been out of school for two years but earned 90 degree-applicable hours 2 years ago (no more than 60 can be used from a 2-year college; repeated courses only count once). Important note: Students who enroll via this pathway are not eligible for the special grade provision (removal of all prior Fs from the GPA).

If you believe that you meet these requirements and would like to learn more about this degree program, please contact the Office of General Studies at generalstudies@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3787

1. Complete 30-hour general education core curriculum
   • 6 hours English Composition (I and II)
   • 3 hours Math (Quantitative Reasoning, College Algebra, Statistics or more advanced)
   • 6 hours Humanities
   • 6 hours Social/Behavioral Sciences
   • 3 hours Fine Arts
   • 6 hours Science
2. Complete 1 to 3 emphasis areas from the following:
   • Business
   • Creative Arts
   • Health & Human Services
   • Social Sciences
   • Humanities
   • Education
   • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
   There are three ways to fulfill this requirement:
   • Option 1. Complete minimum of 30 hours in one emphasis area with a minimum of 18 of those hours being taken at the 300 level or higher—Emphasis will be listed on transcript.
   • Option 2. Complete minimum of 15 credit hours in two emphasis areas with a minimum of 9 of those hours in each emphasis being taken at the 300 level or higher—2 areas of emphasis will be listed on transcript.
   • Option 3. Complete minimum of 10 credit hours in three of the emphasis areas with a minimum of 6 of those hours in each emphasis being taken at the 300 level or higher—no emphasis is listed on the transcript.
3. Complete elective credit hours to bring total earned degree applicable hours to 120. 

Additional degree requirements include the following :

• A minimum of 30 credit hours for the degree must be taken from The University of Mississippi.
• A minimum of 30 credit hours across the curriculum must be at the 300 level or higher.
• A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required in residence (just in courses taken through UM) as well as overall (UM course work in addition to transfer work).
• Courses can only satisfy one requirement (i.e., the same course cannot be used toward both an emphasis area and the core curriculum or toward more than one emphasis area).
  
  

To receive a B.U.S. degree, students must choose classes from the following emphasis areas. 

African American Studies Courses

Gender Studies Courses

Southern Studies Courses

Students admitted to the Bachelor of University Studies degree program will have all previous Fs (transfer as well as in residence) removed from their GPA calculation. These courses will still, however, be counted as attempted hours for financial aid purposes. If the student changes to any other degree program within the university, the resident and overall GPAs will be re-calculated to include all Fs that were excluded for the Bachelor of University Studies degree program.

Once admitted to the Bachelor of University Studies degree program, a student may employ the university’s grade forgiveness policy for courses taken AFTER enrollment in the BUS degree program.

To complete the Google forms, you must log in with your go.olemiss.edu email address. This ensures FERPA-related content is protected through encryption.

Before applying, check with the Office of General Studies to confirm you meet eligibility requirements for your chosen pathway.

For students already confirmed by our C2C coaches as having no remaining coursework to earn a B.U.S. degree

• Bachelor of University Studies Program and Diploma Application Pathway 1 or 2
• Bachelor of University Studies Program and Diploma Application Pathway 3

For students with remaining coursework for the B.U.S. degree program

• Bachelor of University Studies Program Application Pathway 1 or 2
• Bachelor of University Studies Program Application Pathway 3