Faculty Rules for ASC Undergraduate Degrees (Semester Curriculum)

General College/Degree Rules – Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees

  1. The Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees consist of a minimum of 121 semester hours. (Note: The minimum hours required for professional degrees in the Arts, namely the BFA, BAE, BM, BME, and BSD, may be higher. See materials specific to those programs for details.)
  2. A minimum of 111 semester hours of ASC and ASC-approved courses is required. No more than 4 of the 10 semester hours permitted outside ASC can be physical education activity courses, and no more than 8 semester hours of technical credit is permitted.
  3. A minimum of 39 semester hours of ASC or ASC-approved upper-division course work is required. Upper-division courses are defined as all ASC courses at the 3000 level or above, Philosophy 2500, all courses taught by departments in mathematical and physical sciences at the 2000 level and above (except for courses numbered 2194 and Earth Sciences 2911 [effective 4/22/22]), and any foreign language course taught in the language at the 2000 level or above. Please note that GenEd 4001, the Reflection Seminar, does not count as an upper-division course.
  4. In the case of a student pursuing multiple majors, course work may overlap between the majors, provided that each major department allows such overlap and that each major has at least 18 unique (non-overlapping) semester hours. Similarly, there may be overlap between the major course work and the GEN Themes courses within the following parameters:
    1. Major courses may only overlap with the GEN Themes as long as there are at least 18 unique, 
      non-overlapping semester hours in each major.
    2. A course may only fulfill a requirement in two of the aforementioned categories (i.e., it may
      count in both majors or one major and the GEN Themes, but it cannot be used in two majors and the GEN Themes).
    3. Students may not overlap major coursework with GEN Foundations requirements.
  5. In the case of a student pursuing multiple degrees, at least 30 additional semester hours (beyond the 121 hours required for a single degree) must be earned for each additional degree sought, and at least 18 of the additional 30 hours must be ASC or ASC-approved upper-division course work. The GEN requirements and the college requirements for each degree must be fulfilled. (For example, a student earning both BA and BS degrees is required to complete calculus, which is not required for the BA, because such coursework is required for the BS.) Students may overlap up to 6 semester credit hours of GEN Themes courses with their major coursework, within the following parameters:
    1. Students may overlap two 3-credit hour GEN Themes courses or one 4 or 5-credit hour GEN Themes course. In the latter case, they may not “split” credit hours for a single course and overlap a portion of a second 3, 4, or 5 credit hour GEN Themes course with major coursework.
    2. A course may only fulfill a requirement in two of the aforementioned categories (i.e., it may count in both majors or one major and the GEN Themes, but it cannot be used in two majors and the GEN Themes).

Rules Governing Majors

  1. A major program must consist of at least 30 semester hours of credit in courses numbered 2000 or above as prescribed by the major (departmental) advisor. Note that many major programs require more than 30 hours of credit. 1000-level courses cannot be counted toward the hours in the major. 
  2. Students must earn at least a C- in a course in order for the course to be included on the major. A 2.0 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) is required for all major course work. (Note: some departments require a major GPA higher than 2.0 to meet graduation requirements.) If a student earns a D+, D, or an E in a required major course, the course cannot be counted toward the major. The major (departmental) advisor will decide if the course should be repeated or if another course can be substituted for it.
  3. Courses taken on a Pass/Non-Pass (PA/NP) basis cannot be used on the major.
  4. No more than one half of the semester credit hours required on the major can be credit hours transferred to Ohio State from another institution and/or credit by examination. (In other words, at least one half of the major hours must be credit from completed OSU coursework.)
  5. If a student has only one major, no overlap is permitted with the GE except as expressly allowed by the rules of the GE.
  6. The major (departmental) advisor must approve all courses constituting the major, including any additions/deletions/changes to a previously-approved major.

Rules Governing Minors

  1. A minor consists of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 18 semester credit hours at the 2000 level and above, with at least 6 of the semester hours at the upper-division level. Upper-division courses are defined as all ASC courses at the 3000 level or above, Philosophy 2500, all courses taught by departments in mathematical and physical sciences at the 2000 level and above (except for courses numbered 2194), and any foreign language course taught in the language at the 2000 level and above.
  2. 1000-level courses cannot be counted toward the hours in the minor.
  3. No more than three semester credit hours of coursework graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory may count toward the minor. Also, no more than three semester credit hours of X193 (individual studies) coursework may be included in the minor. A student is permitted to count up to 6 total hours of transfer credit and/or credit by examination.
  4. Prerequisites should be none or few. Any necessary prerequisites should be clearly spelled-out in the curricular proposal and on the advising sheets. 
  5. No grade below a C- will be permitted in courses constituting the minor. The minimum overall cumulative point-hour ratio of the minor shall be 2.00. Courses taken on a Pass/Non-Pass (PA/NP) basis may not be applied to the minor.
  6. A student may not take a major and a minor in the same subject, unless such combination has been expressly approved by the ASC Curriculum Committee and the ASC Faculty Senate. Each minor completed must contain a minimum of 12 hours distinct from the major and/or additional minors (i.e., if a minor requires more than 12 credit hours, a student is permitted to overlap those hours beyond 12 with the major or with another minor). 
  7. A student is permitted to overlap up to 6 credit hours between the GE and a minor.
  8. Once a student’s minor program form is on file in the college office, any changes must be approved by the departmental (minor) advisor or college/school counselor (depending on the minor). 
  9. Minors must be declared at least one term prior to a student’s intended graduation term, and students are encouraged to file the minor program earlier whenever possible.

(Approved by the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee on January 13, 2012; revised January 18, 2013, October 18, 2013, September 8, 2014, April 22, 2022, and May 5th, 2024)