Degrees
Both the Bachelor of Humanities and the Bachelor of Social Sciences expose students to a broad variety of academic disciplines. Each degree requires a total of 122 credit hours including an interdisciplinary major comprised of twelve courses (36 credit hours) among four areas of concentration.
The concentrations may be selected in English, history, philosophy, religion, and art history in the humanities and in anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology in the social sciences. The four concentrations are structured as follows:
Major Concentrations (36 credit hours, 18 of which need to be advanced courses):
First concentration: five courses (15 credit hours, at least 6 in advanced classes)
Second concentration: three courses (9 credit hours, at least 6 in advanced courses) Third concentration: three courses (9 credit hours, at least 6 in advanced courses) Fourth concentration: one course (3 credit hours at any level)As with any undergraduate degree at SMU, students in the Evening Bachelor's Degree Program participate in the University's distinctive General Education Curriculum (GEC). This curriculum emphasizes the values of what historically has been known as a liberal education - namely learning to read, write, think critically, and acquire a basic understanding of human society in all its dimensions. Based on an evaluation of transfer work already completed, the typical evening student will have completed many of her or his GEC requirements. Therefore, evening students usually enter SMU as second-semester sophomores or first-semester juniors and can begin taking upper-level courses required for their major area of study.
The 41 credit hours of GEC requirements currently include:
GEC Fundamentals Requirements (12 credit hours):
English: two designated written English courses
Mathematical Sciences: one designated mathematics or statistics course
Information Technology: one designated course dealing with computer applications and the impact of technology on society
Choices for Living/Wellness (2 credit hours):
two term-hours of physical education courses Science and Technology (6 credit hours):
two courses, at least one of which must be from biological sciences, chemistry, geological sciences, or physics; both courses must include a lab component Cultural Formations (6 credit hours):
two designated 3000-level courses bridging the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences GEC Perspectives Requirement (15 hours):
Along with the Cultural Formations requirement, Perspectives courses ensure that all SMU undergraduate students experience a broad range of liberal arts subjects. Students must choose one course (from a designated list) in five of the following disciplinary areas: Arts
History
Literature
Politics and Economics
Religious and Philosophical Thought
Behavioral Sciences
GEC Human Diversity Requirement (3 co-curricular credit hours):
This co-requirement stipulates that at least one of the GEC courses taken by the student focuses on non-Western cultures or on issues of race, ethnicity, and/or gender
For more information about the University's General Education Curriculum, please refer to the General Education website.
In addition to the above requirements, students must take elective courses to complete the 122-credit hour total for the degree. Students may use their elective hours to pursue an optional minor area of study in Dedman College or, in some cases, in the Meadows School of Arts. Requirements for the minor vary according to the department but generally entail 15 to 18 credit hours. Students may also choose to apply their elective credits to classes leading to teacher certification.
Students must earn a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0, with at least 42 credit hours in advanced-level courses. A minimum of 60 hours must be taken in residence at SMU, which allows for a maximum of 62 hours of transfer credit that might be accepted toward the degree.