A Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree is an undergraduate degree, offered by many universities in the Western World. The BGS degree typically offers matriculants the ability to design much of their own curriculum past that of the university's general requirements. This flexibility allows students to complete a bachelor degree without fulfilling the requirements of a major of any specific discipline. In effect, this degree holds the same value as other degrees in liberal arts or sciences but offers an element of individualism absent in many other degrees specific to a particular discipline. Often referred to as an "interdisciplinary" degree, the BGS allows students to build strong arguments based on information from a broad range of topics.
The history of the General Studies concept goes back thousands of years (studia generalia) but gained popularity within the United States during the 1980s and 90's. In 1982, the University of Connecticut opened its doors to the "non-traditional" student population with its BGS program. In recent years, hundreds of colleges and universities have embraced their state’s adult and junior college graduates with similar programs, many of which offer themes or foci related to specific segments of industry. For example, California University of Management and Technology (CALMAT) offers a BGS degree which integrates management and technology in order to serve the special needs of high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. These degrees can usually be found in a university’s college, center, or school of Continuing Education.
Contrary to common inferences drawn from its name, the Columbia University School of General Studies does not grant BGS degrees, but grants the same degrees as students in Columbia College or Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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Famous quotes containing the words bachelor of, bachelor, general and/or studies:
“When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the grounds of his color I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. When someone else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men I say that intelligence has never saved anyone: and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men.”
—Frantz Fanon (1925–1961)
“When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the grounds of his color I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. When someone else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men I say that intelligence has never saved anyone: and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men.”
—Frantz Fanon (1925–1961)
“In truth, a mature man who uses hair-oil, unless medicinally, that man has probably got a quoggy spot in him somewhere. As a general rule, he can’t amount to much in his totality.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“What an admirable training is science for the more active warfare of life! Indeed, the unchallenged bravery which these studies imply, is far more impressive than the trumpeted valor of the warrior.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)