Degree Requirements

Every major has degree requirements in these three categories: major courses, general education courses, and elective courses.

The total number of required credit hours that must be completed among these three categories in order to graduate varies by major from 120-128. Thus, by averaging 15-16 credits per semester, you can stay on track to graduate on time in 4 years (8 semesters).

Your academic advisor at IU can provide you with curriculum and degree requirement information for every IU major.  For each major that you are exploring, ask your advisor to explain the major, general education, and elective requirements.

Study in Depth in Your Major

• You are required to take 27 to 40+ credits in the major area of study for most majors.  However, some majors require as many as 60 to 70+ credits in the major discipline.

• Within the total number of credits and courses that are required in the major field of study, there are specific courses required in every major.

• Some majors offer different tracks in which you can specialize.  Many majors provide flexibility to choose courses that you want to take within the major discipline at the 300-400 level of courses.

• You can find a list of majors offered by IU at Search for Majors Alphabetically.

Add Academic Breadth to Your Degree

• Second major (double major)
• Interdepartmental Major
• Minors
• Certificates 

See your advisor for information about second majors and interdepartmental majors. 

You can find information about adding minors and certificates to your major at Enhance your major.

Degrees at IU: Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science

For most majors at Indiana University, you will graduate with either a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree. The Bachelor of Arts degree is often called a B.A., and the Bachelor of Science is abbreviated as a B.S. degree. In most cases, the major you choose determines whether you will be pursuing a B.A. or a B.S. degree. For example, if you major in English, you will graduate with a B.A. degree. If you major in business, you will graduate with a B.S. degree. For a major in mathematics, computer science, psychology, or any of the science disciplines, however, you can choose whether to pursue a B.A. or B.S. degree. In those majors that offer a choice of B.A. or B.S., the B.S. requires more math and science, and less humanities, social sciences and foreign language.

Degree Granting Schools

All majors and degree programs at Indiana University are offered by one of the university's degree granting schools. However, the vast majority of students at IU, whether declared with a specific major or declared as exploratory, will spend their first academic year in the University Division, and then move into a degree granting school within IU in their sophomore year. The degree granting school a student will enter is determined by their major. The degree granting schools within Indiana University are:

College of Arts and Sciences
School of Business
School of Continuing Studies
School of Dentistry
School of Education
School of Health, Physical Education, and  Recreation School of Informatics
School of Journalism
School of Medicine Health Professions
School of Music
School of Nursing
School of Optometry
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
School of Social Work

Preprofessional Studies

Professional practice as a dentist, doctor, lawyer, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician assistant, or veterinarian requires a graduate degree. However, preparation for admission to these graduate programs may be completed at IU. As part of this preparation, preprofessional students may choose any undergraduate major outside of these preprofessional areas of study for their bachelor degree. Special help is provided for your major exploration relative to prelaw study, or preprofessional study in any of the medical fields, by IU’s Health Professions and Prelaw Center.