The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies is designed for adult learners who want to build on their existing education and tailor their degree to match their personal and professional educational goals. Learners discover and engage with subjects across disciplines in a given area concentration or combine varied courses with professional studies. Students acquire the foundation for career development and lifelong learning, honing skills in writing, deep reading, communication and critical thinking. By approaching subjects across disciplines, learners consider and analyze issues using multiple lenses. They deepen their understanding of problems, test new approaches to challenges, and learn to solve issues creatively.
The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies can be completed in both on-campus and online formats. Students interested in completing this degree online should visit the School of Continuing & Professional Studies webpage for the Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies — Online.
Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies
All School of Continuing & Professional Studies undergraduate students must satisfy the same general-education requirements.
Students in the Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies program choose from the Area Concentration Track or the Arts & Sciences Professional Track, each of which culminates in a capstone experience.
Area Concentration Track
Required Courses: 36 units
In the Area Concentration Track, students take course work from across the Humanities, Mathematics & Sciences, and the Social Sciences, which presents multiple perspectives and approaches to similar subjects. Learning how a variety of disciplines approach questions provides a foundation for appreciating differences across cultures, in different areas of work and life, and among individuals. Students acquire a range of tools for approaching problems and creating solutions.
Students complete 33 units in one of the following areas of concentration. At least 18 units must be at the 300 or 400 level.
Humanities concentration, which includes the following:
- African and African-American Studies
- Art and Archaeology
- Classics
- English Composition*
- English Literature
- French**
- History
- Italian**
- Korean**
- Philosophy
- Spanish**
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Mathematics & Sciences concentration, which includes the following:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth & Planetary Sciences
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Physics
Social Sciences concentration, which includes the following:
- Anthropology
- Economics
- History
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Capstone (3 units):
Students must also complete a 3-unit capstone essay in which they reflect on the integration of a topic across fields within the chosen concentration.
Arts & Sciences Professional Track
Required Courses: 36 units
In the Arts & Sciences Professional Track, students pair the critical thinking, research and writing that are essential across multiple careers with a set of skills that advances their prospects in a particular profession.
Area concentration (18 units):
Students choose from Humanities, Social Sciences, or Mathematics & Sciences. Courses must be at the 300 and 400 level.
Professional studies (15 units):
Students choose individual courses that best advance their goals or that focus on a given area. Professional studies courses are chosen from the following:
- Business
- Clinical Research Management
- Communications
- Computers and Information Management
- Design Thinking
- Forensic Psychology
- Geographic Information Systems
- Human Resources Management***
- Journalism
- Nonprofit Management***
- Sustainability
Capstone (3 units):
Students reflect on, research and develop a set of best practices in a chosen profession.
Optional certificate:
Students in the Arts & Sciences Professional Track may focus on a given area and can earn a certificate (13 to 21 units) in the following:
- Business
- Clinical Research Management
- Forensic Psychology
- Geographic Information Systems
- Marketing
- Strategic Communications
- Sustainability