Program Requirements

In order to earn a degree through the Adult Degree Program at JMU, you must:

Earn a minimum of 120 semester hours of credit acceptable at JMU.
Earn a minimum of 30 semester hours at JMU. (No more than eight semester hours of nontraditional credit may be counted toward the 30 JMU hours).
Earn a minimum of 60 semester hours from four year colleges or universities. (No more than sixty semester hours of nontraditional credit may be counted toward the 120 hour total).
Complete an approved IS program of study.

The approved Individualized Study program of study must contain:

General Education Program course work is designed to provide returning adult students with knowledge and skills that form the foundation for completing a baccalaureate degree, including a professional concentration, in the Individualized Study major. While providing a backbone for lifelong learning and graduate degrees, this program recognizes the individual goals of adult learners and encourages nontraditional students to become active in designing their own education.

Adult Degree Program Majors may earn one of the following degrees:

Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) degree
Bachelor of Science (BS) degree
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree
Second Degree Note

To earn a degree, credit hours must be earned as follows:

credit hours in Social/Behavioral Science:
Sociology, Psychology, Economics, History, Anthropology, Geography, and Political Science.
6 credit hours in Humanities:
Philosophy, Religion and GHUM courses. Only the following type courses from the Art, Foreign Languages, Theatre, English, Music, and Dance/Theatre Departments count as Humanities credit: Art Appreciation, Art History, Literature, Theatre and Dance History, Theatre and Dance Appreciation, Foreign Language Literature or Culture, Music Appreciation or History.
6 credit hours in Natural Science:
Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, and GSCI.
6 credit hours in Written Communication:
English Composition (If GWRIT 103 is waived through writing assessment, credits may be earned in GWRIT 103, advanced composition or Technical and Scientific Communication. Choose from WRIT 100, GWRIT 103, WRIT 210, WRIT 320, WRIT 340, ENG 290, ENG 299, ENG 347, ENG 390, ENG 392, ENG 393, ENG 396, TSC 210, TSC 220, TSC 240, TSC 250, TSC 410, TSC 420, TSC 430, TSC 440, TSC 460, and TSC 480.)
3 credit hours in Oral Communication
Speech Communication. GCOM 121, GCOM 122, SCOM 121, 122, 220, 242, or 243.
3 credit hours in Mathematics
4 credit hours in U.S.History
GPOS 225 or GHIS 225, HIS 233, 234
Additional Gen Educationcredit hours
May be satisfied by exceeding minimum credits in areas listed above or by courses accepted by General Education: The Human Community, and selected additional courses from academic departments that host courses in general education program.
41 Total
A minimum of 41 general studies credit hours in the seven areas of social and behavioral science, humanities, natural science, written communications, oral communications, mathematics, and U. S. History.

General Education Requirement

The General Education Program contains a set of requirements each Individualized Study major must fulfill. The University recognizes this alternate general education program as a nontraditional equivalent to the General Education: The Human Community.

To earn a BS degree through the Individualized Study Program, a student must complete the above 41 credit hour requirements, plus the following:
An additional 3 hours of Math and
an additional 3 hours in either Natural or Social/behavioral Science.
Grand total of the general education requirement for the BS degree is 47 hours.
BA degree through the Individualized Study Program, a student must complete the above 41 credit hour requirements, plus the following:
A three (3) credit hour Philosophy course
Six (6) credit hours of Foreign Language at the Intermediate (200) level.
Grand total of the general education requirement for the BA degree is 50 hours.
A concentration containing at least 30 semester hours
At least 24 semester hours must be upper level (300+) credits
A senior project (IS 498 or 499) of 3 to 6 semester hours must be included
At least 15 hours of concentration must be JMU hours
Any title may be used for the concentration except the titles of existing majors
No more than 30 semester hours of credit from the College of Business.
No more than 60 hours of non-traditional credit may be planned in the program agreement.
A computer literacy component.
The Program Development course (IS 201)
The Portfolio Development course (IS 203) if requesting experiential learning credit

Note: Portfolios are to be submitted for evaluation early in the program of study. This policy enables students to be certain of credits earned in order to adapt their program if needed. Graduation applications will not be processed until portfolio assessment is completed.

Second Degree Requirements

Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university may earn a second degree through the program following the general guidelines in the JMU catalog. Second-degree students must complete a minimum of 31-32 credits, including a 30 hour concentration and IS 201: Program Development. If appropriate, 8 nontraditional hours may be included in the 30-hour concentration. Second-degree students requesting experiential learning credit must complete IS 203: Portfolio Development. General education requirements will be waived.

A student cannot get a second (identical) degree from the same institution. For example, a student returning to JMU who has earned a BBA cannot earn a second JMU BBA. Similarly, a graduate with a BS in Computer Science cannot earn a second BS in Individualized Study. The individual could earn a BA (with the additional general education requirements) or a BIS degree.

However, if someone comes to us having earned a BS degree at another institution, say VA Tech, that person could earn a BS degree from JMU. (Same applies for a second BA, BIS, or BBA or whatever if they earned a first one somewhere else.)