Semester Hours Requirements
Students are required to complete at least 120 semester hours of credit for graduation. Courses taken after summer 1983 numbered below 100 do not apply toward the 120 semester hours needed for graduation.

Required Hours at Grand Valley
Graduation from Grand Valley State University requires that the completion of the last 30 semester hours toward a baccalaureate degree (B.A./B.S, etc.) must be earned at Grand Valley or in Grand Valley programs and courses taught off campus by Grand Valley faculty members.

Senior Institution Requirement
Regardless of the number of transfer credits accepted by Grand Valley from junior or community colleges, a baccalaureate degree must include a minimum of 58 semester hours (of the 120 required) from a senior (four-year, degree-granting) institution.

Cumulative GPA
For graduation, a student must earn a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0 based on all coursework attempted at Grand Valley. Some major programs stipulate a GPA requirement exceeding the minimum. Refer to the acadenuc department for specifics.

Transfer Hours for Major and Minor
Regardless of the number of transfer hours accepted by Grand Valley from other institutions, transfer students must complete a minimum of 12 GVSU semester hours in the department offering the major (six for the minor).

The General Education Program teaches the knowledge and skills needed to intelligently participate in public discourse. There are 4 Categories within the General Education Program.

1. Foundations
2. Cultures
3. Issues
4. Supplemental Writing Skills (SWS)

After completing the General Education program studens will know:

1. about the major areas of human investigation and accomplishment in the arts, the humanities, the mathematical sciences, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.
2. about their own culture and the culture of others; and
3. how academic study connects to issues in the world.

Learn more about GVSU General Education program by visiting: www.gvsu.edu/gened

Foundations

• Arts (one course)
• Historical Analysis (one course)
• Mathematical Sciences (one course)
• Life Sciences (one course)
• Physical Sciences (one course, either the Physical Sciences or the Life Sciences course must contain a lab)
• Philosophy and Literature (one course)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (two courses from two different disciplines/course prefixes)
• Writing (one course)

Courses in the Foundations category introduce you to the major areas of human thought and endeavor. These courses present the academic disciplines as different ways of looking at the world, they introduce you to the varied methods used to create knowledge, and they acquaint you with major questions and principles of the field.

Cultures

• U.S. Diversity (one course)
• Global Perspectives (one course)

Courses in the Cultures category prompt you to recognize yourself as a cultural being, and to understand the diverse ways in which people organize life and perceive the world. It enhances your ability to live and work intelligently, responsibly, and cooperatively in a multicultural nation and an interdependent world.

Issues

• Two courses from two different disciplines
  • Courses can be within the same Issue or be from different Issues
  • If a course is cross-listed in two disciplines/course prefixes, your second course must be taken from a third discipline/course prefix.
  • Issues courses must be taken at GVSU (except study abroad, see gvsu.edu/studyabroad).
  • Issues courses have a junior standing prerequisite (you must have completed at least 55 credits prior to taking an Issues course; you can register for the class while the final credits are in progress).

Courses in the Issues category provide you with opportunities to integrate learning and cocurricular experiences and then to build connections between prior understanding and new learning. Issues courses are problem-solving courses that encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration within each class. They also develop your understanding of some of the most compelling issues of our time: globalization, health, human rights, identity, sustainability, and the connected topics of information, innovation, or technology.

SUPPLEMENTAL WRITING SKILLS (SWS)

• Two Supplemental Writing Skills Courses
  • Transfer students with the MTA must take one SWS course (normally in the student's major).
  • Pass with "C" or better
  • WRT 150 or WRT 130 "C" or better prerequisite

Courses that have received the SWS designation are not merely courses that require written assignments; they adhere to certain guidelines. Students turn in a total of at least 3,000 words of writing during the term. Part of that total may be essay exams, but a substantial amount of it is made up of finished essays or reports or research papers. The instructor works with the students on revising drafts of their papers, rather than simply grading the finished piece of writing. At least four hours of class time are devoted to writing instruction. For a three-credit course, at least one-third of the final grade is based on the writing assignments.

Questions regarding the SWS program should be addressed to the University Writing Skills Committee. gvsu.edu/sws

A student must elect a major in one or more of the academic units empowered to present candidates for the undergraduate degree.

A cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the major is the required minimum for graduation. Some majors stipulate requirements exceeding the minimum. 

A minor is required for select programs for graduation. Any student may choose to complete a minor.

If a student chooses to complete a minor, a cumulative GPA of 2.0 is the required minimum for graduation. Some minors stipulate requirements that exceed the minimum. 

All Bachelor of Arts degree programs must include at least three courses that focus on culture, arts, philosophy, or language. At least two courses must be outside of the general education Foundations category. All Bachelor of Arts programs must require third-semester proficiency in a classical or modern language.

All Bachelor of Science degree programs must include at least three courses that focus on mathematics, statistics, quantitative reasoning, or scientific analysis. At least two courses must be outside of the general education Foundations category. At least one course must build upon the expertise developed in the general education Mathematical Sciences category by requiring a general education Mathematical Sciences course as a prerequisite.

Each undergraduate major curriculum must include a Capstone experience (generally a senior-level course of three credits) with four general criteria: breadth (students must draw on several courses within their major), integration/synthesis (students combine different skills and areas of knowledge into a single experience), application (e.g., students use their knowledge and skills to examine an issue and produce a substantial outcome), and transition (e.g., students reflect on and gain knowledge and skills that prepare them to move from college to the world beyond).