Students must successfully complete the general requirements of the University, the School or College in which they are enrolled, and the specific requirements of their area of specialization. Described below are the general education requirements for all degrees.

Credit Hours: All candidates for baccalaureate degrees must complete a minimum of 120 semester hours. At least 45 of these hours must be courses numbered 100 or above (or comparable courses transferred). Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average overall, as well as in their area of specialization.

Students seeking two degrees must meet all degree and residency requirements of each degree.

Basic Skills: All students must show from their high school or college transcript, by examination or by appropriate courses, competency in basic communicative and mathematical skills. Students should check with their divisional dean's office at the end of the first year to verify that their proficiency in these skills has been properly recorded.

An additional communicative skill requirement must also be completed before graduation. Students should check with their divisional dean's office at the beginning of their senior year to verify that fulfillment of this requirement has been recorded.

Communicative Skills (two requirements):

  1. All students are required to complete a Freshman English Composition course with a grade of C or better (English 10  Freshman Composition at UM-St. Louis.
     
  2. Effective since the Fall Semester, 1985, students must also complete English 210  Advanced Expository Writing, or its equivalent, with a grade of C or above.

Mathematical Skills: Proficiency in the basic mathematical skills area will be demonstrated by obtaining either:

  1. A grade of C or better in a collegecredit mathematics course having at least intermediate algebra as a prerequisite, or
     
  2. A satisfactory score on the University's Mathematics Proficiency Test.  The proficiency test is over mathematics at the level of college algebra.  The test should be passed before the student completes 24 hours of course work at UM-St. Louis.  The test may be take at most twice.  Test dates are given in the Schedule of Classes.

Breadth of Study: Students must complete at least 42 hours in the following three areas, with at least three courses in each area. (Courses meeting these requirements are listed at the beginning of each departmental section.)

  1. Humanities: art history or art appreciation; selected communication courses; literature; music history, literature, theory, or appreciation; philosophy and logic; theatre appreciation, theory, and history. (Applied Art/Music courses do not count.) (Symbol [H])
     
  2. Natural sciences and mathematics: applied mathematics; astronomy; atmospheric science; biology; chemistry; computer science; geology; mathematics; physics; statistics. (Symbol [SM])
     
  3. Social sciences: anthropology; communication (select courses only); criminology and criminal justice; economics; geography; history; political science; psychology; social work; sociology. (Symbol [SS])