General Studies

For more information about the Associate in General Studies degree, contact the dean of Liberal Arts, Paul Wreford, at (618) 235-2700, ext. 5227, or paul.wreford@swic.edu.

The Associate in General Studies degree (AGS) is an academic program for students who want to explore a wide range of subject areas and interests, or for those whose educational objectives are not addressed by traditional transfer or occupational degree programs. This degree is not designed to transfer to four-year colleges or universities or, in most cases, to prepare for entry into a career field.

Admissions

In general, the purpose of the AGS degree is to provide: 1) a liberal studies program; 2) an individualized program meeting needs not met by other programs; and 3) a capstone program for graduates of occupational certificate programs. Students requesting admission into the AGS degree program will be required to establish a formal degree plan with a counselor and participate in the college assessment program, Mission Success, for appropriate placement in English and Math courses. This plan must be filed with the registrar prior to the completion of the last 15 hours of required course work.Students who have earned an associate degree or are eligible for an associate degree other than the AGS will not be considered for this degree.

Terms

Students have six years to complete the requirements outlined in the Southwestern Illinois College catalog. If the requirements are not completed within six years, students must meet the requirements in effect at that time. In addition, students who have not enrolled for three consecutive semesters must meet the requirements in effect upon re-entry.

Total Hours

A minimum of 64 semester credits is required for this degree.

Residency

Students must have completed 15 of their last 24 credit hours at Southwestern Illinois College.

GPA

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 is required for the AGS degree.

Telecourse Limit

A student may not apply more than 16 hours of telecourses toward degree requirements. In addition, at least one non-telecourse must be completed in each general education area.

Constitution Requirement

Students graduating from Southwestern Illinois College must pass the Federal and Illinois State Constitution requirement. This may be done in one of the following ways.

Present a high school transcript from an accredited Illinois high school or a GED certificate, which clearly affirms that both the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Constitution requirements have been met
Successfully complete POLS 150
Successfully complete POLS 261 & POLS 262
Pass the U.S. and Illinois Constitution Examination at Southwestern Illinois College. Students must score at least a 70% on this test and are limited to three attempts.For information regarding this Examination and study materials, call (618) 235-2700 ext. 5309.

Human Relations Requirement

One of the following courses that emphasize human relations must be completed. The course that is selected may also be applied toward the Humanities or Social Science General Education requirement as applicable. For reference, these courses are listed with bold/white print in the general education areas on the degree requirements checklist .

Humanities: ART 110, LIT 116, LIT 117, LIT 215
Social Science: ANTH 210, ECON 115, ECON 201, GEOG 151, HIST 180, HIST 181, HIST 230, HIST 292, POLS 150, POLS 261, PSYC 200, PSYC 265, PSYC 267, PSYC 295, SOC 153, SOC 203, SOC 210, SOC 222, SOC 230, SOC 255, SOC 259, SOC 265

Freshman Seminar

Beginning students are encouraged to enroll in ED 101, Freshman Seminar, and ED 110, Personal/Career Development. For information regarding these courses, see the Course Description Guide .