Baccalaureate Degree Requirements
A. Residence: The following minimum requirements must be met in residence at Missouri Southern:
(1) 30 hours completed with Missouri Southern.
(2) one-half of the credit both required for the major and in the major department. Courses required for the major but not offered in the major department are not included.
(3) one-half of the upper division credit both required for the major and in the major department.
B. Credit Hours: At least 120 semester hours of college credit applicable to a Baccalaureate degree are required for graduation.
C. Grade Point Average (GPA): The following minimum cumulative GPAs are required for most Baccalaureate degrees. Some degree programs have higher GPA requirements, the department offering the degree programcan verify the GPA requirement. The GPA excludes “not applicable to Baccalaureate degree” (NABD) courses.
(1) a 2.0 GPA for all credit hours attempted;
(2) a 2.0 GPA for all the courses required for the major, both inside and outside the major department;
(3) a 2.0 GPA for all courses, required and elective, taken in the major department.
D. Upper Division Hours: A minimum of 39 semester hours of courses numbered 300-499 must be completed. Transfer courses will be granted lower or upper division attributes based on how the course was originally taken.
E. Modern Language: All students expecting to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree must successfully complete 10-12 hours of the same modern language prefix. Ten credit hours for Asian languages (Chinese or Japanese); twelve credit hours for French or Spanish (same prefix). Chinese, Japanese, and French are not currently offered. (fall 2023)
F. Writing: Students will complete the writing goals established by the faculty in their selected major. Students graduating with the Bachelor of General Studies degree or the Bachelor of Applied Science degree will be required to complete one course beyond English 101 and 102 from the list of approved courses with a significant writing component.
G. General Education Curriculum Requirements: Missouri Southern has a General Education requirement curriculum program that contributes toward the development of the whole person, as an individual and as a member of society. Transfer students should refer to the Transfer Student section of the catalog regarding the General Education requirements.
H. University Experience: A university experience course (UE 100) is required for all Missouri Southern degree-seeking students. UE 100 is also required for transfer students with fewer than 30 credit hours who have not completed an orientation course. Dual credit and credit-in-escrow are excluded. Honors students substitute HNRS 101 and MSSU-KCU Early Acceptance Program (MKEAP) students substitute BIO 100. IET 105 is required for Engineering Technology majors, open to all majors.
I. Civics Exam: Any student entering a public institution of higher education for the first time after July 2019 who is pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree must pass the exam as required by the State of Missouri (Senate Bill 807, Section 170.013).Civics Exam FAQs
J. A student may not graduate with a course that has an IN (Incomplete), IP (In-progress), or NO grade issued.
Total General Education Core Curriculum Requirements with Institutional Requirement: 43 Hours
Areas 1 - 5 of the general education core curriculum constitute the 42 semester hour block that meets the State of Missouri general education goals commonly known as CORE 42. Course descriptions list the Missouri Transfer number (MOTR), if approved. All public colleges and universities in Missouri have adopted the CORE 42. Courses with a MOTR number are guaranteed to transfer among all Missouri public institutions of higher education.
Students should select appropriate general education courses for their discipline.
The University Experience course is required for all degree-seeking students who enter MSSU with less than 30 credit hours (excluding dual credit and credit in escrow) and transfer students who have not completed an orientation course. Honors students substitute HNRS 101 and MSSU-KCU Early Acceptance Program students substitute BIO 100. IET 105 is required for Engineering Technology majors, open to all other majors.
