Degree Requirements

• 120 college-level undergraduate semester hours.
• Grade point average of at least 2.0 (in all credits presented for graduation, in all credits completed at Western and in the Area of Emphasis).
• 44 semester hours of General Education courses.
• 36 hours in the Area of Emphasis, of which 12 hours must be upper-level (300-400).
  
• 6 hours, programmatic requirements, consisting of IDST 395 and IDST 495 (IDST 395 is a prerequisite course for IDST 495).
  
• 42 hours of upper division credit, of which 12 hours must be in the Areas of Emphasis.
• 25% of degree and 1/3 hours in emphasis earned in residence, at least 16 of which must be completed after the semester in which the student earned a cumulative total of at least 90 semester hours.
• No more than 24 semester hours in a single academic discipline, nor more than 24 semester hours from the School of Journalism and Broadcasting, no more than 30 semester hours in courses administered by the Gordon Ford College of Business, nor more than 12 upper-level semester hours from the Gordon Ford College of Business.
• No second major or minor can accompany the BIS degree
• BIS cannot be pursued as a second bachelor's degree
  

Developmental courses DO NOT count towards the total number of hours earned. Courses such as MATH 055, MATH 100, ENG 055, and DRDG 080 represent developmental courses and DO NOT count towards the degree.