University Undergraduate Graduation Requirements

Undergraduate Programs

All students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program must fulfill the following university requirements to graduate.

Credit Requirements

A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for graduation with a baccalaureate degree. A minimum of 45 credit hours in upper-division courses is required for graduation. Some programs may require more than 120 credit hours and 45 upper-division credit hours for graduation; check the program's major map for graduation requirements.

No more than 60 credit hours earned in independent learning courses or earned by comprehensive examination (including advanced placement, College-Level Examination Program, DANTES Subject Standardized Test, Cambridge International Exam and International Baccalaureate diploma/certificate exams) are accepted for credit toward the baccalaureate degree.

Grade Point Requirement

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 for all courses taken at ASU is required to graduate with a baccalaureate degree. Some programs may require more than a 2.00 GPA; refer to the specific program's major map for graduation requirements.

General Studies Requirement

All students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program must satisfy the university requirement of a minimum of 29 credit hours of approved General Studies coursework. See General Studies.

Students transferring from Arizona community colleges with a certified completion of the appropriate Arizona General Education Curriculum will have satisfied all lower-division General Studies requirements of the baccalaureate degree with which the AGEC articulates. Completion of ASU’s lower-division General Studies and composition requirements also will be awarded to any transfer student who has completed the IGETC/CSUGE for California public community colleges or an associate of arts degree at any regionally accredited community college or university in the United States. For more details regarding the different versions of AGEC, refer to https://aztransfer.com/.

An additional combined six credit hours of literacy (L) (three credit hours total) and humanities, arts and design (HU)/social-behavioral sciences (SB) (three credit hours total) at the upper-division level, preferably chosen from within the major, must be completed in addition to 29 credit hours of General Studies coursework.

Mathematics Requirement

All undergraduate degree-seeking students are expected to fulfill the university's mathematics requirement by the time they have accumulated 30 hours of credit in residence at ASU. Any student who has more than 30 credit hours and has not fulfilled the mathematics requirement must enroll in a mathematics course or an appropriate prerequisite course and continue to do so every semester until the mathematics requirement is met. A waiver may be granted for continuous enrollment if there are scheduling conflicts detrimental to the student's academic progress. Also see the Math Intensive Programs: Required Course Policy.

First-Year Composition Requirement

Completion of both ENG 101 and ENG 102 or ENG 105 with a grade of "C" (2.00) or higher is required for graduation from ASU in any baccalaureate program. A student whose native language is not English may meet the first-year composition requirement by completing ENG 107 and 108 with a grade of "C" (2.00) or higher. Students who are required to take first-year composition must enroll in their first required composition course within the first year and continue to enroll in required composition courses every term until composition requirements are met.

Transfer Credit

Composition courses transferred from other post-secondary institutions may require evaluation. After consultation with an advisor, if evaluation is necessary, the student should submit a request for evaluation through the ASU Transfer Credit Guide. The process should be completed upon transfer of coursework to ASU so the student is able to enroll in additional courses if required to do so. Students who are required to take first-year composition must enroll in their first required composition course within the first year and continue to enroll in required composition courses every term until composition requirements are met.

Resident Credit Requirement

Resident credit refers to a course that is offered in a regular semester, winter session (prior to 2011-2012), intersession or summer session. Credit earned through comprehensive examinations is also included when calculating ASU resident hours. Credit earned through independent learning, advanced placement, the College-Level Examination Program or an International Baccalaureate diploma/certificate are excluded when calculating ASU resident hours.

Every candidate for the baccalaureate degree is required to earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in resident-credit courses at ASU.

Guidelines for Determination of Catalog Year

The catalog is published annually. Department, school, division, college and university requirements may change and are upgraded often. In determining graduation requirements, an undergraduate student may use only one edition of the catalog but may elect to follow any later catalog edition under which the student attends. Students may not use an edition of the catalog that was in effect before their high school graduation or completion of GED. Students maintaining continuous enrollment at any Arizona community college or public university may graduate according to the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment following high school graduation or completion of a GED or according to the requirements of any single catalog in effect during subsequent terms of continuous enrollment. Students may maintain continuous enrollment while pursuing their degrees, whether attending a single Arizona community college or public university or transferring among public institutions in Arizona. Students transferring among Arizona public higher education institutions must meet the admission, residency and all curricular and academic requirements of the degree-granting institution.

  1. A semester in which a student earns course credit is counted toward continuous enrollment. Noncredit courses, audited courses, failed courses or courses from which the student withdraws do not count toward the determination of continuous enrollment for catalog purposes. See examples A and B in the continuous enrollment table below.
  2. Students who do not meet the minimum enrollment standard stipulated above during three consecutive semesters (fall/spring/fall or spring/fall/spring) and the intervening summer term at any Arizona community college or public university are no longer considered continuously enrolled. (Students are not obligated to enroll and earn course credit during summer terms, but summer enrollment may be used to maintain continuous enrollment status.) These students must meet requirements of the Arizona community college or public university catalog in effect at the time they are readmitted or of any single catalog in effect during subsequent terms of continuous enrollment after readmission. See examples C and D in the continuous enrollment table below.
  3. Students admitted or readmitted to an Arizona community college or public university during a summer term must follow the requirements of the catalog in effect the following fall semester or of any single catalog in effect during subsequent terms of continuous enrollment. See example E in the continuous enrollment table below.
  4. In areas of study in which the subject matter changes rapidly, material in courses taken long before graduation may become obsolete or irrelevant.
  5. Coursework that is more than eight years old is applicable to completion of degree requirements at the discretion of the student’s major department. Departments may accept such coursework, reject it or request that the student revalidate its substance. The eight-year limit on coursework applies except when program accreditation agencies limit the life of coursework to fewer than eight years. Departments may also require students to satisfy current major requirements rather than major requirements in earlier catalogs when completing earlier requirements is no longer possible or educationally sound.
  6. Enrollment by Arizona community college students in nontransferable courses still constitutes enrollment for purposes of determining whether the student has been continuously enrolled. For example, if a student takes two semesters of cooperative education classes that are not transferable to the university but constitute continuous enrollment at the community college, the university should consider it continuous enrollment.
  7. Exceptions made by an institution apply only to the institution that made the exception. For example, if the community college departments accepted credit that was more than eight years old, the university department to which the student transfers might not; it has the right and the obligation to reevaluate any credit more than eight years old.

Inquiries about these guidelines may be directed to the student's academic advisor.

Continuous Enrollment
 
Student’s Activity Semester/Year Status
 
Example A
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Fall 2011 Active
Continued at an Arizona community college Spring 2012
Fall 2012		 Active
Transferred to an Arizona university Spring 2013 Student enrolled under 2011–2012 or any subsequent catalog
Example B
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Fall 2013 Active
Enrolled but earned all “W”s or “E”s (0.00) Spring 2014 Inactive
Enrolled in audit courses only Fall 2014 Inactive
Nonattendance Spring 2015 Inactive
Transferred to an Arizona university Fall 2015 Student enrolled under 2015–2016 or any subsequent catalog
Example C
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Fall 2009 Active
Nonattendance Spring 2010
Fall 2010
Spring 2011		 Inactive
Readmitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Fall 2011 Active
Transferred to an Arizona university Spring 2012 Student enrolled under 2011–2012 or any subsequent catalog
Example D
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Fall 2010 Active
Nonattendance Spring 2011 Inactive
Readmitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Summer 2011 Active
Nonattendance Fall 2011

Spring 2012

 Inactive
Transferred to an Arizona university Fall 2012 Student enrolled under 2010–2011 or any subsequent catalog
Example E
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Summer 2014 Active
Continued at an Arizona community college Fall 2014

Spring 2015

 Active
Nonattendance Fall 2015 Inactive
Readmitted and earned course credit at an Arizona community college Spring 2016 Active
Transferred to an Arizona university Summer 2016 Student enrolled under 2014–2015 or any subsequent catalog
Example F
Admitted and earned course credit at an Arizona university Summer 2014 Active
Nonattendance Fall 2014 Inactive
Nonattendance Spring 2014 Inactive
Readmitted and earned course credit at an Arizona university Fall 2015 Active
Continued at an Arizona community college Spring 2016

Student enrolled under 2014–2015 or any subsequent catalog
 

Application for Graduation

For information on how to apply for graduation and deadline dates, visit: https://students.asu.edu/graduation.

Petition for Variance from Degree

Any student wishing to have a college or university degree requirement variance must petition the standards committee of the college in which the student is enrolled. All petitions must originate with the student's advisor.

The University Undergraduate Standards Committee advises the Office of the University Provost regarding undergraduate student petitions that concern university-wide academic requirements. These requirements include but are not limited to requirements on the amount of transfer credit, graduation requirements, limits on credit by examination and requirements for a second baccalaureate degree. To petition for a variance from such university requirements, the University Undergraduate Standards Committee petition is used. Most petitions heard by the University Undergraduate Standards Committee start at the college level and are forwarded for final review and decision to the university-level committee.

Overview of Graduation Requirements

At ASU, students take classes that fulfill four types of requirements. As illustrated in the graduation requirements diagram below, some courses can fulfill two or more types of requirements but other courses fulfill only one requirement. The total credit hours needed to graduate are represented by the largest circle. The university minimum is 120 credit hours. Some majors, however, require more than 120 credit hours.

Although the three shaded circles in the illustration below are equal in size and the white circle is larger than all three, the total number of credit hours for each type of requirement may vary.

University Requirements

The yellow circle represents university requirements. The General Studies requirement and first-year composition requirement are among these requirements.

College Requirements

The gray circle represents college requirements. Some colleges and schools such as the College of Liberal Arts and Science have additional requirements.

Major

The red circle represents the requirements of the major. The credit hours required for a major may be as low as 30 hours or as high as 65 hours.

Electives/Minor/Certificate

The white circle represents electives and the requirements of a minor or certificate. A minor typically adds an additional 18 to 25 credit hours of course work. Although every student must eventually declare a major, minor and certificates are not required. Some courses, while providing credit hours toward graduation, fall outside the shaded circles and are not required in a program for graduation. These courses are electives. Some majors leave no room for electives within the minimum 120 credit hours required to graduate.

Other Requirements

The separate units of ASU — such as colleges, schools and departments — have specific requirements for graduation that must be satisfied for a baccalaureate degree. Students are encouraged to consult with an academic advisor in planning a program to ensure it meets the various requirements. A well-planned program may enable a student to concurrently satisfy a portion of the General Studies requirement together with a portion of a college or major requirement.

Graduation with Academic Recognition

An undergraduate student must have completed at least 56 credit hours of resident credit at ASU to qualify for graduation with academic recognition for a baccalaureate degree. Note: West campus students following a catalog year prior to fall 2007 are required to have completed at least 50 credit hours of resident credit at ASU.

The cumulative GPA determines the designation, as shown in the academic recognition table below.

Academic Recognition
 
Cumulative GPA Designation
 
3.40–3.59 cum laude
3.60–3.79 magna cum laude
3.80–4.00 summa cum laude
 

The cumulative GPA for these designations is based on ASU resident coursework only. For example, ASU independent learning course grades are not calculated in the honors GPA. All designations of graduation with academic recognition are indicated on the diploma and the ASU transcript. Graduation with academic recognition applies only to undergraduate degrees.

A student who has a baccalaureate degree from ASU and is pursuing a second baccalaureate degree at ASU (with a minimum of 30 hours of resident credit) is granted academic recognition on the second degree based on the credit hours earned subsequent to the posting of the first degree. If fewer than 56 credit hours are completed at ASU subsequent to completion of the first ASU degree, the level of academic recognition can be no higher than that obtained on the first degree. If 56 or more credit hours are completed at ASU after completion of the first ASU degree, the level of academic recognition is based on the GPA earned for the second ASU degree. Inquiries about graduation with academic recognition may be directed to the graduation office at 480-965-3256.

Additional Degrees

Second Baccalaureate Degree

The student seeking a second baccalaureate degree must meet admission criteria for that degree. After conferral of the first degree, a minimum of 30 credit hours in resident credit courses at ASU must be successfully completed to earn the second baccalaureate degree. The student must meet all degree and university requirements of the second degree.

Students who wish to use courses taken while in graduate nondegree status towards a second bachelor’s degree may have up to 15 credit hours applied towards this degree.

Concurrent Degrees

More than one baccalaureate degree may be pursued concurrently if prior approval is given by the standards committees of the colleges offering the degrees. Students may receive concurrent degrees if they meet the minimum requirements for both degrees. For additional information, please see the glossary description found here.

eAdvisor and Critical Requirements

eAdvisor ensures that students get off to a good start and stay on track toward graduation by helping them find a major that fits their talents and career goals and then monitors progress. Students use eAdvisor to:

  1. learn more about graduation requirements for their major
  2. discern the critical courses and grades that are required to stay on track to successfully complete their degree
  3. plan for and schedule appropriate courses in the correct sequence to maximize success
  4. monitor progress toward their degree
  5. find out how courses may fit into other majors if they decide to change majors

Through eAdvisor, students follow a major map that outlines the critical requirements and optimal eight-semester plan. If students do not meet the critical requirements, an advising hold may be placed on the students' records, and an advising session is required before future registration activities can take place. When students do not meet the critical requirements for two consecutive semesters, they are considered off track and may be advised to change majors.

Math-Intensive Programs: Required Course Policy

ASU undergraduate degree programs are categorized in the area of math intensity as either general, moderate or substantial based on the number and type of required math courses. Students enrolled in a degree program categorized as substantial in math intensity who receive a failing grade of “E” twice in the same required math course may be required to change their major to a major categorized as general or moderate. This policy is applicable even if the required math course is not marked as critical through the eAdvisor Tracking Tool.